You may have noticed that the prepackaged deli meats you purchase in the refrigerated section of the grocery store seem to last longer than the same meats purchased freshly sliced from the deli counter. You are puzzled because the meats are identical and you expect the products at the deli to be fresher. What is the primary reason the prepackaged meats last longer?A. The prepackaged meats are typically sprayed with bacteriophage to prevent the growth of Listeria monocytogenes, which typically causes spoilage.
B. The prepackaged meats are stored at a much colder temperature than the deli case.
C. The prepackaged meats are not handled by the deli workers.
D. The prepackaged meats have modified atmosphere packaging that has excluded oxygen gas, which would promote the growth of spoilage organisms.

D. The prepackaged meats have modified atmosphere packaging that has excluded oxygen gas, which would promote the growth of spoilage organisms.

Explanation:

Meat is an animal products that serves as a source of protein for humans. It is very important that meat is well preserved to prevent the consumption of spoilage microorganisms.

Meats are prepackaged for the following reasons.

a. To keep it fresh: Meat comes with a bright red colour due to the presence of myoglobin which is a protein in meat. This colour makes the meat attractive to consumers when they want to purchase it. When myoglobin is exposes to oxygen, it reacts with the atmospheric oxygen giving the meat a dullish brown colour. This makes the meat less attractive .

In other to preserve this fresh meat colour, meat prepackaged using modified atmospheric packaging for example vacuum packaging in which oxygen is absent. This preserves the colour of the meat and keeps it fresh.

2. Prevent the growth of spoilage microorganisms: Meat contains proteins and the proteins tend to be attacked by spoilage microorganisms, for examples bacteria such as Listeria monocytogenes. In order to prevent this, meat is prepackaged with modified atmospheric packaging thereby making it hard for spoilage microorganisms to grow.

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