Researching and developing technologies for pork meat processing in order to extend shelf life, preserve nutritional values, health-enhancing benefits and allow scope for further processing and consumption of the meat and its products.

A short summary of the project, including a description of aims and major tasks to be completed. Anticipated results.

The main aim of the project is to develop much improved technologies of pork meat production with extended shelf life, preserved nutritional values, health-enhancing benefits and allowing scope for further processing and consumption of the meat and its products.

The most recent achievements of science and technology (cold plasma, ultrasound, rotating magnetic field, pulsating light beam and high hydrostatic pressure) which are utilised in the process of developing innovative and enhanced technologies and improved products, will be used in the planned research. The research will also be carried out on a synergistic effect of a few preservation techniques. This will be done with the use of natural plant and herb extracts in the process of preserving pork meat. It is planned that under laboratory conditions approximately 20 methods of preserving pork meat will be tested (including a dozen or so of the combined methods). Building on national and international scientific publications as well as the University of Rzeszów research outcomes, it is anticipated that improved technologies will be developed, which will overcome a number of obstacles from the process of preserving pork meat and its products.

In the choice of an optimal method or a group of methods and the approach for the application of the raw meat preservation technique, the following factors will be taken into account: preserving the most desirable nutritional, health-enhancing qualities and allowing scope for further processing and consumption of the meat. Organisational, technological and economical efficiency will also form the criteria to guide the ultimate choice. One of the chosen methods will be tested under industrial conditions, in the meat processing plant, Zakład Mięsny “Smak-Górno”. The process of testing the method in the meat processing plant conditions will undergo inspection and scientific analysis. The results obtained under industrial conditions will be compared with those from the laboratory. The proposal is to devise improved technologies for extending shelf life of raw meat by at least 3 days and by at least 7 days for the processed meat products (to include 7 products all together).

Moreover, process management of the whole activity of the plant will be established and implemented. An organisational method new to the plant will be devised, and in the field of marketing, elements of adjustments and improvements will be defined. All this will contribute to an efficient introduction of the innovative technologies and effective use of the refined products.

Main benefits of introducing single or all of the anticipated project outcomes to the beneficiary.

The meat processing plant Zakład Mięsny “Smak-Górno” is the main beneficiary of the project. It is anticipated that developing improved technologies will enable extending shef life of pork meat products by the minimum of 30% for the minimum of 7 chosen products. What is important, this will be done while preserving the nutritional and health-enhancing benefits as well as allowing for further processing or consumption of the given products. The most effective technology which will meet the organization and economic criteria set beforehand will be chosen by an operational group and tested under industrial conditions. The verification of the technologies developed in laboratory conditions and the achievement of positive outcomes from the pilot launch of these technologies under industrial conditions of the meat processing plant will form a strong motivation for introducing the methods in the plant in order to obtain competitiveness on the meat market. This might, in turn, create scope for launching the developed technologies nationally and increasing the competitiveness of the Polish products internationally, as well as on a national scale.

The anticipated outcomes of the project will benefit the recipients of the products, including their consumers. Developing the technologies which would achieve even a minimal extension of shelf life (i.e. approximately 30%) factors into a more effective storage and distribution management in economic units and for consumers. Extending shelf life of meat products will contribute to the reduction of waste in the food chain within the pork meat production. An additional outcome will be a more effective distribution system and what follows, savings on the usage of raw material and production costs, storage and distribution of ready products.

Developing and implementing an improved organisational method also forms part of the project plan. This means a more effective (than traditional) process management of all of the plant activities which, in the production process, utilise a number of complex technological methods with the use of modern technology. The approach to product marketing will also be improved and this will strengthen another planned research on the refined products among the groups of recipients and consumers. This also forms part of the bigger project. Actions to improve (and refine) organisational and marketing methods have been initiated due to the fact that it is observed in economic activities that there are considerable interrelations and transference of the issues relating to effective application of technology with organisational systems and effective use of innovative products with marketing strategies.

The subject of the operation refer to innovations that have not been tried in Poland before, because the final result of the project (extending period of freshness of pork meat and its products) will be achieved as the synergistic effect of a few meat preserving methods. Although some of those methods are known in Poland, they have been used in isolation from others. The research that forms vital part of the project will contribute to other national scientific, exploratory and developmental research studies aimed at developing improved and more effective methods and technologies of preserving pork meat.