Monitoring changes in quality parameters of fresh chicken breast fillets at fluctuating storage temperatures

Background: The quality and safety of food products depend on storage conditions, particularly for refrigerated items, where maintaining specified temperatures from processing to consumer handling is vital to prevent microbial proliferation and ensure compliance with quality standards and consumers' health. While in scientific research constant temperature conditions are often examined, there is a critical need to evaluating the quality of fresh meat under fluctuating storage temperatures. Objective: The aim of this experiment is to assess weight and colour changes in packaged chicken breast fillets stored under dynamically controlled temperatures on a laboratory level. Materials and Methods: Fresh chicken breast fillets sourced from Hungarian e -commercial circulation arrived at the laboratory the day after slaughtering and packaging. Samples were stored at constant and alternated temperatures at 48 -hour intervals. During the experiment, core temperature was monitored with a Testo 104-IR device, while storage temperatures were recorded using an EasyLog EL-USB-1 temperature data logger for confirmation and background purposes. Post -package opening, drip loss was determined using a Kern PNJ3000-2M precision scale, while cooking loss followed the method outlined by Ali et al. (2007). Colour measurements were performed using a Minolta CR-400 Chroma Meter, and pH was determined using a HANNA H1981036 Foodcare Meat pH Tester. Statistical analysis was conducted in IBM SPSS Statistics 29.0.1.0 with one-way completely randomized design (ORD) ANOVA. Results and Discussion: Based on the results of statistical analysis, it may be concluded that the storage time and storage temperature significantly influenced all examined factors (p<0.05). The significant interaction effect of storage time and temperature (p<0.05) was observed in multiple instances. Future studies may benefit from incorporating sensory evaluations alongside statistical results.