1950年，Aaron Brody與Dick Perdue合作研究推出了氣調保鮮包裝——這一創新的技術成功幫助肉制品工業規避了數百萬美金的浪費和損失，并且以其它技術無法匹敵的成本優勢，為消費者提供了新鮮、營養的肉品。

但是，Aaron Brody表示，由于超市生鮮部門的操作員工對失去現有操作職位的擔憂、傳統賣場對損失消費者的擔心、同時由于消費者對于新鮮紅肉的標準持有不合理的先決認知，目前在肉品工業中，因為浪費而導致的成本流失依然居高不下。

氣調保鮮技術的誕生

Aaron brody在1950年就職于美國惠爾浦公司時研發出了氣調保鮮包裝技術（簡稱為MAP）。他表示：“我們的初衷是希望提升美國冷凍設備的質量。此前，我們從來沒有將此項技術應用于本國生產的冷凍設備，而是將技術用在了新鮮肉品和肉品的生產分銷環節。”

就在Aaron brody研發出了用于新鮮肉品生產的相關技術之后，在1960年代末，Dick Perdue隨即研發出了用于新鮮肉品包裝的Cryovac系統。這兩項創新技術的融合，迅速促促進肉品行業實現了可觀的成本削減和浪費削減目標，使肉品工業能夠為全球極速增加的人口有效和成本低廉地提供新鮮而有營養的產品。

Aaron Brody表示：“在談到新鮮肉品時，如果考慮到行業出發的起點，其實我們已經將肉品通常的產品貨架保存期延伸了五到十倍。以肉餡產品為例，我們已經將其貨架保存期延伸了一倍；而完整分切的牛肉產品，其目前的貨架保存期已經延伸了兩到三倍。”

“包裝工業為了改變新鮮紅肉產品的分銷體系，已經邁出了堅實的步伐。這一分銷體系的變化首先是將牲畜轉移到城市中心的圍場中，進而在位于美國愛荷華州科羅拉多市中心的工廠內進行包裝，這個加工工廠距離牲畜的飼養牧場非常近。我知道有很多業內人士認為這種方式比較糟糕，但實際上這種方式是非常有效的，使我們不必再運輸動物屠宰之后的后續廢棄產品，有效地提升了我們的輸送效率。”Aaron Brody繼續表示。

這一創新的方式完全變革了整個肉制品工業，肉品的浪費數量大幅度減少，減少的成本達到了數百萬美金，生產過程之后的廢棄物也減少了數百萬磅。

天然的平衡

Aaron Brody已經在美國佐治亞州州立大學任教了19年。在這些年間，他一直在致力于改進氣調保鮮包裝技術。“近期，我們研發的一款系統已經將肉品包裝之內的氧氣殘留量降低到了百萬級單位，甚至還有可能更進一步降低到十億級單位。如果氧氣殘留量被可靠地控制在十億級單位，我們就可以進一步地延長肉品的貨架保存期，并且支持更長時間的冷凍貨架保存期。”

冷凍設備對于肉品的氣調保鮮包裝而言是非常重要的。Aaron Brody坦言道：“氣調保鮮包裝對于冷凍設備而言是一款有促進作用的工具。如果沒有氣調保鮮包裝，冷凍設備便不會發揮功能。在氣調保鮮包裝和Cryovac系統中，對包裝內部氣體的精細控制、配合選用適當的冷凍設備，便可以創造出平衡的微生物環境，并且令內裝的肉品長久保持新鮮。”

Aaron Brody繼續解釋道：“肉類產品其實并不是無菌的，因此我們需要微生物平衡的環境，并且充分利用這樣的環境為肉品確保新鮮度。我們需要這樣的包裝系統幫助產品進行呼吸、去除氧氣，并且創造出二氧化碳環境。同時，我們需要維持固定的氣體成分濃度，平衡氧氣和二氧化碳氣體的含量，進而幫助肉品延長貨架保存期。微生物環境會以一個極低的速度慢慢發生變化，直到達到一個平衡的狀態。我們設計出了包裝結構以及材料，新款的包裝擁有獨特的氧氣和二氧化碳氣體比例，尤其適用于新鮮食品（比如生菜或草莓）的包裝。”

