Influence of Thermal Oscillation on Quality of Frozen Foods Stored in Domestic Refrigerator

Abstract

Effect of fluctuation range and intervals of defrosting temperature on quality of frozen foods stored in a domestic refrigerator equipped with an automatic defrost system was evaluated. As defrost system was operated, temperatures of domestic refrigerators were elevated from , and fluctuation intervals were l6 hrs and 30 hrs, respectively. Quality deterioration such as protein denaturation, vitamin loss, exudate production and changes in appearance of frozen foods was minimized by reducing temperature oscillation during storage. Considerable effects of thermal oscillation on ice crystal sizes were observed for frozen beef tissue and ice cream. TTI (time temperature indicator) system also proved that the temperature control of defrost system in domestic refrigerator can improve the quality of foods during storage.