scholarly journals Training of SMEs for frozen food shelf life testing and novel smart packaging application for cold chain monitoring

2015 ◽  
Vol 4 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Theofania Tsironi ◽  
Marianna Giannoglou ◽  
Eleni Platakou ◽  
Petros Taoukis
Keyword(s):  
Shelf Life ◽  
Management System ◽  
Food Packaging ◽  
Food Product ◽  
Cold Chain ◽  
Accurate Information ◽  
Life Testing ◽  
Chain Management ◽  
Frozen Food ◽  
Selection Of

 Application of an optimized cold chain management system for frozen products can be assisted by monitoring with Time Temperature Integrators (TTI). TTI are smart labels that cumulatively show the product history in an easily measurable, time-temperature dependent change. In the IQ-Freshlabel European project enzymatic and photochromic TTI were developed and tested for frozen products. Further to the technical objectives, training activities were implemented to provide information and training to the staff of Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (SMEs) regarding the properties of the developed TTI and their utilization within food packaging, transport, storage and sale. In total, more than 276 European companies and consumers representing the frozen food industry, the packaging industry and food business operators were successfully trained. The objective of the present article is to describe a general methodology for frozen food shelf life testing and modelling, and the selection of appropriate TTI for specific foods. This document serves as a technical manual for SMEs, including a case study for frozen shrimp and application of enzymatic and photochromic TTI, aiming to build their capacities to understand and use TTI for frozen food products. The value of systematic modelling of the food quality kinetics as well as the response of the TTI in building an effective chill chain management system is also demonstrated. The TTI response study allows a reliable optimization and selection of TTI to be correlated to the target food product for which accurate information on temperature dependence is available.

scholarly journals Reducing food losses by intelligent food logistics

2014 ◽  
Vol 372 (2017) ◽  
pp. 20130302 ◽  
Author(s):  
Reiner Jedermann ◽  
Mike Nicometo ◽  
Ismail Uysal ◽  
Walter Lang
Keyword(s):  
Shelf Life ◽  
Food Product ◽  
Cold Chain ◽  
Volatile Components ◽  
World Population ◽  
Theme Issue ◽  
Chain Processes ◽  
Introductory Article ◽  
Study Results ◽  
Technical Solutions

The need to feed an ever-increasing world population makes it obligatory to reduce the millions of tons of avoidable perishable waste along the food supply chain. A considerable share of these losses is caused by non-optimal cold chain processes and management. This Theme Issue focuses on technologies, models and applications to monitor changes in the product shelf life, defined as the time remaining until the quality of a food product drops below an acceptance limit, and to plan successive chain processes and logistics accordingly to uncover and prevent invisible or latent losses in product quality, especially following the first-expired-first-out strategy for optimized matching between the remaining shelf life and the expected transport duration. This introductory article summarizes the key findings of this Theme Issue, which brings together research study results from around the world to promote intelligent food logistics. The articles include three case studies on the cold chain for berries, bananas and meat and an overview of different post-harvest treatments. Further contributions focus on the required technical solutions, such as the wireless sensor and communication system for remote quality supervision, gas sensors to detect ethylene as an indicator of unwanted ripening and volatile components to indicate mould infections. The final section of this introduction discusses how improvements in food quality can be targeted by strategic changes in the food chain.

Research progress of packaging indicating materials for real-time monitoring of food quality

2019 ◽  
Vol 9 (5) ◽  
pp. 377-396 ◽  
Author(s):  
Danfei Liu ◽  
Ling Yang ◽  
Mi Shang ◽  
Yunfei Zhong
Keyword(s):  
Supply Chain ◽  
Shelf Life ◽  
Real Time ◽  
Food Quality ◽  
Food Packaging ◽  
Cold Chain ◽  
Research Progress ◽  
Packaging Materials ◽  
Toxic Substances ◽  
Fresh Food

