Carrier Refrigeration

The Cold Chain Challenge Yet in the global transport of perishable goods, the "cold chain" that stretches from point of harvest to point of sale can be thousands of miles long with many players participating in the process. Given those variables, and with each perishable item having its own distinct optimum temperature and tolerance for temperature fluctuations, how can temperature control for quality assurance be maintained? Considering the volume of goods successfully shipped every day, it's both complicated and a modern marvel. The cold chain must be an integrated process where all players recognize their own roles as well as those of previous and subsequent players. This is necessary to assure compliance. The Journey Begins Products need to be cooled as quickly as possible after harvest to remove the heat load accumulated over the many weeks of growing in a field or orchard. Packing plant personnel must process, cool and pack the produce quickly, avoiding delays of even a day. At no point should there be mixing of cold and warm products. Before transport, perishables should be cooled to the safest minimum temperature to slow their biochemical and physiological processes enough to help sustain them on their voyage to their destination. Efficient and effective ways to pre-cool fresh produce involve using very cold water, forced air or even vacuum cooling, depending on the type of commodity. During loading into refrigerated containers or trucks at nonrefrigerated cross docks or loading stations, the container's refrigeration system should be kept off so as not to pull in warm air from the surroundings. Port personnel, both at origin and destination, and shipping lines need to promptly ensure refrigeration is maintained for perishable loads at ports and on vessels following the recommendations for each type of commodity. When produce arrives at destination ports, it either goes directly to distribution centers or ripening facilities in the same containers, or it is transferred to refrigerated trucks and then hauled. If produce remains in the container, the container refrigeration system needs to be supported by a generator set to supply electricity during land transport via rail or road. In this segment of the cold chain, produce normally travels at the same optimum temperature maintained during shipping from the country of origin. Keeping It Cool Up to this stage of the perishable commodity's journey from farm to fork, the "heavy lifting" of temperature control has been largely handled by the container refrigeration system, such as a Carrier Transicold PrimeLINE ® unit. Now, nearing the final destination, the perishables will leave the security of the container and may be subject to unintended breaks in the cold chain as they get closer to the "finish line" of the consumer's shopping cart. By Eduardo Kerbel, Ph.D. Postharvest Technology Business Manager Global Container Refrigeration, Carrier Transicold PART OF A SERIES* We have technology that is better than ever to maintain temperature compliance. ContainerLINE June 2018 | Cold Chain 8 Maintaining temperature control is the most critical factor in assuring successful transport of fruits and vegetables, so consumers can enjoy fresh produce at its top condition, flavor and nutritional value.

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