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Application of Time–Temperature Indicator/Integrator Based on the Maillard Reaction to Frozen Food Distribution

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Abstract

Quality deterioration of frozen foods that have been exposed to inadequate temperature control and temporary defrosting cannot be correctly determined by appearance and organoleptic properties alone. Hence, the applicability of a time temperature indicator/integrator (TTI) in the pseudo-visualization of quality deterioration was investigated in this study. The objective of this study was to determine the applicability of a Maillard reaction-based TTI as a monitoring tool for temperature history and quality deterioration of frozen foods during the distribution. The Maillard reaction-based TTI (mixing D-xylose, glycine, and dipotassium hydrogen phosphate aqueous solution) was used to investigate the nature of the responses under sub-zero temperatures. The TTI shows a long-term (~ 15 months) color response at freezing temperatures (ca. −24 °C) and flexibility of the response in the range of −24 to 20 °C, which are validated by the relationship between reaction temperature and reaction rate on an Arrhenius plot (R2 > 0.90). The response of the TTI under sub-zero temperatures, which normally takes a few months to longer than a year, can be predicted by extrapolating the relational expression between temperature and concentration determined from the color change behavior from chilled to 25 °C (R2 > 0.99). In experiments under multiple temperature abuse conditions between −18 °C and 10 °C, the color difference of the TTI increased from 0 to 64–67. The TTI response successfully corresponded to quality deterioration of frozen foods (shrimp and chicken): increases in total viable counts (≥ 7.0 log CFU/g) and total volatile basic nitrogen (≥ 20 mg%). This study demonstrates the usefulness of the Maillard reaction-based TTI as a temperature-monitoring method in the distribution of frozen foods.

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Data Availability

The datasets generated during and/or analyzed during the current study are available from the corresponding author on reasonable request.

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  1. Marin Tsujihashi and Saki Tanaka contributed equally to this work.

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  1. Graduate School of Agricultural Science, Hokkaido University, Kita-9, Nishi-9, Kita-ku, Sapporo, 060-8589, Japan

    Marin Tsujihashi, Saki Tanaka, Kento Koayama & Shigenobu Koseki

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  1. Marin Tsujihashi
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Tsujihashi, M., Tanaka, S., Koayama, K. et al. Application of Time–Temperature Indicator/Integrator Based on the Maillard Reaction to Frozen Food Distribution. Food Bioprocess Technol 15, 1343–1358 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11947-022-02821-4

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