Mercier Samuel, Villeneuve Sebastien, Mondor Martin, Uysal Ismail
Dept. of Electrical Engineering, Univ. of South Florida, 4202 East Fowler Ave., Tampa, FL, 33620, U.S.A.
Saint-Hyacinthe Research and Development Centre, Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, 3600 Casavant Blvd. West, Saint-Hyacinthe, Quebec, Canada, J2S 8E3.
Compr Rev Food Sci Food Saf. 2017 Jul;16(4):647-667. doi: 10.1111/1541-4337.12269. Epub 2017 May 29.
The cold chain is responsible for the preservation and transportation of perishable foods in the proper temperature range to slow biological decay processes and deliver safe and high-quality foods to consumers. Studies show that the efficiency of the cold chain is often less than ideal, as temperature abuses above or below the optimal product-specific temperature range occur frequently, a situation that significantly increases food waste and endangers food safety. In this work, field studies on time-temperature conditions at each critical stage of the cold chain are reviewed to assess the current state of commercial cold chains. Precooling, ground operations during transportation, storage during display at retail and in domestic refrigerators, and commercial handling practices are identified and discussed as the major weaknesses in the modern cold chain. The improvement in efficiency achieved through the measurement, analysis, and management of time-temperature conditions is reviewed, along with the accompanying technical and practical challenges delaying the implementation of such methods. A combination of prospective experimental and modeling research on precooling uniformity, responsive food inventory management systems, and cold chains in developing countries is proposed for the improvement of the cold chain at the global scale.
冷链负责在适当的温度范围内保存和运输易腐食品，以减缓生物腐烂过程，并向消费者提供安全和高质量的食品。研究表明，冷链的效率往往不尽如人意，因为经常会出现高于或低于特定产品最佳温度范围的温度滥用情况，这种情况会显著增加食物浪费并危及食品安全。在这项工作中，对冷链每个关键阶段的时间-温度条件进行了实地研究，以评估商业冷链的现状。预冷、运输过程中的地面操作、零售展示和家用冰箱储存期间的情况，以及商业处理做法被确定并讨论为现代冷链的主要薄弱环节。回顾了通过时间-温度条件的测量、分析和管理所实现的效率提升，以及阻碍此类方法实施的相关技术和实际挑战。为了在全球范围内改善冷链，建议对预冷均匀性、响应式食品库存管理系统和发展中国家的冷链进行前瞻性实验和建模研究相结合。
