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Why cold storage plants are required across the country
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Thursday, 29 September, 2022, 14 : 00 PM [IST]
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Ganesh Gaikwad, Dr R. B. Kshirsagar & Dr B. S. Agarkar
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India is the largest producer of fruits and second largest producer of vegetables in the world. In spite of that per capita availability of fruits and vegetables is quite low because of post harvest losses which account for about 25% to 30% of production.
Besides, quality of a sizable quantity of produce also deteriorates by the time it reaches the consumer. Most of the problems relating to the marketing of fruits and vegetables can be traced to their perishability. Perishability is responsible for high marketing costs, market gluts, price fluctuations and other similar problems. At low temperature, perishability is considerably reduced and the shelf life is increased and thus the importance of cold storage or refrigeration. The first cold store in India was reported to have been established in Calcutta in 1892.
Cold storage is a facility that primarily stores food items that are short-lived and highly likely to get spoilt under normal conditions. These may include fruits, vegetables, fish, meat etc. These food items are stored under optimum temperature (primarily low) and humid environment as required for individual items. Almost all cold storage rooms are designed such that these properties are pre-configured based on what is being stored. Some cold rooms are made such that these properties are adjustable.
Cold storage is the most effective space for bulk handling perishable goods, especially fruits and vegetables, between production and marketing. It is used to preserve such commodities in a fresh state by controlling various gases, maintaining adequate temperature and humidity within the storage system. Cold storage has applications in the food industry and various other sectors like pharmaceuticals, biotechnology, and medical fields. In a world enveloped by globalisation, the consumption of different products and goods has seen a sharp rise.
Advantages of Cold Storage
1. Prolonging Shelf-life of Fruits and Vegetables
Cold storage, as the name implies, is the procedure where perishable goods are stored under lower temperatures than average, and it is done so in several ways. There is warehouse refrigeration, controlled atmosphere storage where various gases like oxygen, carbon dioxide, carbon monoxide, nitrogen are regulated through precision devices and specific instruments to maintain the post-harvest produce as fresh as possible.
Controlled atmosphere storage is done by lowering oxygen levels that help reduce respiration among fruits and vegetables and increasing carbon dioxide. Humidity plays an important role, and most refrigeration systems have settings to maintain adequate temperature controls. Seasonal fruits that can only be produced in a certain number of months can last longer, thanks to cold storage technology.
2. Temperature Control
Cold storage facilities give the customer a lot of options when it comes to preferences. Cold storage offers easily accessible temperature controls that can be used for different kinds of products like fruits, vegetables, medicines. Cold storage refrigeration systems can be customised and fitted with temperature controls that can be monitored and changed remotely. As per a customer’s product requirement, temperature controls can be adjusted accordingly.
3. Cost-effective
One of the most significant advantages of bulk cold storage is that it saves a lot of money to the customer. For the food industry, the primary concerns are about cost-effectiveness and longevity of the product. Since cold stores keep spoilage of produce to a minimum amount, they save a lot of money. There have been many recent developments in cold storage technology, and one of them is gas-controlled storage which keeps the pressure as low as 0.8 bar, which saves a lot of energy.
4. Transportation of Products
Portable cold storage units are a huge advantage for all the industries that need their products to be kept and transported at low temperatures. Poultry, dairy products, frozen foodstuffs, etcetera have to be transported from the storage facilities to the distribution and retail shops, and that cannot be done in ordinary temperatures. Even a slight temperature change can cause such products to get spoiled and become unmarketable. These portable cold storage units are also used to transport highly reactive chemicals that would otherwise be impossible to transport. Safe transportation of such substances would not have been possible without this technology.
5. Frees Up Space
Managing wholesale products can be an overwhelming challenge, but it is even more so with perishable goods that are temperature sensitive. It is challenging to keep perishable goods at retail stores since it takes up a lot of space within a store. Adding refrigeration systems at retail or other smaller areas takes up much more ground, which isn’t affordable in the long run. Hence, cold storage warehouses are a one-stop solution for keeping all the bulk food products before going to retail stores. Storing all those goods in one place helps consolidate the inventory and makes it more feasible to keep track of sales and purchases. It is also easier to regulate temperature and atmosphere in cold storage than to do so in retail stores.
6. Storage for Chemicals
In the chemical industry, many substances are prone to volatile reactions and need to be stored at a consistent temperature. In many chemical reactions, solvents are used and can be reserved only when condensed at a low temperature. Other advantages include the possibility of keeping certain compounds like explosives and natural rubber for long periods at a low temperature. Such compounds might decompose or evaporate at room temperature otherwise.
(Gaikwad is research scholar, College of Food Technology, VNMKV, Parbhani; Dr Kshirsagar is professor and head, Department of Food Engineering, College of Food Technology, VNMKV, Parbhani; Dr Agarkar is associate professor, Department of Food Engineering, College of Food Technology, VNMKV, Parbhani. They can be reached at ganeshpg107@gmail.com)
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