A simulated e-commerce cold chain for fresh cod (Gadus morhua L.) products: Applicability of selected TTIs and effects of pre-treatment and packaging

Abstract

The objective of this work was to study 1) the applicability of two selected time and temperature integrators (TTIs) and 2) the quality effects of different pre-treatments and packaging of fresh cod in a simulated e-commerce cold chain of 16 days. TTIs enables consumers to evaluate the product quality based on its time and temperature history. The first 6 days, the fish was either stored as gutted or gutted and filleted, representing “from business to business” (B2B), while the remaining days “from business to consumer” (B2C) value chain, the fish was packaged and stored at 4 °C in modified atmosphere (MA) or in air. One TTI recorded the temperature, and the other TTI was based on an enzymatic reaction. In B2B, the product core temperature was app. −0.5 °C. In the B2C, shelf life of 7–10 and 5–7 days for MA- and air-packaged products were obtained, respectively. Time for filleting, 1 or 6 days post-mortem for the MA products, did not influence the shelf life in the B2C. The TTI recording the temperature showed a good coherence with the reference temperature, while the reaction based TTI was inconsistent with the actual shelf life. To ensure consistency, the TTI could have been activated earlier. From a consumer's point of view, the information generated by the TTIs is beneficial to avoid the purchase of products of poor sensory quality.