Advances in Active Packaging and Cold Sterilization Technologies for Chilled Meat Preservation
MAO Yayan, ZHAO Xue, XU Xinglian
State Key Laboratory of Meat Quality Control and Cultured Meat Development, College of Food Science and Technology, Nanjing Agricultural University, Nanjing 210095, China
Abstract：Consumers’ diversified demands for high-quality and safe meat products have presented substantial challenges in chilled meat preservation. To enhance the quality and safety control of chilled meat and address the issue of its spoilage during processing, transportation, and storage, advanced preservation technologies such as active packaging and cold sterilization have been extensively researched and applied. Specifically, active packaging maintains meat quality by incorporating functional components into packaging materials, while cold sterilization technologies including pulsed electric fields, cold plasma, and ultraviolet irradiation effectively reduce microbial counts to extend product shelf life. This review summarizes the current development status and spoilage mechanism of chilled meat, with a focus on recent progress on active packaging and cold sterilization technologies in the meat preservation and future development directions, aiming to provide theoretical guidance for innovative breakthroughs in chilled meat preservation technologies and their application.
2026, Vol. 40 
