Abstract: The preservative effects on the different proportion ratios of the chitosan-starch formed edible films for the chilled meat were studied, whereas the thickness, watersolubility and transmittancy of the edible films were assayed. The optimum compositions of the edible films to preserve the chilled meat were established. The results showed that the higher the concentration,the better the preservative effect. The meat when packaged with 90% chitosan and 10% starch film shows good fresh red color, with the test results as: the total flora logarithmic 4.98, the drop loss 1.59%, a-value 17.86 and TVB-N 17.91 mg/100g.

Key words: chilled meat, preservation, chitosan, starch, shelf-life