Appearance of retail beef cuts is a major influencer of consumer purchasing decisions. High oxygen modified atmosphere packaging (HiOx-MAP) is a tool that can be used to improve bright red color; however, prolonged storage in this type of packaging may lead to increased oxidation, discoloration, undesirable flavor and potential loss of tenderness.
Addition of calcium may be one way to increase tenderness because calcium activates calpain enzymes in the muscle that degrade structural proteins. Early experiments in this area used calcium chloride, which unfortunately led to meat discoloration. One alternative is the use of calcium lactate along with another antioxidant such as phosphate. The combination of calcium lactate plus sodium phosphate could potentially reduce the oxidative effects of HiOx-MAP and improve color stability while concurrently increasing tenderness.