A constant increase in the percentage of CO2 and a simultaneous reduction in the O2 concentration were noted for the vacuum treatment (Fig. 1), an environment that enabled the development of anaerobic microorganisms. This behavior occurred likely due to the consumption of O2 by muscle respiration, which is higher in the first days following the slaughter and which decreases during the storage period and also due to microbial metabolism, which increases during storage
An increase in CO2 and a progressive decrease in O2 levels were also noted for the 75% O2 + 25% CO2 treatment (Fig. 2). A decrease in CO2 levels would be expected throughout the storage period due to the high solubility of this gas in refrigerated meat. However, the observed increase in the CO2 concentration can be explained by the reduction in the O2 concentration due to its consumption by the muscle respiration and due to the growing of aerobic bacteria in the meat producing CO2