Cold chain management in meat storage, distribution and retail: A review

Abstract

Abstract. Meat is a perishable product with a short shelf life and therefore short selling times. Therefore, cold chain management in meat supply is of utmost importance for the maintenance of quality and safety of meat/meat products. Raw meat/meat products are likely to support the growth of pathogenic microorganisms and/or spoilage bacteria, and should be kept at temperatures that do not result in a risk to health. The cold chain should not be interrupted at all times along the meat distribution chain. The complexity of global meat supply chain, with frequently long distribution chains associated with transportation of the product within one country, from one to another country and from one to another continent, makes the solutions for the chilling and freezing regimes, as well as monitoring of time-temperature profiles, very important for the overall success in delivery of product which will be accepted by consumer for its freshness and safety levels. From recently, there are several available options for control and management of the cold chain, such as chilled and frozen storage combinations, superchilling, ionizing radiation, biopreservation, high hydrostatic pressure (HHP), active packaging, wireless sensors, supported with the software-based cold chain database (CCD).

Assessment of Hygienic Practices in Beef Cattle Slaughterhouses and Retail Shops in Bishoftu, Ethiopia: Implications for Public Health

“…The mean annual temperature of the study area is estimated at 20.2 °C (range: 10.9–29.5 °C) [ 45 ], which is the ideal temperature suitable for the growth of a wide range of spoilage and pathogenic organisms to potentially unsafe levels. Cold chain management in meat storage and supply is an exceedingly important requirement to ensure the quality and safety of meat and meat products [ 46 , 47 ].…”

Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza A(H5N1) Outbreaks in West Java Indonesia 2015–2016: Clinical Manifestation and Associated Risk Factors

“…Also vaccinated flocks can be affected by HPAI, indicating poor match between circulating virus and vaccine, or too low vaccination coverage. Further change of the Indonesian poultry production system to bigger farms able to invest in proper biosecurity and cold chain slaughter systems might improve the HPAI situation on the long term [41,42,43,44,45]. Until then, to reduce virus circulation and lower the risk of human exposure increasing vaccination coverage combined with outbreak detection in backyard production systems is required, in addition to reducing the rate of visitors in contact with poultry as demonstrated by this study.…”

Biological Hazards in the Pork Chain Continuum: Risk Mitigation Strategy

“…Fresh meat is highly perishable and has a short shelf-life, which means the time available for product distribution is also short (Nastasijevic et al, 2017). If fresh meat and meat products are not kept in adequate, controlled temperatures, they can be good environments for the growth of pathogenic and other bacteria.…”

“…Although the importance of monitoring the correct cold chain temperatures is well known, this segment in the integrated meat supply chain is still a challenge. From recently, several tools impacting the cold chain have become recognized: biopreservation, ionising radiation, high hydrostatic pressure, active packaging, and wireless sensors connected to database software (Nastasijevic et al, 2017).…”

“…To maintain food safety, it is important that the cold chain is interrupted after pig slaughter and processing, and throughout all stages of the processing/ distribution/retail chain (Nastasijevic et al, 2017). Meat and meat products must be distributed to retailers by vehicles dedicated for that purpose, and which must comply with the above conditions.…”