Abstract:

Remaining shelf-life prediction of frozen foods stored and transported at a certain temperature is extremely important for ensuring food quality and safety. In this study, change in total bacterial count of sliced frozen lamb stored at －25, －20, －15, 5, 15 or 25 ℃ were measured at regular intervals. Results showed total bacterial count of sliced frozen lamb was increased with prolonged storage time, and there was an increase in bacterial growth rate as storage temperature rose. A mathematical model describing the dynamic relationship between storage temperature and bacterial growth rate was developed, and the relationship between storage temperature and shelf-life of frozen lamb was deduced. Based on this, a model for remaining shelf-life prediction of frozen lamb was developed, which exhibited high reliability in validation experiments.

Key words: frozen lamb, storage temperature, remaining shelf life, growth rate of bacteria