PROJECT
INCORPORATING COLD CHAIN
Continued from page 1
New degreening rooms for Sundays River Valley
From their humble beginnings way back in 1924 , the SRCC has grown into the largest grower , packer , and exporter of South African citrus . Respected internationally as a trusted supplier , their strategy continues as a reliable provider to both local and international markets of excellent quality fruit . The SRCC is proudly owned by their growers that produce :
• Clementines ( mandarin family )
• Nadorcotts ( mandarin family )
• Novas ( mandarin family )
• Lemons
• Navel oranges
• Cara oranges
• Valencia oranges
• Star ruby grapefruit
All citrus fruit processed is exclusively grown in the famous Sundays River Valley that is said to be exceptionally blessed in beauty and has everything needed to produce the finest tasting citrus . They further state that the very best lemons in the world are produced in the Sundays River Valley .
Phase one of this project was the supply and installation of 10 de-greening rooms , with a further four rooms to be added in future . The projected commenced on 1 March 2021 and was completed on 30 April 2021 . It was completed according to schedule through good planning and management of the work required , while also having to negotiate the installation around other contractors working on site .
De-greening is an international practice in the process of removing the green colouring ( known as chlorophyll ) from the skin of citrus fruit . This is achieved by introducing measured amounts of ethylene gas into a temperature and humidity-controlled environment . It is important to note that only mature fruit is suitable for de-greening .
It is absolutely critical that immature fruit is not harvested and de-greened . Immature fruit will have very high acid levels and low sugar levels and will generally not meet minimum standards , but immature dark green fruit will also not successfully de-green . Ethylene treatment only helps with the breakdown of the green colour in the skin . The process using ethylene does not ripen fruit . The levels of sugars and acids are not
All image credits © Coldfact Projects
The room side view design .
The site layout of the new facility at SRCC .
The ethylene flowmeter cabinet . The fans and spray nozzles installed in each room .
30 www . coldlinkafrica . co . za COLD LINK AFRICA • June 2021