At the 9th IIR Conference on Sustainability and the Cold Chain (ICCC 2026), held in Istanbul, Turkey from April 12th to 14th, 2026, Xu Zheng, a doctoral graduate of our university, Assistant Professor Red Mark Anthony, and Professor Manabu Watanabe received the Elsevier - IIR Best Conference Paper Award.

【Winner】
Xu Zheng (Graduate of the Doctoral Program in Applied Life Sciences, Graduate School of Marine Science and Technology; currently: Postdoctoral Researcher, Food Freezing Laboratory) *The research for which she received the award was the result of her research during her third year of the doctoral program (she was a postdoctoral researcher at the time of paper submission).
Red Mark Anthony Assistant professor(Academic Research Institute) Department of Food Science and Technology）
Manabu Watanabe Professor (Academic Research Institute) Department of Food Science and Technology）

[Award-winning paper]
Frost Growth: Effect of Average Temperature and Fluctuation Amplitude Considering Food and Frost Porosity

[Summary of the Award-winning Research]
　In recent years, the demand for and consumption of frozen foods has been expanding worldwide. However, drying and frost formation during frozen storage remain major challenges. This phenomenon not only impairs the texture and nutritional value of food but also causes serious energy loss throughout the entire cold chain.
　Therefore, this study focused on heat and mass transfer within food packaging and aimed to elucidate the mechanisms of food drying and frost growth. Specifically, we combined computational fluid dynamics (CFD) simulations with experimental verification to model the movement of water through the microscopic pores (porous structure) of food and the frost layer. This made it possible to predict food moisture loss and frost formation with high accuracy. The results of this study will contribute to the development of next-generation cold chain technology that suppresses freezer burn through optimization of packaging design and cooling systems.

A scene from Mr. Xu's oral presentation.

Group photo of the lab members: Professor Watanabe is on the far left, Xu is fourth from the left, and Assistant Professor Red is on the far right.

<Related links>
9th IIR Conference on Sustainability and the Cold Chain