Impact of ice pack arrangement on quality indicators of fresh meat: A delivery box model system

Fresh meat is susceptible to microbial contamination and biochemical changes, making temperature control during transportation crucial to ensure the safety and quality of meat. Ice packs are primarily used for cooling, and improving their efficiency can help delay food quality deterioration. This study aimed to investigate the effect of the arrangement of separated ice packs, divided into 1–6 units, on various quality indicators of fresh meat over 48 h under transport-simulated conditions. During storage, the temperature inside the delivery box, the heat transfer rate of fresh pork, and changes in various quality indicators were investigated. The results of the heat transfer rate calculation showed that ice packs placed on the sides were more effective in delaying the increase in meat temperature than those placed on the bottom. Moreover, the volatile compound profiles differed according to the positioning of ice packs. In particular, the characteristic changes in volatile compounds, such as 3-methylbutanal, 2,3-butanedione, 3-hydroxy-2-butanone, carbon disulfide, and butanoic acid, were delayed when the ice pack was placed on the side rather than at the bottom during pork storage. Color and thiobarbituric acid reactive substances (TBARS) values did not change significantly during storage. However, the pH and volatile basic nitrogen content varied owing to differences in microbial growth, which remained below 5 log colony forming unit/g in the meat with ice packs placed on more than three sides. Overall, this study demonstrates that the number and position of ice packs in delivery boxes can affect storage temperature and, thus, pork quality. • Temperature increases in packaged pork can be prevented by ice pack placement. • Several side-positioned ice packs are more effective in maintaining meat temperature. • Several side-positioned ice packs delay changes in volatile compounds. • Change in volatile compound profile is directly affected by meat temperature. • Pork physiochemical properties remain stable if temperature increase is prevented.