INCORPORATING COLD CHAIN
EVENTS AND EXHIBITIONS
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transport . Or lack of a concern or cost barriers . Or safety concerns . Discarding food is too easy ; it is built into operational decisions . Foodport will turn waste food into a valuable commodity and be a place to process food and send it to an appropriate destination .
e-Commerce
Delegates were blown away by the growth figures given by Annette Phoebe Young , supply chain management director of Exfresh China , as she gave insight into the development of online shopping for perishables in China . Although fresh produce only accounts for 2 % of all consumer online purchases , in less than 18 months , staff has grown from less than 300 to 4 200 people . It has been an explosion , and the extent of needed changes to infrastructure was enormous .
A total of 98 % of all orders are delivered on the same day or the next day , and the operation now covers 160 cities across China . Losses are only 5 % and the target is to get same day deliveries closer to 100 %.
“ With this type of expansion , the ball game is totally different and one has got to be in the midst of it to actually appreciate the rate at which change and adaption had to take place ,” said Young .
Cold chain adds profits to farmer
Fruit and vegetable distribution in India suffers significant post-harvest losses in the supply chain , primarily due to the perishable nature of fresh produce and its sensitivity to handling damages . Introducing a cold chain is one possible solution for reducing post-harvest losses .
Pankaj Mehta , country head and director at Carrier Transicold India , presented the findings of a pilot case study done in India in the supply chain of kinnow , a citrus fruit . The supply chain study originates from Abohar in Punjab in northern India to Bangalore in southern India . Until the pilot project , the fruit was transported from the north to the south of India in open trucks with a tremendous spoilage rate .
The introduction of a cold chain increased profits 10 times , reduced carbon emissions by 16 %, and cut spoilage to only 25 % of what it was before .
India is the second largest producer of fruits and vegetables . Fruits and vegetables are traditionally consumed close to where they are grown , but with urbanisation and changing consumer preferences , cold chain connectivity is a solution needed to enable farmers and aggregators to distribute produce in a wider area and during off-season months .
The pilot project done in conjunction with one particular grower of kinnow clearly demonstrated the many benefits of applying the cold chain in the handling of fruits , which was never thought of before . The potential to other sectors of the immense fruit and vegetable sector in India is vast .
Consumer awareness
Society has got used to too many eco labels , for instance , ‘ green building ’, ‘ certified sustainable seafood ’, and ‘ FSCcertified sustainable furniture ’. So why don ’ t we have cold chain certification ? This was the message from Eric Prieur , director of cold chain sustainability at Carrier Transicold and Refrigeration Systems , France .
“ This will help to make consumers aware of the many benefits of cold chain distribution of the many foods that they eat . When next delegates meet , maybe cold chain products will have labels ,” said Prieur .
Most only get to see the ‘ ship ’ on top of the Marina Bay Sands Hotel from afar — this is what you ’ re missing at the top .
This was the second year that the conference was held in Singapore .
Social
The Cold Chain Summit wasn ’ t just about sitting and listening to talks — it also facilitated an interesting visit to the National Gallery Singapore . Situated in Singapore ’ s Civic District , the gallery consists of two national monuments , namely the former Supreme Court Building and City Hall , making it the largest visual arts venue and the largest museum in Singapore . During the tour , the delegates saw where the first trials used to be held during the occupation of Singapore by the Japanese .
Following on from that , dinner was held in a restaurant on top of the museum , overlooking Singapore . CLA
John Mandyck , chief sustainability officer of United Technologies Corporation and co-author of Food Foolish .
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