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

Martínez-Martínez, Enrique; Quiroz, Reynaldo de la Cruz; Garza, Daniela González-de la; García-Cortés, Andrés; Villanueva, Gerardo Fernandez; Fagotti, Fabian; Torres, J. Antonio

doi:10.1080/19476337.2022.2159538

Cited by 4 publications

(6 citation statements)

References 43 publications

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“…Average and maximum temperatures are those reported by Martínez‐Martínez, de la Cruz‐Quiroz et al. (2023).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 55%

“…The temperature profiles here reported for chicken breast stored in a closed drawer with independent temperature control were compared with those previously obtained for cooked ham stored in the open bottom shelf of the same refrigerator (Martínez‐Martínez et al., 2021; Martínez‐Martínez, de la Cruz‐Quiroz, et al., 2023). The independent temperature control of the closed drawer kept chicken samples at least 2°C lower than for cooked ham regardless of the test condition (Figure 2).…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 92%

“…Refrigerator settings driven by energy‐saving efforts by consumers explain the high average and maximum temperatures reported by Martínez‐Martínez, de la Cruz‐Quiroz et al. (2023) (Figure 1).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 87%

“…This was made by calculating the percentage of temperatures over the recommended value T rec for refrigerated handling of raw chicken breast reported in this study, and for cooked ham stored in the bottom shelf of the refrigerator previously studied by Martínez‐Martínez, de la Cruz‐Quiroz et al. (2023). The data used from this previous study corresponded to the “fixed” group, that is, samples that were not temporally exposed to ambient temperature to simulate consumer use during meals.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…In previous studies, the cumulative growth (

\Delta {\mathrm{log}}{N}_{{t}_{test}}

Equation 3) was defined as an absolute preservation indicator “ API T ( t ) ,” while the ratio of this value at the observed sample temperatures over the value assuming a constant temperature equal to the recommended value for the refrigerated storage ( T rec ) of the refrigerated product under study was defined as an RPI (Martínez‐Martínez, de la Cruz‐Quiroz, et al., 2023). RPI values were estimated using the replicated time‐temperature data for Days 2–3 and 4–5 following two approaches: (a) Deterministic calculations using the mean values for b and T min to estimate µ max at the average temperature during each time interval for each of the three chicken breast samples and two 48 h temperature repetitions ( n = 6); (b) probabilistic calculations ( n = 1000) using the dispersion of the parameter b and T min (same set for each of the 1000 iterations) and a random temperature value based on a normal distribution with the mean and standard deviation calculated from the temperature of chicken breast samples at each measurement time for the two 48 h time‐temperature repetitions ( n = 6).…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Ambient temperature, refrigerator food load, and door openings effect on a preservation performance indicator based on chicken temperature data and predictive microbiology

Martínez-Martínez

Quiroz

Fagotti³

et al. 2023

Journal of Food Science

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Home preservation depends on the food matrix, refrigerator design/technology, consumer actions, and ambient temperature. Storing different food matrices in product‐relevant refrigerator locations generating different temperature histories can be used to develop an indicator of how refrigerator technology, consumer habits, and environment conditions impact the refrigerator food preservation performance. In this study, poultry, particularly prone to spoilage reflecting its pH, nutrient availability, and high aw, was used to evaluate refrigerator preservation performance as affected by compressor technology (single [SS] and variable speed [VS]), ambient temperature (21.1°C [LT] and 32.2°C [HT]), and refrigerator load (22.5 kg [RL] and 39 kg [HL]). Time‐temperature values collected for chicken breast stored in a drawer independently controlled at 0°C in a refrigerator set 5°C, and a Pseudomonas predictive microbiology model, were used to estimate a normalized refrigerator performance indicator (RPI). Values <1, ∼1, and >1 described excellent, good, or poor performance, respectively. A first analysis revealed that up to 54% of chicken breast temperatures were above its recommended refrigerated storage value. When ignoring variability sources, SS technology yielded RPI values ranging 0.61–0.70, whereas the more energy efficient VS compressor yielded values ranging 0.86–1.14. The higher and wider VS RPI range reflects a compressor control logic optimized for energy efficiency compliance while disregarding effects on food preservation. When considering the variability of model parameters and temperature measurements through one‐sided 95% confidence intervals yielded RPI reaching 1.16. Although the independently controlled drawer preservation performance was near optimal, it can improve by considering energy use and preservation impact when optimizing the compressor speed control protocol.Practical ApplicationWorldwide poultry meat consumption has reached 15 kg per person. Refrigeration is widely used for its safety and quality preservation. Efficiency regulations decreased the energy use of residential refrigerators by nearly tenfold even though their size increased by 50% in the last half century. In this study, we provide quantitative evidence that their preservation performance must be improved. This is particularly true for upper end units typically equipped with quieter and more energy‐efficient variable speed compressors. The same methodology can be used to evaluate the preservation performance of the storage units, trucks, and display cases used for refrigerated products.

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“…Average and maximum temperatures are those reported by Martínez‐Martínez, de la Cruz‐Quiroz et al. (2023).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 55%

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 92%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 87%

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…In previous studies, the cumulative growth (