Abstract: Apparatus for storing pieces of fresh meat has a vessel with an open top for insertion or removal of meat and a cover which overlies the meat in the vessel and can be pushed downwardly by a jack so as to pressurize the pieces of meat and expel air by eliminating gaps between neighboring pieces of meat as well as between the pieces of meat and the internal surface of the vessel. Compression of meat results in expulsion of juices which rise and overlie the topmost layer of meat around the cover.

Abstract: An arrangement for storing or preserving perishables such as meat has a vessel with an open upper end. The vessel may be provided with a cooling system. The vessel has a projecting rim and a U-shaped carrier is placed on top of the vessel upside down so as to engage the rim. The carrier supports a plunger which may be moved up-and-down inside the vessel and may be clamped in any position. A jack is releasably mounted on the carrier and operates to move the plunger down in the vessel. Perishables such as slabs of meat are placed in the vessel to form a stack therein. Air spaces in the stack are minimized by placing the perishables in full surface-to-surface contact with one another and with the walls of the vessel. A cover is placed on the stack and the plunger is lowered onto the cover. The jack is operated to move the plunger downward and thereby pressurize the stack.