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Food Science & Technology vocabulary · Shelf Life and Storage

Cold chain

Meaning in food science & technology, with examples

nounCore term

In food science & technology, cold chain means: The unbroken series of refrigerated storage and transport steps that keeps chilled or frozen food at the right temperature from production to the consumer.

In Turkish: soğuk zincir

How it is used

Used in logistics, retail and quality discussions. Chilled products are usually kept at 0–4 °C and frozen products at –18 °C or below. People talk about maintaining the cold chain and about a 'break in the cold chain'; data loggers record temperatures during transport.

Example sentences

  1. The data logger showed a break in the cold chain during the six-hour wait at customs.

  2. Fresh fish needs a strict cold chain from the boat to the supermarket.

Common collocations

  • maintain the cold chain
  • break in the cold chain
  • cold chain logistics
  • cold chain monitoring
  • refrigerationKeeping food at low temperatures above freezing, usually 0–5 °C, to slow down microbial growth and chemical changes.
  • freezingLowering the temperature of food until most of its water turns to ice, which stops microbial growth and slows chemical changes for months.
  • temperature abuseExposure of a food to temperatures outside its safe range, for example leaving chilled food warm for too long, which allows microorganisms to grow.
  • storage conditionsThe temperature, humidity, light and other conditions under which a food must be kept to stay safe and reach its stated shelf life.
  • shelf lifeThe length of time a food stays safe and keeps its expected quality when it is stored under the stated conditions.

This word in other fields

The same English word can have a different meaning in another field:

More terms: Shelf Life and Storage

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