Hello,
I have a product that includes raw beef and cooked pepperoni.
It is frozen then slacked out in retail meat cases. After 3 or 4 days, The pepperoni loses its color and it turns the beef dark.
It is packed with an 80/20 oxygen/carbon mix in a MAP pack then frozen.
Is there something that can be done to prevent this?
Is there an ingredient in the pepperoni that would cause this?
Would a different gas mixture help?
Maybe a different pepperoni?
Thank you for your help
Assuming your pepperoni was manufuctured in the conventianal way, it will definately be carrying tones of mold as well as yeast. Mixing these with raw meat is like adding starter culture to a medium. The microorganisms in your pepperoni, especially mold will definately act on your meat causing discolouration. Fungi have been shown to actually grow in atmosphere where only oxygen is air. So i suppose they could grow in your food. Microbiological analysis of your mixture could tell more.