Changes in the Quality Attributes of Selected Long-Life Food at Four Different Temperatures over Prolonged Storage

Abstract

This study reports the development of selected indicators affecting changes in food quality and safety of selected long-life canned (Szeged goulash, canned chicken meat, pork pâté, canned tuna fish) and dehydrated (instant goulash soup) food during a two-year storage experiment at four different temperatures. The storage temperatures were selected to represent Arctic (−18 °C), temperate (5 °C), subtropical (25 °C) and tropical (40 °C) climatic zones where such food is likely to be stored during, for example, humanitarian and military missions. Microorganism amounts below the detection limit (p p ≥ 0.05), were monitored in canned samples. The contents of dry matter, fat and proteins did not change during storage, regardless of the storage temperature (p ≥ 0.05). During the 24-month storage, all food showed an increase in the level of ammonia (p p p p p p < 0.05). Moreover, with temperatures of −18 °C, the development of hardness, measured as the “decrease rate”, was significantly higher compared to the absolute values.

Keywords

• long-term storage
• food quality
• food safety
• long-life food
• temperature regimens