Cryovac系統中的情形是，由于Cryovac包裝選用了完全阻氧型的包裝材料，因此其包裝內部的微生物環境完全耗盡了氧氣的含量（這也是內裝產品發生變色的原因），并且釋放出了二氧化碳氣體。Aaron Brody表示：“事實上，我們并不希望這一結果的發生，因為在這類情形下病原型的微生物會輕松滲入。相反，我們會非常謹慎地保有氧氣，使其含量不被完全降低為零。在氧氣完全為零的環境中，一些厭氧性的微生物（如梭菌）也可以存在。我們需要創造出能夠對抗病原體的微生物環境，這是我們希望創建的一種天然的平衡，也是Cryovac系統的目標。”

溫度的控制

“需要擔心的問題就是溫度。脫離了溫度的控制，一切都將成為空談。在包裝肉品時、在分銷過程中，我們均需要特別關注產品的溫度。同樣，在超市等零售場合中，肉品的溫度和控制也是非常重要的。”肉品的包裝是在35°F–38°F的冷凍環境中完成的，物流分銷環境的溫度為31°F，而零售環境中的溫度控制則容易失控。

監測和控制

通過采用冷凍設備、增強包裝內部的氣調保鮮的能力、確保包裝內部的微生物環境正確和低增速的變化，這些手段均需要我們時刻確保產品的溫度控制一直在我們的掌控范圍之內。有效和智能的包裝系統尤其需要這一前提。

在智能的包裝系統中，環境的變化容易發生在分銷環節中，這需要操作人員對此給予適當的關注。Aaron Brody表示：“智能包裝系統可以感知外部環境的變化，并且自身會依據變化做出適當的調整。比如，當產品所處的外部環境的溫度過高時，包裝內部就可以做出適當的調整為其內部降溫。如果外部環境中的氧氣含量過高，包裝內部則做出調整、自主降低氧氣的含量。”

積極有效的包裝可以進一步地發揮此類功能，讓產品的包裝針對外界環境的變化做出迅速的響應。Aaron Brody表示：“在智能和活性的包裝中，包裝材料通常包含一些獨特的物理或化學物質，這類物質可以捕捉和測量到產品包裝內部發生的變化，進而改變包裝材料、提升或降低包裝內氧氣的含量，實現獨特的包裝內部環境，同時維系包裝內持續進行的微生物環境的發展和變化。”

“我們目前所選用的包裝材料可以根據外部環境的變化，適當調整材料本身的二氧化碳和氧氣透過率，這也是當前生產所用的比較普遍的包裝材料。”通過對包裝內部的氣體實現精確的控制，產品的新鮮度可以獲得非常出眾的延伸。Aaron Brody以Larry Bell公司的食品——Bluwrap新鮮魚片為例列舉了實例：“Bluwrap品牌的主營業務是從智利輸送到美國的新鮮魚片，產品的貨架保存期為45天。Larry Bell公司新的投資仍主要集中于新鮮魚片產品領域，但同時也投資了新鮮肉品領域，該公司對產品溫度和氧氣含量的控制都是非常嚴格的。”

市場的誤讀

既然為效率的提升提供了廣闊的空間，為什么氣調保鮮包裝并沒有得到大規模、大范圍的應用？

Aaron Brody對此的觀點是，根本的問題還是來自于消費者的誤讀。Aaron Brody表示，這一類不合理的認知是由消費者造成的，消費者認為肉制品行業的產品是不可持續的，同時又對牲畜屠宰、加工和分銷行業提出了很多不利于長期發展的要求：“消費者通常認為，不要食用太多的肉產品，否則就是在浪費地球的資源。”問題或許在于，很多消費者誤認為他們生活在鄉間田園的自然環境中，而對由數百萬計人口構成的、復雜的現代城市經濟視而不見。

