Uncooked Meat Packaging Gas Control & Testing
- Advanced testing systems that preserve freshness, integrity, and visual appeal
- Precision seal integrity checks that help lower product loss and improve yield
- State-of-the-art gas blending technology for tailored and consistent MAP environments
- Ultra-precise flow control unit that optimises gas consumption.
Gas Control Equipment For Fresh Meat Packaging
Delivering innovative gas control systems and reliable active packaging technologies for fresh meat packaging. Our cutting-edge gas mixers, gas analysers, leak detection tools, burst testers, and gas flow optimiser enable producers to maintain accurate and consistent modified atmosphere packaging (MAP) conditions across diverse package types and meat products.
Additionally, we provide a comprehensive selection of oxygen and moisture absorbers designed to support optimal in-pack environments during distribution and storage.
Packaging Quality Assurance For Meat Manufacturers
Fresh meat products, including raw beef, pork, lamb, and poultry, are processed, packed, and shipped worldwide, often covering significant distances before reaching retailers and consumers.
Moisture-rich cuts, such as chicken thighs and mince, are vulnerable to fast bacterial growth and easily spoilt. Leaner or firmer cuts like steaks, chops, and trimmed beef joints last slightly longer but still face risks of oxidation, discolouration, and loss of texture.
Preserving visual appeal, taste, and safety during storage and transport is crucial to protecting the value of these perishable goods.
To achieve this, producers implement modified atmosphere packaging, which creates a tightly controlled internal environment by reducing oxygen levels, discouraging microbial activity, and managing moisture.
Precise packaging gas control is especially important for high-value or export-grade raw meats, such as vacuum-packed sirloin steak, where product quality and shelf life are more tightly regulated.
Gas Control In The Meat Industry
The gas composition used in meat packaging depends on the type of meat, its fat and moisture content, colour stability needs, and spoilage risk.
Oxygen plays a key role in fresh meat packaging, especially for red meats like beef and lamb. It preserves their bright red colour, which signals freshness.
Red meats are usually packaged in a modified atmosphere with high oxygen concentrations (70-80%) to support colour stability and 20-30% carbon dioxide to slow microbial growth.
On the other hand, vacuum-packed beef cuts exclude oxygen to prevent oxidation and delay rancidity.
Oxygen is also usually excluded from poultry and pork, which are more sensitive to spoilage. They are packaged with high carbon dioxide levels (60-70%) to reduce bacterial activity and 30-40% nitrogen to maintain pack shape.
Excessive carbon dioxide can cause off-flavours or package bloating, so its levels must be monitored closely.
Oxygen and moisture absorbers are widely used in raw meat packaging. Oxygen absorbers help extend shelf life in vacuum-packed cuts by reducing oxidation and bacterial growth, while moisture pads under the product absorb drip loss in tray-sealed packs to preserve freshness and visual appeal.
Before sealing, the gas mixture is introduced via flushing or vacuum/gas cycles to create an environment tailored to the meat’s spoilage risk, fat content, and durability requirements.
How EMCO Can Help
A leading global supplier of gas control systems, EMCO is trusted by meat producers of all sizes to preserve product quality, extend shelf life, and optimise operational performance.
We provide advanced desktop instruments for highly accurate gas analysis, leak detection, and burst testing, as well as precision gas mixers for MAP calibration and a gas flow optimiser to cut consumption and enhance efficiency.
Our active packaging range features dependable, cost-effective tools - including oxygen absorbers and moisture absorbers - developed to help maintain freshness and stability throughout the supply chain. Our pressurised water baths enable manufacturers to locate leaks easily.
Small-scale meat producers can rely on our handheld gas analysers for quick spot checks of oxygen and carbon dioxide levels in sealed packs. They can use our pressurised water bath to locate leaks.
Medium-scale meat manufacturers can benefit from our gas mixers, gas flow optimisers, desktop gas analysers, and water bath systems to ensure accurate gas composition, minimise gas waste, and verify packaging integrity through reliable leak detection.
Large-scale meat producers can also leverage our high-accuracy, semi-automated desktop systems to measure gas composition, identify leaks, and assess packaging durability. The data recorded by our next-generation equipment helps streamline production, enhance consistency, and minimise quality-related risks.
Our active packaging tools can benefit small, medium, and large meat producers by helping maintain the freshness and safety of products.
Why Choose EMCO’s Gas Control Equipment In The Meat Industry
- Advanced gas mixers and gas flow optimisers
- Accurate analysis of gas levels, seal performance, and packaging strength
- Ultra-sensitive leak detection down to 10 microns
- Fast, user-friendly, and secure testing procedures
- Pressurised water bath to identify leaks
- Built-in data logging for continuous packaging process improvement
- Backed by EMCO’s service level guarantee.
