Novel refrigerated preservation performance indicator based on predictive microbiology and product time-temperature data, an essential tool to reach zero food waste Academic Article in Scopus uri icon

abstract

  • This study evaluates the performance of residential refrigerators, the worst cold chain point. Cooked ham temperature was used to quantify their performance as affected by compressor technology (single speed, SS/variable speed, VS), ambient temperature (21.1°C, LT/32.2°C, HT), load (22.5 kg, RL/39.0 kg, HL), sample type (F = fixed, M = moved to emulate consumption during meals), and door openings emulating consumer practices. Cumulative growth for each 48 h test period (LAB API T(t)) was estimated deterministically and probabilistically, i.e. considering only means and including variability, respectively. API T(t) at the 5°C recommended for ham yielded 0.6157 log CFU/g. The ratio API T(t)/API 5°C defined a refrigerator performance indicator (RPI) with values above and below 1 indicating poor and superior performance, respectively. While deterministic RPI values ranged from 0.99 to 1.72 (SS/LT/RL/F and VS/HT/HL/M conditions, respectively), probabilistic 95% RPI percentiles exceeded 1 suggesting poor preservation performance of the residential refrigerator tested under realistic conditions. © 2023 The Author(s). Published with license by Taylor & Francis Group, LLC.

publication date

  • January 1, 2023