The rapid development of cold-chain transportation necessitates consumers to present high requirements on safety and freshness of fresh food in recent years. The quality and taste of fresh food can be monitored and controlled through the intelligent packaging technologies and new food packaging materials such as time-temperature indicators (TTIs), Radio Frequency Identification (RFID), biological composites and polymer nanocomposites. Based on different packaging materials, indicators and sensors are employed in food packaging for real-time detection of information about freshness, temperature, microbiological, and shelf life of products in the supply chain. Wide varieties of packaging materials are suitable for providing intelligent and smart properties for food packaging, such as oxygen scavenging capability, antimicrobial activity, and recording the thermal history. Due to the special properties of prepared materials, TTIs are used to point out the remaining shelf life of perishable products throughout the supply chain. Compared with others, they have the advantages of low cost, small size and convenient indication. Additionally, the TTIs can effectively solve food quality and safety problems caused by temperature fluctuation in supply chain. Since the irreversible color change of TTIs, the food safety situation would be shown intuitively. Currently, the TTIs were widely used in application of food packaging by providing safety information. However, the application is also accompanied with some deficiencies such as the accuracy of monitoring, migration of toxic substances, stability and expensive cost etc. This review will deeply discuss the preparation of various types of TTIs based on different package indicating materials with a particular emphasis on how to improve their accuracy and stability, control the migration of toxic substances and to develop new TTIs.

Dynamics Research of Time-Temperature Indicating System Based on Alkaline Lipase

2013 ◽  
Vol 469 ◽  
pp. 422-427 ◽  
Author(s):  
Dan Wu ◽  
Ju Zhong Pan ◽  
Jian Chu Chen ◽  
Xing Qian Ye ◽  
Dong Hong Liu
Keyword(s):  
Food Processing ◽  
Food Packaging ◽  
Reaction System ◽  
Food Product ◽  
Cold Chain ◽  
Temperature History ◽  
Alkaline Lipase ◽  
Arrhenius Behavior ◽  
Chemical Reaction System ◽  
Quality Status

Time-Temperature Indicator (TTI) is an intelligent or smart package. It is a simple device that can be attached to food packaging to indirectly reflect the full or partial temperature history and quality status of the food product. TTI is utilized widely throughout food processing and distribution of cold chain. An alkaline lipase TTI has been developed, which based on the reaction between alkaline lipase and glycerol tributyrate. Experiments under several isothermal conditions (1.3°C，6.1°C，10.9°C，15.5°C，20.6°C，25.4°C) were conducted and the Arrhenius parameters of the TTI were derived. The developed TTI chemical reaction system showed an Arrhenius behavior, the activation energy was 45.07±2.25 kJ/mol.

scholarly journals Effectiveness of Selected Cold Chain Management Practices to Extend Shelf Life of Mango Fruit

2021 ◽  
Vol 2021 ◽  
pp. 1-12
Author(s):  
Emmanuel M. Amwoka ◽  
Jane L. Ambuko ◽  
Hutchinson M. Jesang’ ◽  
Willis O. Owino
Keyword(s):  
Weight Loss ◽  
Shelf Life ◽  
Management Practices ◽  
Storage Period ◽  
Soluble Solids ◽  
Cold Chain ◽  
Fruit Pulp ◽  
Chain Management ◽  
Total Soluble Solids ◽  
Handling Practices

