Journal of Food Processing & Technology

Abstract

Temperature Monitoring in the Transportation of Meat Products

Tomasz Jakubowski

This paper analyses air temperature changes inside a cooling chamber of a vehicle carrying meat products, depending on the monitoring system in terms of maintaining the cold chain. The research was carried out in the years 2014-2015 in Małopolska region. The object of the research was a food business whose main specialty is the purchase, slaughter of pigs and butchering pig carcasses, and then transport of the meat products. The research was focused on the product transportation as the critical process determining health safety of the foodstuffs being carried. Performance of the air temperature monitoring system was analysed during three rides inside cooling chambers of three vehicles. Air temperature monitoring inside the cargo hold was performed using certified, wireless and autonomous meters with data loggers at measuring steps of 60 s. Inside the cooling chambers of vehicles systems for monitoring temperature changes, based on thermocouple sensors (K and J type) and the Pt- 1000 thermistors, were installed. One of the monitoring systems was provided with 4 temperature sensors located in the cooling chamber (middle of chamber, air inlet and outlet from the evaporator and product temperature), and 4 bistable signals (opening the side and rear doors, defreezing and operation of the cooling unit). According to the results of the tests, in none of the experimental combinations analysed (taking into account the vehicle, route and monitoring system) the recorded temperatures were found to have caused interruption to the cold chain. A significant difference was found in the values of measured temperatures recorded by the monitoring system with the Pt-1000 thermistor, in relation to the monitoring systems based on K and J type thermocouples.