Hydrogen Sulfide Production by Bacteria and Sulfmyoglobin Formation in Prepacked Chilled Beef

Abstract

Meat stored at 1 to 2 C under low oxygen tensions, either in gas-impermeable packs or in controlled atmospheres, occasionally exhibited an undesirable green exudate. The green pigment was identified spectrophotometrically as sulfmyoglobin. The conversion of myoglobin to sulfmyoglobin resulted from the production of H(2)S by bacteria tentatively identified as Pseudomonas mephitica. This organism produced H(2)S only when the oxygen tension was about 1% and the pH of the meat was 6.0 and above.