Aaron Brody表示：“大部分消費者都持有一個這樣的觀點——在超市零售賣場中，我們要采購的肉品必須是剛剛分切好的。事實上，在面對這樣的一個觀點相對極端的消費人群時，我們強烈地希望消費者能夠親眼看到肉品加工的生產環節和鏈條，這樣他們才能夠對這一產業鏈的價值有更為深刻的認同。這樣消費者才能有一個更為直觀的認識，比如是什么幫助產品確保了新鮮、是什么助力了產品的營養價值、什么是可持續的發展、什么樣的發展對地球而言更為友好？如果為產品植入了有機的概念，那么我們也要清楚是什么樣的消費人群會有采購的意愿。”

在肉品到達零售環節時，被肉品氣調包裝視為生命支柱之一的溫度控制體系通常就坍塌了，而同時Aaron Brody認為：“零售賣場通常不太會愿意接受預包裝的新鮮肉制品。”在肉品細分領域中，一個明顯的變化時，消費者越來越傾向于購買在零售賣場工作車間現場分切的新鮮肉品，而接受氣調保鮮包裝的消費者寥寥無幾。

Aaron Brody認為：“為了改變這一現狀，我們已經付出了60年的努力，但是所取得的進步卻非常有限。當前在美國市場中，大約有50%的碎牛肉制品選用了預包裝方式，另外50%還是以初加工的方式進行出售。那么，為什么這種現象的出現延續了60年？這其中有技術領域、營養科學領域、品控檢測領域以及經濟領域中的多重原因。在即時分切的肉品中，僅有20%的肉品當前采用了預包裝的方式，盡管我們已經為此努力了整整60年。我們已經為此爭論了四、五十年。當前，零售商開始關注氣調保鮮肉品的貨架保存期，沃爾瑪和Target等零售商的肉品的貨架保存期均設置得非常短。

而這對于肉品來說實際上是一種浪費，并且此類問題沒有獲得有效的解決方式。Aaron Brody認為：“那么，為什么我們不能在超市中出售百分百的預包裝肉品？這背后的問題是零售環節的物流輸送環節并不能實現有效和精確的溫度控制。在美國之外的其它市場中，我看到過對這一類問題的商業化的解決方案。這種方式是通過一種龐大而多層的操作方式實現的，并證實了輸送環節溫度的控制確實有助于推廣氣調保鮮包裝。”

事實上，從牲畜被屠宰、肉品被收集和分割，直到消費者享用到肉品，全程而完全覆蓋的溫度控制是可以實現的。

Aaron Brody表示：“在完善的溫度控制之下，肉品可以獲得更為長久的貨架保存期，企業和消費者也都可以避免肉品的浪費。這項技術的成本是相對昂貴的。但事實上，生產企業在操作車間進行肉品分割、分切、研磨過程中損失的肉品的成本則更為昂貴，浪費在這些環節中是非常驚人的。我們有能力延長產品的貨架保存期、提升產品的質量。氣調保鮮包裝在零售環節中的應用將是非常可觀的，這也是預包裝肉品生產企業正在做的工作，只不過當前預包裝肉品所占有的份額還非常少。一些消費者在發現了美國市場之外的、更為復雜和完善的氣調包裝系統時，經常會來問我，為什么我們沒有生產出類似的包裝？這一問題背后的原因其實是，超市賣場等零售環節為尊重傳統消費習慣、確保產品銷量，而對氣調保鮮包裝的推廣采取了非常保守的態度。”

肉品氣調包裝的貢獻和處境1：1950年，Aaron Brody與Dick Perdue合作研究推出了氣調保鮮包裝。這一創新的技術成功幫助肉制品工業規避了數百萬美金的浪費和損失，并且以其它技術無法匹敵的成本優勢，為消費者提供了新鮮、營養的肉品

