Although ostrich meat is perceived as a red meat, the comparison
between ostrich and beef may lead to very different bacterial counts
because of differences between birds' and mammals' gastrointestinal
tracts and the early processes of meat preparation. The relatively high pH
of ostrichmeat creates an ideal environment for rapidmicrobial spoilage.
The quality and shelf-life of ostrich meat packaged by various gas
compositions of modified atmosphere were somewhat improved;
microbial growth in the meats was delayed due to high CO2 usage and
shelf-lifewas increased by 5–7 days. The longer the exposure to high CO2
concentration, the more effective the inhibition of microbial growth.
Additionally, high O2 concentrations promote the formation of
oxymyoglobin (OxyMb), but this may impact negatively on the
oxidative stability of muscle lipids and lead to the development of
undesirable flavours. The high CO2 contents prevented increased lipid
oxidation and increased acceptable shelf-life by more than 5 days.
Furthermore, the increase in O2 inside the package causes rapid loss of
redness of ostrich meat and thus the desired red-colour is not
obtained. The consumer may be adversely affected by this.