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Cold chain equipment for perishable product
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Thursday, 04 August, 2022, 14 : 00 PM [IST]
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Vanishree, Bhargavi & Dr Srushty Patil
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A cold chain is a low temperature-guarded supply chain network. An unbroken cold chain is an uninterrupted series of refrigerated production, storage and distribution activities, along with associated equipment and logistics, which maintain quality via a desired low-temperature range. Perishable is used to describe an item, usually food that typically spoils within a relatively short amount of time, such as fruits, vegetables, meats, and dairy products. Such items are often simply called Perishables. The cold chain refers to the management of the temperature of perishable products in order to maintain quality and safety from the point of slaughter or harvest through the distribution chain to the final consumer.
The cold chain ensures that perishable products are safe and of a high quality at the point of consumption. Failing to keep product at the correct temperatures can result in a variety of negative attributes. These can include textural degradation, discolouring, bruising and microbial growth. Texture is important in determining the eating quality of foods and can have a strong influence on food intake and nutrition. Perceived texture is closely related to structure and composition of the food, and both microscopic and macroscopic levels of structure can influence texture.
The term ‘bruising’ is the action of chemical compound in the Fruit are oxidised when the skin of the fruit, walls and the membrane of the cells within the fruit is ruptured which allows oxygen in. Discolouration in raw and processed foods looks in turn at black, brown, red, yellow, green and white discolouration.
For each tarnished raw and processed foods are considered separately, and there are separate subsections on fruits, vegetables, cereals, meats, fish and dairy products. Each and every perishable food product has its own texture and colour. Perishable foods cannot be stored for more than one or two days at room temperature, that is they have a shelf life of 1-2 days. Milk is the good example of perishable food.
Effective management of cold chain maintains the quality of a product, which leads to a satisfied customer, greater demand, and overall protection of public health. Each sector of the chain, from the point at which it is sold, shares responsibility. Breaks in the chain may occur just as easily on a warehouse dock as they do on a supermarket floor. If one link breaks, all suffer the consequences of an unsatisfied costumer.
Supply chain plus temperature control - Cold Chain Logistics
Perishable shrink costs retailers a tremendous amount of money. Vulnerable items such as meat, dairy, fruit, vegetables and flowers can expire prematurely due to incorrect temperature handling in the supply chain. Transportation and interim storage at the distribution centre all affect the final quality of the saleable product.
Consumers are quick to judge on appearance and remember when a product does not meet expectations. Perishable food includes fruits and vegetables, fresh meat, foods purchased from chill cabinets, freshly cooked food stored to be used later. It is usually stored in the refrigerator. Some fresh fruits and vegetables, however, will store quite well out of the refrigerator as long as they are stored in a cool place. Refrigeration can substantially reduce the rate at which food will deteriorate. Low temperatures slow down the growth of microorganisms and the rate of chemical changes in food.
These are two of the main causes of food spoilage. Different parts of your refrigerator will operate at different temperatures. In older style refrigerators the upper shelves will often be slightly colder than the lower shelves. There are hundreds of microorganisms which can affect the perishable food. For stopping the growth of the microorganism, we use this cold storage method.
The microorganisms associated with fruits depend on the structure of fruit. The fruits contain different organic acids in varying amounts. The types of acid which are predominately found are citric acid, malic acid and tartaric acid. Fungi are most dominating organisms to grow on fruits because of the ability of yeasts and moulds to grow under acidic conditions. Spoilage in vegetables are caused by Erwinia carotovora and Pseudomonas such as P. marginalis. Bacillus and Clostridium spp. are also implicated.
Transporting perishables has different requirements in terms of demand, load integrity, and transport integrity, paired with the specific equipment of a refrigerated unit and the energy necessary to run it make transportation costs for cold chain products much higher than standard goods so the risk is much higher for the booking agent. On the flip side, a skilled agent can create a niche market if they build the skills necessary to take care of these types of loads.
The continual rise in living standards and economic specialization will drive the growing demand for perishable good logistics and those who build the skills to consistently perform will be linchpins for both those needing to ship perishables, as well as those receiving them. Isothermal equipment has isolating walls, doors, ceiling, and floor, which limits the exchange of heat between the exterior and the interior of the van. Refrigerated equipment has a non-mechanical cold source that can reduce the interior temperature and maintain it for an average exterior temperature of 30ºC to -20ºC.Freezer has a cold production mechanism to reduce the interior temperature of the empty space and maintain it at a consistent temperature between -12ºC and -20ºC.
Transportation of Perishable Goods by Land Trucks transporting perishable goods have different cold systems, which may or may not be mechanized (ice or dry ice is often used). Rail should have an isolating lining, as well as a special system for refrigeration, loading, and unloading. Dry ice is often used to keep goods cold.
Transportation of Perishable Goods by Sea Goods are transported in refrigerated ships that are fully equipped with systems to circulate air properly. You can also ship in refrigerated containers (commonly known as reefers). Logistics operators are in charge of consolidation or deconsolidation.Before transporting perishable goods, a “temperature requirement sheet” is provided to indicate the temperature at which the product must be kept in the refrigerated container.
Transportation of Perishable Goods by Air This is the best option for transporting perishable goods. Each airport has a special area for handling perishable goods where temperature can be controlled using refrigerated chambers and freezers. These areas have customs inspection points that are guarded at all times by highly-qualified, specialized personnel, which ensure that the goods are kept at the optimal temperature at all times.
(Vanishree and Bhargavi are students - Diploma Food Technology, Department of Food Technology, Parul University, Waghodia, Vadodara; Patil is assistant professor, Department of Food Technology, Parul University, Waghodia, Vadodara. They can be reached at srushtypatil5@gmail.com)
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