肉品氣調包裝的貢獻和處境2：肉品生產企業在操作車間進行肉品分割、分切、研磨等操作，氣調保鮮包裝機的應用。

肉品氣調包裝的貢獻和處境3：為什么我們不能在超市中出售百分百的預包裝肉品？這背后的問題是零售環節的物流輸送環節并不能實現有效和精確的溫度控制

肉品氣調包裝的貢獻和處境4：通過對包裝內部的氣體實現精確的控制，產品的新鮮度可以獲得非常出眾的延伸

The Contribution and Situation of Modified Atmosphere Packaging for Meat

In 1950, Aaron Brody collaborated with Dick Perdue to develop modified atmosphere fresh-keeping packaging - an innovative technology that successfully helped the meat industry avoid millions of dollars in waste and losses, and provided cost advantages unmatched by other technologies. Consumers provide fresh, nutritious meat.

However, Aaron Brody said that this was due to the concerns of operators in the supermarket's fresh food department about losing their existing operating positions, the fear of losing consumers in traditional stores, and because consumers had unreasonable preconceptions about the standard of fresh red meat. , At present in the meat industry, the cost loss due to waste is still high.

The birth of modified atmosphere preservation technology

Aaron brody developed the modified atmosphere packaging technology (referred to as MAP) when he worked at Whirlpool Corporation in the United States in 1950. He said: "Our original intention was to improve the quality of freezing equipment in the United States. Before this, we have never applied this technology to domestically produced freezing equipment, but used the technology in the production and distribution of fresh meat and meat products. ."

Just after Aaron brody developed the technology for fresh meat production, Dick Perdue developed the Cryovac system for fresh meat packaging in the late 1960s. The convergence of these two innovative technologies has quickly contributed to the meat industry achieving considerable cost and waste reduction goals, enabling the meat industry to efficiently and cost-effectively deliver fresh and nutritious products to the world's rapidly growing population.

Aaron Brody said: "When it comes to fresh meat, if you consider the starting point of the industry, we have actually extended the shelf life of meat products five to ten times. In the case of meat products, we have extended the shelf life of meat products by five to ten times. Its shelf life has been doubled; the current shelf life of whole-cut beef products has been extended by two to three times.”

“The packaging industry has taken solid steps to change the distribution system for fresh red meat products. This distribution system change starts with moving livestock into paddocks in urban centers, and then in downtown Colorado, Iowa, USA. The processing plant is very close to the livestock farm. I know there are many people in the industry who think this method is bad, but it is actually very effective, and we no longer have to transport the animals after slaughter. Subsequent waste products have effectively improved our conveying efficiency." Aaron Brody continued.

This innovative approach completely revolutionized the entire meat industry, significantly reducing the amount of meat waste, reducing costs by millions of dollars, and reducing waste after the production process by millions of pounds.

natural balance

Aaron Brody has taught at Georgia State University for 19 years. During these years, he has been working on improving modified atmosphere packaging technology. "Recently, we have developed a system that has reduced residual oxygen levels in meat packaging to millions of units, and possibly even further down to a billion units. If residual oxygen levels are reliably controlled to ten With 100 million units, we can further extend the shelf life of meat and support a longer shelf life in frozen storage.”

Refrigeration equipment is very important for the modified atmosphere packaging of meat products. Aaron Brody admits: “Modified atmosphere packaging is an enabling tool for freezers. Without modified atmosphere packaging, the freezer would not function. In modified atmosphere packaging and the Cryovac system, the Careful control of the gas inside the package, combined with the selection of appropriate freezing equipment, can create a balanced microbial environment and keep the meat inside fresh for a long time.”

Aaron Brody goes on to explain: "Meat products are not sterile, so we need a microbially balanced environment and make the most of it to ensure freshness. We need packaging systems like this to help the product breathe, remove Oxygen, and create a carbon dioxide environment. At the same time, we need to maintain a fixed concentration of gas components, balance the content of oxygen and carbon dioxide gas, and then help the meat to extend shelf life. The microbial environment will change slowly at a very low rate, Until a balance is reached. We designed the packaging structure and materials, and the new packaging has a unique ratio of oxygen and carbon dioxide gas, which is especially suitable for the packaging of fresh food such as lettuce or strawberries.”