An on-farm study was conducted among smallholder mango farmers in Embu County of Kenya to demonstrate the effectiveness of simple harvest and postharvest handling practices to attain cold chain and extend mango shelf life. The recommended cold chain practices were compared with common farmers' practices. 'Apple', 'Ngowe', 'Kent', and 'Tommy Atkins' harvested at the mature green stage were used in the study. To demonstrate proper cold chain, fruits were harvested before 8 am, transported in crates lined with dampened newspapers, precooled in an evaporative charcoal cooler, and then transferred to a Coolbot™ cold room (10 ± 2°C). To demonstrate common farmers’ practices, fruits were harvested at noon, transported in open crates, and stored at ambient room conditions (25 ± 7°C, 55 ± 15%RH). The air and fruit pulp temperatures were monitored regularly using HUATO® data loggers. During the storage period, a random sample of 3 fruits (per variety) per treatment was taken after every 3 days to evaluate ripening related changes including physiological weight loss, colour, firmness, and total soluble solids. Proper cold chain practices resulted in low fruit pulp temperature (average 11°C) compared to 25°C for fruits handled using common practices by farmers leading to faster ripening as evidenced by lower peel/pulp colour and firmness, higher physiological weight loss, and higher total soluble solids. For example, flesh firmness of fruits under poor cold chain practices decreased from initial 36.6 N, 45.9 N, 66.5 N, and 46.8 N to 3.1 N, 2.4 N, 3.2 N, and 3.1 N for ‘Apple’, ‘Ngowe’, ‘Kent’, and ‘Tommy Atkins’ varieties, respectively, at the end of storage while that of fruits under proper cold chain practices reduced to 2.3 N, 1.5 N, 3.9 N, and 2.9 N, respectively, for the four varieties at the end of storage. Overall, proper cold chain management extended mango shelf life by 18 days. Application of simple harvest and handling practices coupled with simple storage technologies can attain and maintain the cold chain required to preserve quality and extend shelf life. This could increase the marketing and storage periods for later selling and processing, respectively, of mango fruits.

scholarly journals RFID based Mobile Cold Chain Management System for Warehousing

2012 ◽  
Vol 38 ◽  
pp. 964-969 ◽  
Author(s):  
G. Prakash ◽  
A. Pravin Renold ◽  
B. Venkatalakshmi
Keyword(s):  
Management System ◽  
Cold Chain ◽  
Chain Management

scholarly journals Low risk of SARS-CoV-2 transmission via fomite, even in cold-chain

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Julia S. Sobolik ◽  
Elizabeth T. Sajewski ◽  
Lee-Ann Jaykus ◽  
D. Kane Cooper ◽  
Ben A. Lopman ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Food Packaging ◽  
Real Life ◽  
Control Measures ◽  
Assessment Model ◽  
Quantitative Risk Assessment ◽  
Cold Chain ◽  
Frozen Food ◽  
Viral Shedding ◽  
Infection Control Measures ◽  
Reduced Risk

Background: Countries continue to debate the need for decontamination of cold-chain food packaging to reduce possible SARS-CoV-2 fomite transmission among workers. While laboratory-based studies demonstrate persistence of SARS-CoV-2 on surfaces, the likelihood of fomite-mediated transmission under real-life conditions is uncertain. Methods: Using a quantitative risk assessment model, we simulated in a frozen food packaging facility 1) SARS-CoV-2 fomite-mediated infection risks following worker exposure to contaminated plastic packaging; and 2) reductions in these risks attributed to masking, handwashing, and vaccination. Findings: In a representative facility with no specific interventions, SARS-CoV-2 infection risk to a susceptible worker from contact with contaminated packaging was 2.8 x 10-3 per 1h-period (95%CI: 6.9 x 10-6, 2.4 x 10-2). Implementation of standard infection control measures, handwashing and masks (9.4 x 10-6 risk per 1h-period, 95%CI: 2.3 x 10-8, 8.1 x 10-5), substantially reduced risk (99.7%). Vaccination of the susceptible worker (two doses Pfizer/Moderna, vaccine effectiveness: 86-99%) combined with handwashing and masking reduced risk to less than 1.0 x 10-6. Simulating increased infectiousness/transmissibility of new variants (2-, 10-fold viral shedding) among a fully vaccinated workforce, handwashing and masks continued to mitigate risk (2.0 x 10-6 -1.1 x 10-5 risk per 1h-period). Decontamination of packaging in addition to these interventions reduced infection risks to below the 1.0 x 10-6 risk threshold. Interpretation: Fomite-mediated SARS-CoV-2 infection risks were very low under cold-chain conditions. Handwashing and masking provide significant protection to workers, especially when paired with vaccination.

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