JPH0343379A - Container for transportation and preservation of meat - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To obtain a container for meat transportation and preservation which is particularly excellent in maintaining the freshness of meat by a method wherein the container is composed of a high-nitrile resin, and a gas mixture containing oxygen and carbon dioxide as essential components is filled in vacant space. CONSTITUTION:Meat is packed in a container composed of high-nitrile resin, and a gas mixture containing oxygen and carbon dioxide as essential components is charged in the container, which allows the meat to be preserved for a long time period. 10-30vol.% carbon dioxide gas is adequate for that purpose. High-nitrile resin is defined as a copolymer mainly composed of unsaturated nitrile monomer such as acrylonitrile or metacylonitrile, etc., and containing more than 50wt.% unsaturated nitrile monomer. The content of unsaturated nitrile monomer less than 50wt.% may result in a decrease in the preservation period due to a lack of the gas tightness.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION [Field of Industrial Application] The present invention relates to a container for transporting and storing meat, and more particularly to a reusable container for transporting and storing meat that has excellent freshness retention.

[Conventional technology]

After raw meat such as beef, pork, and chicken is butchered, it is usually cured for a while, and then it is sold in various shapes and quantities.

In recent years, most retailers, particularly department stores and supermarkets, cut products into shapes that are easy for consumers to use in a processing box before transporting them and supplying them to consumers. Raw meat is frozen and preserved from the time it is slaughtered to the time it is delivered to consumers. However, the quality of processed small portions tends to deteriorate if the freezing time is prolonged, so it is best to store them under refrigerated conditions or in containers. It was wanted.

[Problem that the invention seeks to solve]

An object of the present invention is to provide a container for transportation and storage that is excellent in preserving the freshness of meat.

[Means for Solving the Problem] As a result of intensive studies to solve the problem, the present inventors have developed a container made of a specific resin and a space filled with a gas of a specific composition. The inventors discovered that it is possible to preserve meat freshly even under refrigerated conditions for long periods of time if the meat is stored, and the present invention has been completed.

That is, the present invention is characterized in that the container is made of a high nitrile resin containing 50% by weight or more of unsaturated nitrile units as a constituent component, and the space is filled with a mixed gas containing oxygen and carbon dioxide as essential components. This is a reusable container for transporting and storing meat.

The high nitrile resin used in the present invention is a copolymer mainly composed of unsaturated nitrile monomers such as acrylonitrile and methacrylonitrile, and has an unsaturated nitrile monomer content of 50% by weight or more. be.

Examples of monomers that can be copolymerized include styrene, butadiene, isoprene, methyl acrylate, ethyl acrylate, methyl methacrylate, and ethyl methacrylate, which can be used alone or in combination of two or more to form unsaturated nitrile monomers. Copolymerize with the body.

Further, this copolymerization may be carried out in the presence of a rubbery polymer such as butadiene-acrylonitrile copolymer, isoprene-acrylonitrile copolymer, butadiene-styrene copolymer, polybutadiene, polyisoprene, etc. , is preferable because it improves low-temperature impact properties, etc.
In particular, a high nitrile resin obtained by copolymerizing acrylonitrile and a monomer copolymerizable with the acrylonitrile in the presence of a conjugated diene synthetic rubber has good processability and good storage suitability. It is preferable because there is.

It should be noted that if the unsaturated nitrile monomer content is less than 50% by weight, the gas-tightness will be insufficient and the preservation period will be shortened, which is not preferable.

The container used in the present invention is manufactured from the above-mentioned high nitrile resin by a known molding method, for example, by air pressure molding a thick plate obtained by extrusion molding.

The thickness of the wall of the container used in the present invention varies depending on the content, required strength, etc., but normally 0.5 to 10 m is appropriate; if it is less than 0.5 m, the rigidity of the container tends to be insufficient; There is no problem in going beyond the cabinet, but it is not desirable because it increases the cost.

The lid of the container used in the present invention may be a single layer film made of the above-mentioned high nitrile resin, polypropylene, polyethylene, vinyl chloride, vinylidene chloride, polyester,
A multilayer film such as a nylon film laminated with the aforementioned single layer film, or a multilayer film laminated with a metal foil or a metal vapor deposited layer and polypropylene, polyethylene, etc. can be used.

