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Effect of temperature abuse on freeze-thaw characteristics and microbial quality of frozen army rations
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Jagadeesan Sankaran, Karthikeyan. Effect of temperature abuse on freeze-thaw characteristics and microbial quality of frozen army rations. Retrieved from https://doi.org/doi:10.7282/T3125QN6

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TitleEffect of temperature abuse on freeze-thaw characteristics and microbial quality of frozen army rations
NameJagadeesan Sankaran, Karthikeyan (author); Karwe, Mukund V (chair); Franke, William C (internal member); Rogers, Michael A (internal member); Rutgers University; Graduate School - New Brunswick
Date Created2013
Other Date2013-10 (degree)
SubjectFood Science, Operational rations (Military supplies)--United States, Frozen foods, United States. Army--Commissariat
Extentxiii, 94 p. : ill.
DescriptionFrozen army rations for the deployed US army units are manufactured in the US and shipped to army bases in various countries. The transportation usually takes 3 to 5 months and the frozen rations are stored at -18 °C in large containers. Under ideal conditions, the frozen food items are expected to have a frozen shelf-life of 9 months. In reality, the food items might get exposed to severe temperature abuse during transportation, which may lead to microbial spoilage and/or quality loss. The aim of this study was to predict the effect of external temperature fluctuations on the temperature distribution and the microbial quality of frozen army rations during storage and transportation. An army breakfast menu box containing five different food items, was selected for conducting this research. Commercial software COMSOL® Multiphysics was used to numerically predict the thermal behavior of the food items under varied external temperature conditions. Freeze-thaw properties of each food item were obtained using component data and Differential Scanning Calorimetry (DSC), which were then used in the numerical simulation of heat transfer with phase change. Apparent Specific Heat (ASH) method was used to account for the latent heat of a phase change during thawing and refreezing. The predictive model was validated in terms of variation of temperature with time at selected locations in a gel-based model food system and in a real food system. Microbial quality was used as the primary parameter that determined the shelf-life of food. ComBase database was used to identify the most prone microorganism and to obtain its growth kinetics. Microbial kinetics data was incorporated in the numerical simulation program to predict the microbial quality of army rations during two temperature abuse scenarios: (i) constant high external temperature exposure and (ii) freezer breakdown. Numerical predictions suggested that the food items which was exposed to surrounding constant temperatures of (20, 25, 30, 35, and 40) °C, can be allowed to stay at those temperatures for a maximum time of (29, 20, 15, 12, and 9) h, respectively, and in the case of freezer failure, the food items can be allowed to stay in the broken freezer for a maximum time of 186 hours, to ensure food safety.
NoteM.S.
NoteIncludes bibliographical references
Noteby Karthikeyan Jagadeesan Sankaran
Genretheses, ETD graduate
Persistent URLhttps://doi.org/doi:10.7282/T3125QN6
Languageeng
CollectionGraduate School - New Brunswick Electronic Theses and Dissertations
Organization NameRutgers, The State University of New Jersey
RightsThe author owns the copyright to this work.
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