Quality and Shelf-Life Stability of Pork Meat Fillets Packaged in Multilayer Polylactide Films

In the present study, the effectiveness of a multilayer film of polylactide (PLA), fully bio-based and compostable, was ascertained to develop a novel sustainable packaging solution for the preservation of fresh pork meat. To this end, the multilayer PLA films were first characterized in terms of their thermal characteristics, structure, mechanical performance, permeance to water and aroma vapors and oxygen, and optical properties and, for the first time, compared with two commercial high-barrier multilayer packaging films. Thereafter, the multilayers were thermosealed to package fillets of fresh pork meat and the physicochemical changes, lipid oxidation levels, and microbiological counts were monitored in the food samples during storage under refrigeration conditions. Results showed that the meat fillets packaged in PLA developed a redder color and showed certain indications of dehydration and oxidation, being more noticeably after 11 days of storage, due to the higher water vapor and oxygen permeance values of the biopolymer multilayer. However, the pH changes and bacterial growth in the cold-stored fresh pork meat samples were minimal and very similar in the three tested multilayer films, successfully accomplishing the requirements of the food quality and safety standards at the end of storage.