Quality Changes in Live <i>Ruditapes philippinarum</i> During “Last Mile” Cold Chain Breakage: Effect of Packaging

The reliability of the “last mile” of cold-chain logistics is crucial for food safety. This study investigated the effect of different packaging treatments on the quality of anhydrously preserved live <i>Ruditapes philippinarum</i> (<i>R. philippinarum)</i> in “last mile” col...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Yiming Huang, Xinrui Xie, Shoaib Younas, Caiyun Liu, Xin Wang
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: MDPI AG 2025-03-01
Series:Foods
Subjects:
Online Access:https://www.mdpi.com/2304-8158/14/6/1011
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
_version_ 1849341353641639936
author Yiming Huang
Xinrui Xie
Shoaib Younas
Caiyun Liu
Xin Wang
author_facet Yiming Huang
Xinrui Xie
Shoaib Younas
Caiyun Liu
Xin Wang
author_sort Yiming Huang
collection DOAJ
description The reliability of the “last mile” of cold-chain logistics is crucial for food safety. This study investigated the effect of different packaging treatments on the quality of anhydrously preserved live <i>Ruditapes philippinarum</i> (<i>R. philippinarum)</i> in “last mile” cold chain disruption. The temperature profiles of three packaging treatments at ambient temperature (25 °C) were monitored. Quality assessment was conducted based on sensory scoring, survival rate, total viable count (TVC), water-holding capacity (WHC), pH, total volatile basic nitrogen (TVB-N), thiobarbituric acid-reactive substances (TBA), color, and texture. Low-frequency nuclear magnetic resonance (LF-NMR) and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) were utilized to characterize the water state profile. The findings demonstrated a progressive increase in internal package temperature throughout the “last mile”, with packages containing additional ice packs more effectively maintaining lower temperature and restricting the migration of “hot spots” towards the center. Specifically, the package with three ice packs maintained a markedly lower temperature, which effectively inhibited microbial activity, lipid oxidation, and the production of alkaline substances, resulting in higher survival rates, water-holding capacity, texture, sensory acceptability, and immobilized water fraction. Furthermore, LF-NMR relaxation parameters showed strong correlations with various physicochemical indices, suggesting a potential approach for real-time quality monitoring. This study provides insights for maintaining live <i>R. philippinarum</i> quality during the “last mile”.
format Article
id doaj-art-4d4f8d8a07434f279bf703c4e96cdbea
institution Kabale University
issn 2304-8158
language English
publishDate 2025-03-01
publisher MDPI AG
record_format Article
series Foods
spelling doaj-art-4d4f8d8a07434f279bf703c4e96cdbea2025-08-20T03:43:39ZengMDPI AGFoods2304-81582025-03-01146101110.3390/foods14061011Quality Changes in Live <i>Ruditapes philippinarum</i> During “Last Mile” Cold Chain Breakage: Effect of PackagingYiming Huang0Xinrui Xie1Shoaib Younas2Caiyun Liu3Xin Wang4School of Health Science and Engineering, University of Shanghai for Science and Technology, Shanghai 200093, ChinaSchool of Health Science and Engineering, University of Shanghai for Science and Technology, Shanghai 200093, ChinaSchool of Health Science and Engineering, University of Shanghai for Science and Technology, Shanghai 200093, ChinaSchool of Health Science and Engineering, University of Shanghai for Science and Technology, Shanghai 200093, ChinaSchool of Health Science and Engineering, University of Shanghai for Science and Technology, Shanghai 200093, ChinaThe reliability of the “last mile” of cold-chain logistics is crucial for food safety. This study investigated the effect of different packaging treatments on the quality of anhydrously preserved live <i>Ruditapes philippinarum</i> (<i>R. philippinarum)</i> in “last mile” cold chain disruption. The temperature profiles of three packaging treatments at ambient temperature (25 °C) were monitored. Quality assessment was conducted based on sensory scoring, survival rate, total viable count (TVC), water-holding capacity (WHC), pH, total volatile basic nitrogen (TVB-N), thiobarbituric acid-reactive substances (TBA), color, and texture. Low-frequency nuclear magnetic resonance (LF-NMR) and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) were utilized to characterize the water state profile. The findings demonstrated a progressive increase in internal package temperature throughout the “last mile”, with packages containing additional ice packs more effectively maintaining lower temperature and restricting the migration of “hot spots” towards the center. Specifically, the package with three ice packs maintained a markedly lower temperature, which effectively inhibited microbial activity, lipid oxidation, and the production of alkaline substances, resulting in higher survival rates, water-holding capacity, texture, sensory acceptability, and immobilized water fraction. Furthermore, LF-NMR relaxation parameters showed strong correlations with various physicochemical indices, suggesting a potential approach for real-time quality monitoring. This study provides insights for maintaining live <i>R. philippinarum</i> quality during the “last mile”.https://www.mdpi.com/2304-8158/14/6/1011<i>R. philippinarum</i>cold chain breakagelast-mile deliverypackaging treatmentsquality changes
spellingShingle Yiming Huang
Xinrui Xie
Shoaib Younas
Caiyun Liu
Xin Wang
Quality Changes in Live <i>Ruditapes philippinarum</i> During “Last Mile” Cold Chain Breakage: Effect of Packaging
Foods
<i>R. philippinarum</i>
cold chain breakage
last-mile delivery
packaging treatments
quality changes
title Quality Changes in Live <i>Ruditapes philippinarum</i> During “Last Mile” Cold Chain Breakage: Effect of Packaging
title_full Quality Changes in Live <i>Ruditapes philippinarum</i> During “Last Mile” Cold Chain Breakage: Effect of Packaging
title_fullStr Quality Changes in Live <i>Ruditapes philippinarum</i> During “Last Mile” Cold Chain Breakage: Effect of Packaging
title_full_unstemmed Quality Changes in Live <i>Ruditapes philippinarum</i> During “Last Mile” Cold Chain Breakage: Effect of Packaging
title_short Quality Changes in Live <i>Ruditapes philippinarum</i> During “Last Mile” Cold Chain Breakage: Effect of Packaging
title_sort quality changes in live i ruditapes philippinarum i during last mile cold chain breakage effect of packaging
topic <i>R. philippinarum</i>
cold chain breakage
last-mile delivery
packaging treatments
quality changes
url https://www.mdpi.com/2304-8158/14/6/1011
work_keys_str_mv AT yiminghuang qualitychangesinliveiruditapesphilippinarumiduringlastmilecoldchainbreakageeffectofpackaging
AT xinruixie qualitychangesinliveiruditapesphilippinarumiduringlastmilecoldchainbreakageeffectofpackaging
AT shoaibyounas qualitychangesinliveiruditapesphilippinarumiduringlastmilecoldchainbreakageeffectofpackaging
AT caiyunliu qualitychangesinliveiruditapesphilippinarumiduringlastmilecoldchainbreakageeffectofpackaging
AT xinwang qualitychangesinliveiruditapesphilippinarumiduringlastmilecoldchainbreakageeffectofpackaging