Temperature abuse is any event in which a food product is exposed to conditions outside its specified temperature range during storage or transport, accelerating microbial growth, ice-crystal damage or quality deterioration.
In trade practice
Common causes include reefer units set to the wrong temperature, cargo left on a loading dock in warm weather, or doors left open during prolonged stuffing. In frozen goods, abuse promotes ice-crystal recrystallisation that damages texture and increases drip loss on thawing; in chilled goods it can allow pathogen growth. Temperature loggers placed with the cargo provide the primary evidence, and buyers typically reserve the right to reject or renegotiate on the basis of logger data showing abuse. Disputes over who bears the cost often turn on the Incoterms rule in the contract and the point at which risk transferred.
In a specification
Purchase contracts and quality agreements should define the maximum permitted temperature and the duration of any tolerated deviation, and state that documented abuse events trigger a right of inspection or rejection.