ABSTRACT
Producers of chilled foods are usually careful about maintaining the temperature of their products during processing. Temperature abuse may occur at any point in the perishable food distribution chain and jeopardize the product. Temperature abuse will not only cause economic loss, but more importantly, there is a potential hazard of foodborne illness. Temperature is the most important environmental factor affecting the growth and survival of microbes, and thus the quality and safety of Modified atmosphere packaged (MAP) foods. The stability information of a food is often collected by evaluating the sensory acceptance at several time intervals and under several constant storage temperatures. In shelf life testing of MAP products, there are at least three quality parameters that need to be evaluated at various temperatures during the test period: microbial safety, microbial spoilage and overall organoleptic changes.
