Optimal temperature control for quality of perishable foods

Area of Science:

• Food science
• Chemical kinetics
• Optimal control theory

Background:

• Perishable food quality degrades over time, influenced by storage temperature.
• First-order reaction kinetics often describe this quality deterioration process.
• Balancing quality preservation with temperature control costs is crucial for the food industry.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop an optimal control model for perishable food temperature management.
• To minimize the combined losses from quality deterioration and temperature control expenses.
• To determine the optimal storage temperature strategy for economic benefit.

Main Methods:

• Formulated an optimal control model incorporating quality loss and temperature control costs.
• Defined temperature as the control variable within the model.
• Applied Pontryagin's maximum principle to solve the optimal control problem.
• Proved the optimality of the isotherm (constant temperature) condition.

Main Results:

• The optimal control strategy involves maintaining a constant storage temperature (isotherm condition).
• This strategy effectively minimizes the total cost, encompassing quality loss and temperature regulation.
• A numerical example validated the model's effectiveness.

Conclusions:

• Constant temperature storage is the optimal strategy for preserving perishable food quality.
• Implementing this strategy offers practical advantages and improves economic outcomes for businesses.
• The optimal control model provides a robust framework for managing perishable food storage.