CONTRIBUTORS
INCORPORATING COLD CHAIN
A stitch in time saves nine
By Jan Lievens, senior consultant on applied postharvest technologies, UTE South Africa
In 2012, I was invited to deliver a speech at the International Research Forum
in Cape Town. The synopsis of my talk was ‘Brilliant researchers, scientists and
consequent work, but the distance between theory and farm is simply too big’.
T
he practical implementation of fruit cartons as an example. Prof Dr requirements for the degree of MComm
research is missing. Why? Your guess Luis Luchsinger from Chile pointed out Logistics Management in the Faculty of
is as good as mine. on a Table Grape seminar in Paarl Economic and Management Sciences
South Africa in 2015, that most cartons at Stellenbosch University: ‘Packaging
honey than you can with vinegar, but used in the industry at the time, were of table grapes for exports from SA: A
in saying that you also can't make an simply inadequate with regards to comparative study’. You can go and
omelette without breaking some eggs. proper airflow. That was in September. look it up and read it at your own leisure.
I know, you can catch more flies with
The tragic part is that this is a
worldwide phenomenon. Let’s take
In March 2015, Tania Nieuwoudt
presented her thesis in fulfilment of the
In the introductory abstract however,
her very interesting statement sets the
tone immediately: “The South African
table grape industry experiences
quality-related problems with exporting
table grapes to the European market.
Examples of quality-related problems
can range from chemical damage,
chilling injury/freezing damage and
heavy bruising and decay. A great
amount of table grapes is basically
wasted. The postharvest loss of table
grapes during transportation can range
from 1%-25% per day depending on
Jan Lievens, born in Belgium, is
a graduate civil engineering(B)
and international senior
consultant for engineered
applied postharvest technology
at UTE South Africa. With over
20 years of experience in this
field, he is widely regarded
as a specialist in the fruit-,
vegetable- and flower industry
with regards to humidity,
airborne bacteria and ethylene
removal, both locally and
internationally. Furthermore, he
also designed airflow-friendly
packaging systems for the
industry with proven results.
the degree of temperature fluctuation.
Therefore, it is important to minimise
waste and increase the export volumes
in order to utilise the potential profit
possibilities. Based on data analysis the right people of course. That should
for this case, results indicated that be a multi-disciplinary task force. But one
packaging is preventing cool air from that works fast and swiftly to sort this out,
flowing through the pallet during or do you want to wait another 44 years?
transportation and preventing the I don’t think so.
table grapes from cooling evenly. The Go back to the drawing board and
fluctuation in temperature contributes create a South African airflow pattern
to the quality-related problems of these that is compulsory for all cartons. Simple.
table grapes.” No matter which manufacturer makes
You can also find all the research done
on the subject at the time in her thesis.
But it gets worse – there has been
even more research after 2015 on this
Proper post-harvesting is an issue that dates back to the 70s.
what. Make your carton structure as
you like, that’s not the issue. For once let
logic prevail.
Ensure that you get a uniform airflow
subject, in fact it’s ongoing. It gets pattern adapted to get it to do what
better… In 1976, UC Davis published it should be doing – cool the fruit in a
a book: Commercial Cooling of Fruits, uniform and proper way. If you don’t,
Vegetables & Flowers by James F you just continue rubbing salt into a very
Thompson, F Gordon Mitchell, Tom R open wound. “Et voila”, now you heard
Rumsey, Robert F Kasmire, and Carlos H it straight from the horse's mouth, and
Crisosto. remember an ounce of prevention is
Revised several times and still
worth a pound of cure.
CLA
available from the UC Davis bookstore.
In there, the “at the time” ideal airflow
pattern in a carton is described with a
drawing and measurements. Makes you
think. 1976 is 44 years ago. And this book
is standing on many bookshelves in South
Africa too.
Catch more flies with honey than you
can with vinegar? Really?
Is it a matter of leading a horse to
water, but you can't make him drink? It’s
not rocket science either. I think the time
is ripe for industry leaders to sit together
Certain aspects of the post-harvesting process are neglected today.
COLD LINK AFRICA •
March/April 2020
and sort this out on a national level. With
Is it a matter
of leading a horse
to water, but you
can’t make him
drink? It’s not rocket
science either.
www.coldlinkafrica.co.za
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