THE SPOILAGE MICROBIOTA IN BRAZILIAN VACUUM-PACKED BEEF USING METAGENOMIC AND METABOLOMIC APPROACH

In Brazil, beef production represents one of the main pillar of the national economy. This also make it the second largest producer of beef in the world. Actually, an increase of 3,7% is expected compared to 2021, which is equivalent to 9.85 million tons of meat. The great productive potential of Brazilian meat industry implies that one of its objectives is to guarantee the quality of fresh meat and avoid the economic losses resulting from the deterioration phenomenon. In this context, our research describes the conditions that lead to the deterioration phenomenon and a shortening shelf-life of vacuum-packed beef during the storage so that effective measures could be implemented. Fresh meat is a highly perishable food due to its high water and protein content. The microbial activity is the main cause of meat spoilage producing organoleptic changes in colour, odour and appearance making it unacceptable for consumption. Thus, the so-called specific spoilage organisms (SSO) are capable of growing at favourable environmental conditions of temperature, pH, packaging atmosphere, etc. leading the loss of meat quality attributes.