La revue Viandes et produits carnés

Carbon monoxide (CO) for packaging of red meats?

Over the past few decades, modified atmosphere packaging (MAP) of red meats has been a promising area of research. MAP means modifying the gas composition in contact with the food either by replacing the air with a single gas or a mixture of gases (naturally present in the atmosphere: N2, O2, CO2, Argon). However, the use of carbon monoxide (CO) for meat packaging is not allowed in most countries due to the potential toxic effect and potential fraud of product freshness, while its use is controversial in some countries.
The purpose of this review is to collect the most recent research results on the use of CO in modified atmosphere packaging (MAP) of muscle foods. The advantages of CO and its industrial limits are presented and discussed.