In the case of the Cryovac system, since the Cryovac packaging uses a completely oxygen-blocking packaging material, the microbial environment inside the packaging completely depletes the oxygen content (which is also the reason for the discoloration of the product inside), and carbon dioxide is released. gas. Aaron Brody said: "In fact, we do not want this to happen, because in such situations pathogenic microorganisms can easily penetrate. Instead, we are very careful to keep the oxygen content so that it is not completely reduced to Zero. In a completely zero oxygen environment, some anaerobic microorganisms (such as Clostridium) can also exist. We need to create a microbial environment that can fight pathogens, which is a natural balance we want to create, and also The goal of the Cryovac system.”

temperature control

“The problem to worry about is temperature. Without temperature control, everything is empty talk. When packaging meat, in distribution, we need to pay special attention to the temperature of the product. Similarly, in retail settings such as supermarkets, meat The temperature and control of the product is also very important.” Packing of the meat is done in a 35°F–38°F freezer environment, 31°F in a logistics distribution environment, and easy temperature control in a retail environment out of control.

Monitoring and Control

By adopting refrigeration equipment, enhancing the ability of modified atmosphere preservation inside the package, ensuring that the microbial environment inside the package is correct and changing at a low rate, these methods all require us to ensure that the temperature control of the product is always within our control. This premise is especially required for efficient and intelligent packaging systems.

In an intelligent packaging system, environmental changes are prone to occur in the distribution link, which requires operators to pay proper attention to this. Aaron Brody said: "The intelligent packaging system can sense changes in the external environment and make appropriate adjustments according to the changes. For example, when the temperature of the external environment where the product is located is too high, the inside of the packaging can make appropriate adjustments. Cool the inside of it. If the oxygen content in the outside environment is too high, the inside of the package adjusts to reduce the oxygen content autonomously.”

Active and effective packaging can further exert such functions, allowing product packaging to respond quickly to changes in the external environment. Aaron Brody said: "In smart and active packaging, packaging materials often contain some unique physical or chemical substances, such substances can capture and measure the changes that occur inside the product packaging, and then change the packaging material, raise or lower the content of the packaging. Oxygen content, to achieve a unique internal packaging environment, while maintaining the continuous development and changes of the microbial environment within the packaging.”

"The packaging materials we currently use can properly adjust the carbon dioxide and oxygen transmission rates of the material itself according to changes in the external environment. This is also a relatively common packaging material used in current production." Accurate control of the gas inside the package , the freshness of the product can be extended very well. Aaron Brody cites Larry Bell's food product, Bluwrap Fresh Fillets as an example: "The Bluwrap brand's main business is fresh fillets shipped from Chile to the United States, and the product has a shelf life of 45 days. Larry Bell Company The new investment is still mainly in the fresh fish fillet product segment, but also in the fresh meat segment, where the company has very strict controls on product temperature and oxygen content.”

misreading of the market

Since it provides a broad space for the improvement of efficiency, why has the modified atmosphere fresh-keeping packaging not been applied on a large scale and a large scale?

Aaron Brody's point of view is that the fundamental problem is still from consumer misreading. Aaron Brody said this type of unreasonable perception is caused by consumers who believe that the products of the meat industry are unsustainable, and at the same time, there are many unfavorable long-term development of the livestock slaughtering, processing and distribution industry. Requirement: "Consumers generally believe that you are wasting the earth's resources by not consuming too much meat." The problem may be that many consumers mistakenly believe that they are living in the countryside Population counts and complex modern urban economies turn a blind eye.

