Fresh Poultry Displays In Grocery Store Meat Merchandisers

Health conscious consumers have been purchasing increasing amounts of poultry in recent years, raising awareness of food safety and harmful bacteria such as Salmonella, and demanding high quality meat. Poultry display lighting that emits UV raises surface temperatures of meat packages, providing an ideal environment for bacterial growth.

Promolux Safe Spectrum balanced full spectrum lamps and LEDs emit lower levels of heat and ultraviolet radiation than regular supermarket fluorescent lamps, thus reducing the rate of poultry decomposition.

However, different light sources affect the perceived color of the poultry because they have different spectral components, so the same chicken part can appears to be several different colors. For example, a panel described a chicken leg as pink or red when it was under an incandescent light, brown when under a fluorescent light, and brown to purple under a metal-halide light.

Since many studies have found that color is one of the fundamental factors consumers consider when purchasing chicken and turkey, it is vital that the poultry be displayed in lighting that does not hide its fresh appearance.