Delicatessen Display Lighting
Ready to eat products such as cured or smoked meats and prepared foods
experience significant damage from light sources.
| An example of this is revealed in the work of the world-renowned
Fraunhofer Institute. |
"85% of retail displayed
luncheon meats had an internal temperature of 10 to 14° C." |
They have demonstrated that light causes the photo-oxidation of spices
and chemicals in prepared foods. The resulting off flavours and premature discoloration incur significant
financial losses in the retail food industry.
Increases in surface temperature as little as 2°F (equal to 150
Lux of light) can cause exponential increases in pathogenic microorganisms. When
these facts are considered, Safe Spectrum® is the ideal
lighting solution for deli displays.
Deli References
Influence of Retail Display
Temperature on Psychrotrophic Bacterial Growth and Beef Case-Life. G.
Gordon Greer and L.E. Jeremiah. Journal
of Food Protection, vol. 43, no. 7 (July 1980): 542-546.
| “Duitschaver et al. reported that 85% of retail
displayed luncheon meats had an internal temperature of 10 to 14° C.” |
The
Color of Meat and Poultry. Food Safety
and Inspection Service, United States Department of Agriculture.
“Q: What causes iridescent colors on meats?"
"When light hits a slice of meat,
it splits into colors like a rainbow. There are various pigments
in meat compounds that can give it an iridescent or greenish cast
when exposed to heat and processing. Wrapping the meat in airtight
packages and storing it away from light will help prevent this
situation."
"Q: What causes grayish or green color on cured meats?"
"Exposure
to light and oxygen causes oxidation to take place, which causes
the breaking down of color pigments formed during the curing process.
Chemicals in the cure and oxygen, as well as energy from ultraviolet
and visible light, contribute to both the chemical breakdown and
microbial spoilage of the product." |
Meat
Color. Jane Ann Boles and Ronald Pegg. Saskatchewan Food
Product Innovation Program: Product Development and Research for Meat
Processors.
“Iridescence is a common problem in sliced roast beef
and ham products. The dominant color is frequently green and consumers
sometimes confuse this with green myoglobin pigments associated
with microbial growth."
"The iridescence of meat products is produced
by a combination of the angle of incidence of the light on the
muscle fibres and the wetness of the surface. If the fibres are
pulled slightly out of alignment during slicing, the light strikes
the fibre at an angle scattering light which appears as the rainbow
or greenish color on the surface of the meat. Addition of phosphate
seems to exacerbate the problem by increasing the amount of water
that is retained by the product.” |
The Influence of Light of Different Wavelengths on Chlorophyll-Containing
Foods. M. Thron, K. Eichner, and G. Ziegleder. Lebensmittel-Wissenschaft
und Technologie, vol. 34, no. 8 (2001): 542-548.
"The oxidative deterioration of lipids, vitamins, proteins, and
natural pigments result in off-flavours, loss of flavour and nutrients,
and colour fading (Bekbolet, 1990; Thron, 2000)."
"Examples of widespread and effective photosensitisers are riboflavin,
which is primarily of importance in milk products, and chlorophyll
derivatives from components based on vegetable materials (Thron,
2000)." "The quanta absorbed by the absorption maximum of chlorophyll
at 650 nm are most effective to photooxidation." "When selecting packaging for chlorophyll-containing foods, the
two critical spectral ranges around 400 nm (yellow-green) and 650
nm (blue-green) need special consideration. Foods mainly irradiated
by fluorescent light need more protection in the lower wavelength
range and foods irradiated by natural daylight in the longer wavelength
range."
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