Carrier Refrigeration

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. Cold Chain | ContainerLINE June 2018 9 Ideally, distribution centers should hold fruits and vegetables at the same optimum temperature at which they were transported. However, distribution centers have limited space for fresh produce, as these centers carry all the goods that are distributed to grocers and supermarkets. Consequently, distribution centers sometimes cannot maintain all the temperatures needed for the variety of incoming perishables, and this means many may be warehoused at temperatures far from optimum. If fresh produce spends only a short time at distribution centers before being dispatched to stores, supermarkets and wholesale markets, it may not suffer negative consequences from being kept at temperatures too high or too low. However, if these goods are staged at suboptimal temperatures for even just several hours, then deterioration, ripening or chilling injury can be triggered. When commodities, such as dairy, meats and dry goods, are mixed with perishables during delivery to the retail setting, sometimes the temperature chosen will be the lowest needed for a particular item, usually between 1 and 4.4 degrees Celsius (34 and 40 degrees Fahrenheit). This can have detrimental effects on perishables that prefer higher temperatures. Chilling injury symptoms, such as peel and pulp discoloration, loss of texture, deterioration and loss of flavor, can occur. This can be prevented by avoiding the mixing of goods that need to be kept at significantly different temperatures or by maintaining a temperature better suited to the mix of goods being transported. Another solution is to use multicompartment delivery trucks equipped with refrigeration systems that can maintain different temperature settings simultaneously. Fresh on Arrival Once fresh produce arrives at stores, supermarkets and wholesale markets, it will often be commercialized at warmer than optimal temperatures. Typically, stores and supermarkets maintain ambient temperatures between 20 and 24 degrees C (68 and 75 degrees F) for the comfort of shoppers, while backroom storage areas tend to range between 10 and 32 degrees C (50 and 90 degrees F), depending on the store and time of year. As perishables usually remain on shelves between one and five days before final sale, managing produce display areas is a constant battle against time and spoilage (overmaturity). Store personnel must work to keep shrink levels low by rotating produce on a first-in/first-out basis, which includes careful monitoring and replenishment of items on display. From farm to the consumer point of purchase, maintaining and complying with the cold chain is a challenge for all segments handling fresh produce. Exposing fruits and vegetables to suboptimal warmer or colder temperatures during distribution and commercialization will undermine quality, condition and shelf life potential. We have technology that is better than ever to maintain temperature compliance. The rest is up to those who manage the distribution process so consumers can enjoy fruits and vegetables that seem freshly picked, even when the originating farm or orchard is half a world away. w *This is the third installment of a series developed by Eduardo Kerbel for Food Logistics magazine's "Cool Insights" column.

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