Aaron Brody said: "Most consumers hold this view - in the supermarket retail store, the meat we want to buy must be freshly cut. In fact, in the face of such a view, it is relatively extreme. We strongly hope that consumers can see the production link and chain of meat processing with their own eyes, so that they can have a deeper recognition of the value of this industry chain. Only in this way can consumers have a more Intuitive understanding, such as what helps the product ensure freshness, what contributes to the nutritional value of the product, what is sustainable development, what kind of development is more friendly to the earth? If the concept of organic is implanted into the product , then we must also know what kind of consumer group will have the willingness to purchase.”

When meat reaches retail, the temperature control system, which is regarded as one of the pillars of meat modified atmosphere packaging, usually collapses, and at the same time Aaron Brody believes: "Retail stores are generally reluctant to accept prepackaged fresh meat products. .” In the field of meat segmentation, an obvious change is that consumers are more and more inclined to buy fresh meat that is cut on the spot in the workshop of retail stores, while few consumers accept modified atmosphere fresh-keeping packaging.

Aaron Brody said: "We have been working for 60 years to change this situation, but the progress has been very limited. Currently in the US market, about 50% of ground beef products are prepackaged, and 50% is still sold in the form of primary processing. So, why has this phenomenon continued for 60 years? There are multiple reasons in the field of technology, nutritional science, quality control testing and economics. In the real-time cutting Only 20% of our meat is currently prepackaged, even though we've been working on it for 60 years. We've been arguing about it for 40, 50 years. Currently, retailers are starting to pay attention to gas The shelf life of fresh meat products is adjusted, and the shelf life of meat products from retailers such as Walmart and Target are set very short.

And this is actually a waste of meat, and there is no effective solution to such problems. Aaron Brody said: "So, why can't we sell 100 percent prepackaged meat in the supermarket? The problem behind this is that the logistics of the retail link does not achieve effective and accurate temperature control. Other than the United States In the market, I have seen commercial solutions to this type of problem. This approach is achieved through a large and multi-layered operation, and it is confirmed that the control of the temperature of the transfer link does help to promote the gas Adjust the fresh-keeping packaging.”

In fact, complete and complete temperature control is achievable from the time the livestock is slaughtered, the meat is collected and cut, until the meat is enjoyed by the consumer.

Aaron Brody said: "With perfect temperature control, meat can have a longer shelf life, and businesses and consumers can avoid meat waste. The cost of this technology is relatively expensive. But the fact On the other hand, the cost of meat lost in the process of meat segmentation, slitting and grinding in the operation workshop is more expensive, and the waste in these links is very amazing. We have the ability to extend the shelf life of products, improve Product quality. The application of modified atmosphere fresh-keeping packaging in retail will be very considerable, which is also the work that pre-packaged meat production enterprises are doing, but the current share of pre-packaged meat is still very small. Some consumption When people discover more complex and complete modified atmosphere packaging systems outside the US market, they often come to me and ask me, why do we not produce similar packaging? The reason behind this question is actually that retail sales such as supermarkets and stores In order to respect traditional consumption habits and ensure product sales, we adopted a very conservative attitude towards the promotion of modified atmosphere fresh-keeping packaging.”

Contributions and Circumstances of Modified Atmosphere Packaging for Meat 1: In 1950, Aaron Brody cooperated with Dick Perdue to develop modified atmosphere packaging. This innovative technology has successfully helped the meat industry avoid millions of dollars in waste and losses, and provided consumers with fresh, nutritious meat at a cost advantage unmatched by other technologies.

Contribution and situation of modified atmosphere packaging for meat products 2: Meat production enterprises carry out operations such as meat segmentation, slitting, and grinding in the operation workshop, and the application of modified atmosphere packaging machines.

Contribution and Situation of Modified Atmosphere Packaging for Meat 3: Why can't we sell 100% prepackaged meat in supermarkets? The problem behind this is that the logistics and transportation links in the retail link cannot achieve effective and accurate temperature control

Contribution and Situation 4 of Modified Atmosphere Packaging for Meat: Through precise control of the gas inside the package, the freshness of the product can be extended very well