Shelf life of cod necks in air and sea transport. In March 2010, a shelf life test was carried out, which aimed, among other things, to compare the shelf life of pre-cooled, fresh cod necks in air and sea transport from Iceland to mainland Europe.
The experiment was carried out under the auspices of the European project Chill on (http://www.chill-on.com) and the Icelandic research project Hermun kæliferla, which is supported by the AVS Fisheries Research Fund, the Rannís Technology Development Fund and the University of Iceland Research Fund, see more here: http://www.matis.is/verkefni/nr/2801.
The available results of the temperature mapping of the cooling chain were taken into account when heating processes for air and sea transport were designed in the preparation of the experiment. The temperature-controlled cold rooms of Matís and the University of Iceland came in handy as so often before in such experiments. After moving from a producer in northern Iceland to Matís in Reykjavík, the flying fish experienced two relatively mild temperature fluctuations (about 9 ° C for 9 hours and about 13 ° C for 4 hours a few hours later) and we took a few days of storage at 1 °. C. The container fish, on the other hand, was stored at -1 ° C, which is a realistic possibility for container transport by ship, from arrival at Matís in Reykjavík. It is worth noting that the heat load in air transport can be significantly higher than the aforementioned air temperature curve states according to Art. Matís measurements.
Temperature measurements, sensory evaluation, chemical and microbial measurements were used to compare the two modes of transport.
Simulation of air and sea transport (temperature fluctuations and constant temperature) revealed that for well-cooled cod necks can be expected four days longer freshness period and about five days longer shelf life in well-controlled sea transport based on a typical air travel history. As sea transport from Iceland often takes about four to five days longer than air transport (depending on the day of the week and the location of the processing), this shows that sea transport is a realistic possibility for Icelandic fresh fish producers. However, this is based on the fact that the temperature control in containers is as good as it gets. Comparison of temperature control in different container types is precisely one of the subjects of the project Simulation of cooling processes.
The report can be accessed here: http://www.matis.is/media/matis/utgafa/29-10-Effect-of-improved-design-of-wholesale.pdf and provided by Björn Margeirsson (bjornm@matis.is) Further information.