Evaluation of a Calcium Carbonate-Based Container for Transportation and Storage of Fresh Fish as a Sustainable Alternative to Polystyrene Boxes

Evgenia Basdeki, Eleni Mpenetou, Polyxeni Papazoglou, Dimitrios Ladakis, Emmanouil Flemetakis, Apostolos Koutinas and Theofania Tsironi ()
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Evgenia Basdeki: Laboratory of Food Process Engineering, Department of Food Science and Human Nutrition, Agricultural University of Athens, Iera Odos 75, Votanikos, 118 55 Athens, Greece
Eleni Mpenetou: Laboratory of Food Process Engineering, Department of Food Science and Human Nutrition, Agricultural University of Athens, Iera Odos 75, Votanikos, 118 55 Athens, Greece
Polyxeni Papazoglou: Laboratory of Molecular Biology, Department of Biotechnology, Agricultural University of Athens, Iera Odos 75, 11 855 Athens, Greece
Dimitrios Ladakis: Laboratory of Food Process Engineering, Department of Food Science and Human Nutrition, Agricultural University of Athens, Iera Odos 75, Votanikos, 118 55 Athens, Greece
Emmanouil Flemetakis: Laboratory of Molecular Biology, Department of Biotechnology, Agricultural University of Athens, Iera Odos 75, 11 855 Athens, Greece
Apostolos Koutinas: Laboratory of Food Process Engineering, Department of Food Science and Human Nutrition, Agricultural University of Athens, Iera Odos 75, Votanikos, 118 55 Athens, Greece
Theofania Tsironi: Laboratory of Food Process Engineering, Department of Food Science and Human Nutrition, Agricultural University of Athens, Iera Odos 75, Votanikos, 118 55 Athens, Greece

Sustainability, 2023, vol. 16, issue 1, 1-14

Abstract: The present study aimed to assess the effect of alternative packaging materials on the quality retention and shelf-life of whole fish under low and abuse temperature conditions. Red sea bream ( Pagrus major ) was harvested and stored in different packaging containers, i.e., a conventional polystyrene (PS) box, a CaCO 3 -based box and a cardboard box (tested as a simple alternative container for transportation and short-term storage of food). After harvesting and transportation, fish was stored in the tested containers at 2 °C for 11 days and periodically kept at room temperature (25 °C) to simulate potential temperature fluctuations in the actual supply chain. The effect of temperature fluctuations and packaging materials on the quality and remaining shelf-life of fish was determined by microbial enumeration (total viable counts, Pseudomonas spp. and Enterobacteriaceae). PS retained fish quality and maintained a low temperature of fish for longer periods of time during storage at ambient conditions. The CaCO 3 -based containers also showed satisfactory performance, resulting in a similar microbial load in fish flesh to the samples stored in PS boxes after 11 days of simulated transportation and storage (TVC load 7.8–8.0 logcfu/g). Cardboard resulted in a rapid increase in the internal temperature during the temperature fluctuations at ambient conditions, resulting in higher microbial loads of fish flesh at all stages of the simulated cold chain. The replacement of conventional plastic packaging materials with alternative, environmentally friendly packaging systems without affecting the shelf-life of fish may reduce plastic waste while ensuring the high quality and shelf-life of perishable food products.

Keywords: sustainable packaging; fish transportation; fish storage; CaCO 3 -based rigid packaging; cardboard; polystyrene; fresh fish; cold chain (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2023
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