EVENTS AND EXHIBITIONS
INCORPORATING COLD CHAIN
cold chain. He noted that consumer
expectations around food revolve
around three issues: safety and hygiene
(which depend upon a proper cold
chain), price, and quality. Delving into
operational details, Harti explained the
differences between dry retail and fresh
retail, noting that fresh food operations
come with high intensity, requiring
temperature monitoring, and that any
time delays can lead to a problem. He
provided an example of a warehouse in
Russia that processes up to 100 000 boxes
per day, noting that such volume leaves
no margin for error. Harti noted that
timely inbound processing of fresh food is
critical, as it affects the ultimate quality of
the products.
SESSION 3: FOOD LOSS ISSUES
AND ROOT CAUSES
Session three consisted of a series of
80-minute workshops related to root
causes of food losses from cold chain
gaps in Vietnam within four major
sectors: fruits and vegetables, seafood/
fish, storage and transport, and retail
and distribution.
Several root causes were identified
in the ‘Retail/Distribution’ workshop that
also applied to the others, including lack
of visibility over tracking and monitoring,
lack of infrastructure and integrated cold
chain providers, inadequate quality control
related to receiving and packaging, lack
22
of storage and cooling equipment along
the food supply chain, and equipment
maintenance challenges. Others included
a lack of awareness of the link between
food safety and cold chain, inadequate
workforce training, a focus on cost over
cold, and a general lack of consistency
throughout the Vietnamese food supply
chain related to perishables.
The ‘Storage/Transport’ workshop also
identified several root causes of food loss,
including knowledge and process issues
such as limited cold chain knowledge,
inability to share best practices, and lack
of commitment from customers, suppliers,
and logistics providers to ensure product
temperature; supplier issues including
improper quality assurance of product
before shipping, poor packaging quality,
and highly fragmented producers limiting
effective traceability; customer issues
such as lack of interest in the cold chain,
poor quality control, and a focus on cost
savings as a barrier to implementing cold
chain practices; environmental issues
including higher ambient temperatures
and exposure to extreme temperatures;
and, regulatory issues such as lack of
supporting policies to promote the
cold chain and to address food loss in
seasonal peaks.
Throughout all of these sessions, a
recurring theme was a focus on short-
term cost reduction versus investment
for greater longer-term income through
Panel discussions formed part of the summit’s format once again, encouraging debate.
reduced food loss and improved product
quality — a challenge that is not unique
to Vietnam.
Capping the discussion in this session,
Mark Mitchell of Supercool Asia Pacific
emphasised the distinction between
a series of refrigerated events and a
proper cold chain, noting that the latter
conveys that a consistent level of cold
was achieved throughout the entire food
supply chain journey.
Mandyck summarised the day, noting
that it was data-rich, with 147 individuals
from 17 countries focused on the higher
www.coldlinkafrica.co.za
purpose of minimising food loss and waste
to sustainably feed the world.
DAY 2: EXPLORATION OF
COLD CHAIN PROJECTS IN THE
PHILIPPINES
Day 2 began with a look at a cold chain
project in the Caraga region of the
Philippines, presented by Nic Richards, chief
of party at Philippines Cold Chain Project
(PCCP), Winrock International. Richards
described the PCCP as a five-year effort
(2013–2018) funded by the US Department
of Agriculture and implemented by
COLD LINK AFRICA • November/December 2018