The National Meat Association responded to a nutritionist about the dangers of meat

Nutritionist Marina Vaulina's statements about the dangers of vacuum-packed meat are not supported by statistics or research. This was reported to RBC by the deputy head of the National Meat Association Maxim Sinelnikov.

According to him, modern vacuum packaging, which excludes the contact of meat with air, on the contrary, ensures long-term storage and high-quality maturation without preservatives. Beef, which is classified as an elite type of meat, with proper long-term maturation (from five days to several months) only becomes more valuable, tastier and more tender. Due to this, the shelf life of chilled beef in vacuum packaging can reach 180 days without freezing, there are such examples in world practice, the expert points out.

The long shelf life of meat in vacuum packs is not associated with the use of preservatives, President of the Meat Union Mushegh Mamikonyan told RBC.

According to him, chemical preservatives are practically not used in the meat industry, and long periods of storage are ensured due to the vacuum environment, the processing of packaging from bacteria, due to the natural preservative - salt, and also due to heat treatment at moderate temperatures.

Deputy Director for Research at the Research Institute of the Meat Industry named after Gorbatova Anastasia Semenova also noted in a conversation with RBC that she had never met “harmful meat” in her life. According to her, statements about the dangers of vacuum-packed meat are “nonsense.” “In fact, according to the law, our meat cannot contain preservatives and additives, it cannot be processed with anything. The meat is vacuum-packed - especially since no one processes it. The packaging itself is a means of protection against microbiological spoilage. What's the point of putting any preservatives in there?" - she said.