Furthermore, it is easy to attach the top film to the container side! By providing the M delamination layer, only the top film can be easily peeled off after the container is used, and the top film does not remain on the container side, which is preferable because the step of removing the remaining film can be omitted. The top film is sealed to the container body by a conventional heat sealing method, impulse sealing method, or the like. The film can also be printed as needed to increase its commercial value.

In the present invention, meat can be stored for a long period of time by packing meat into a container made of high nitrile resin and filling the space with a mixed gas containing oxygen and carbon dioxide as essential components. The appropriate amount of carbon dioxide in the mixed gas is 10 to 30% by volume; too much carbon dioxide is undesirable because it tends to produce a sour taste.

In addition, it is desirable to pack the meat into a container, fill it with gas, and bond it together at a low temperature. Also, it is preferable to store and transport the package of the present invention at as low a temperature as possible.
A temperature of 5°C to +5°C is suitable.

This container can be reused by replacing the top film, and can be stored fresh for long periods of time even under refrigerated conditions, so conventional freezing storage and the use of preservatives are no longer necessary.

〔Example〕

The present invention will be explained below with reference to Examples.

Example 1 Butadiene-acrylonitrile rubbery copolymer (butadiene content 70% by weight) 10! A high nitrile material with an acrylonitrile content of 70% by weight (according to nitrogen analysis) obtained by emulsion polymerization of a mixture of 75 parts by weight of acrylonitrile and 25 parts by weight of methyl methacrylate in the presence of 5 parts by weight was extruded to a thickness of 3 m. I got one seat. This sheet was vacuum formed to produce a container with a depth of 5 cm. Fill this container with 10 pieces of 100g raw beef for steak, replace the space with a mixed gas of 80% oxygen and 20% carbon dioxide, and heat-seal the top film with a thickness of 40 μm separately manufactured from this high nitrile resin to seal it. The package was stored at 5°C, and the package was opened every predetermined number of days to check for discoloration and decomposition. The results are shown in Table 1.

Example 2 A mixture of 80 ffi parts of acrylonitrile, 115 parts of methyl methacrylate and 5 parts of styrene in the presence of 10 parts by weight of butadiene-acrylonitrile rubbery copolymer (butadiene content 80% by weight) as high nitrile resin The product was packaged in the same manner as in Example 1, except that a high nitrile resin with an acrylonitrile content of about 80% by weight (according to nitrogen analysis) obtained by emulsion polymerization was used, and its storage stability was examined. The results are shown in Table 1.

Comparative Example 1 The product was packaged in the same manner as in Example 1, except that an ordinary polyethylene box-shaped container and a cling film were used as the container, and the storage stability was examined. The results are shown in Table 1.

Table O No discoloration, no rot Δ Slight discoloration × Major discoloration Example 3 Using the container body manufactured in Example 1, this container
Filled with 10 pieces of raw beef for g-steak, the space was filled with 80% oxygen.
The gas was replaced with a mixed gas containing 20% carbon dioxide, and a new top film was attached and sealed. This package was transported from Kobe to Tokyo in a refrigerated truck while being maintained at 5°C.

The package was sealed and examined for discoloration and decay, and no changes were found.

Next, the container used in this test was used again, and 10 paper bundles of about 100g each made to resemble raw beef for 100g steak were filled in, and the space was replaced with a mixed gas of 80% oxygen and 20% carbon dioxide. A top film was attached and sealed. This package was transported from Tokyo to Kobe by refrigerated truck. As a result of analyzing the gas in the space of the container using a gas chromatograph, the gas &1ltc was unchanged from the time of replacement.

Furthermore, the container was repeatedly transported back and forth between Kobe and Tokyo with the top film attached, and after a total of 100 trips, damage to the container and changes in the gas composition were examined, and the container was found to be slightly damaged. No other deformation was observed, and the gas composition did not change.

〔Effect of the invention〕

The meat container of the present invention has extremely good freshness preservation and reusability, so it does not require the addition of preservatives and can be stored refrigerated.Furthermore, since it can be reused, costs can be reduced. It has a great impact on distribution and sales.

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1) The container contains 50 unsaturated nitrile units as a constituent component.
A reusable container for transporting and storing meat, which is made of a high nitrile resin containing at least % by weight, and whose space is filled with a mixed gas containing oxygen and carbon dioxide as essential components. 2) The meat transportation and transportation method according to claim 1, wherein the high nitrile resin is obtained by copolymerizing acrylonitrile and a monomer copolymerizable with the acrylonitrile in the presence of a conjugated diene synthetic rubber. Storage container.