FEATURE
INCORPORATING COLD CHAIN
From farm gate to food plate
By Tarina Coetzee
The cold chain extends the shelf life of perishables, reduces food loss and waste, maintains product
quality and improves food safety by suppressing the growth of potentially harmful bacteria.
I
to mitigate temperature fluctuations.
Within the airfreight industry, thermal
blankets and refrigerated containers
can also be used to avoid fluctuations in
temperatures. Temperature fluctuations
normally occur during the stuffing,
loading, off-loading and transhipment
processes. These movements must
be carried out seamlessly without
temperature fluctuations,” he says.
Refrigeration of perishable products
at the appropriate temperature and
relative humidity percentage (RH) should
start as soon as possible after harvest and
be maintained during the entire cold
supply chain (processing and packing,
storage, transport and while on display in
the supermarket). Ideally, the consumer
will extend the cold chain while travelling
home and again store properly upon
arrival. All of this will slow the ripening
process and thereby extend the shelf-life
(the period from harvest to consumption)
of the product tremendously.
“Managing temperature is of utmost
importance when importing agri-food.
The efficiency of the cold chain is
subject to understanding the biological
and chemical processes associated
with perishability and using the best
possible technologies in a well-planned
manner to ensure that product is moved
through the supply chain at the correct
temperature.
“The use of sensors has been very
important in managing temperature
control and ensuring food quality.
In addition to maintaining quality,
specialised refrigeration is also
critical when used as a post-harvest
phytosanitary measure against potential
pests’ infestation, such as cold sterilisation
n South Africa, 10 million tonnes of
food go to waste every year. That is
a third of the 31 million tonnes that
we produce annually. According
to the WWF, fruit, vegetables and
cereals account for 70% of the wastage
throughout the food-supply chain.
The Council for Scientific and Industrial
Research has valued this loss at R61.5-billion.
Globally, between 30% and 40% of all
food is wasted. Often the waste in less
developed countries is due to a lack of
infrastructure and knowledge to keep
food fresh.
“Perishable products, such as fruit,
vegetables, meat, fish, shellfish, dairy
and flowers require refrigeration to
substantially reduce the rate at which
food deteriorates. Effective temperature
management slows down the growth
of microorganisms and the natural
metabolic process. The effects of this
is the slowing down of the product
decaying, thereby increasing the
shelf life. Continuous temperature
management without disruptions helps
reducing food loss and food waste,”
says Vijan Chetty, general operations
manager: coastal of the Perishable
Produce Export Control Board (PPECB).
“Products must be placed under
cooling as soon as possible with no
interruptions in cooling. All equipment,
handling and storage facilities and
modes of transport must comply with
good management practices. They
must also be in sound working condition
to ensure that the condition of the
perishable products is maintained.
Disruptions in cooling must be mitigated
as much as possible. Gensets can
be used on refrigerated containers
In South Africa, 10 million tonnes of food go to waste every year. That is a third of the 31 million
tonnes that we produce annually.
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www.coldlinkafrica.co.za
Managing temperature is of utmost importance when importing agri-food.
Perishable products for both imports and exports are transported by refrigerated modes of
transportation.
against fruit flies,” says Marianna Theyse,
general manager of the Fresh Produce
Importers Association (FPIA). “Products
that ‘go off’ before reaching the port of
entry in South Africa will be rejected by
regulatory inspectors. This means that the
consignment will not be allowed entry
and will have to be returned to country
of origin or destroyed, at the cost of the
importer or exporter.”
In most cases the result of products
experiencing temperature abuse
is that the quality of the product is
impacted. The shelf life will be shorter or
the consistency or feel of the product
will change. Think of ice cream as an
example of something that is not really
appealing once melted. It is even worse
when frozen again. There are cases
where the food can be harmful for
a human to eat as food-borne illness
develop in warmer temperatures. As far
as what happens to the actual product,
that depends on what the product
is, what its condition is and where it
happens. Is the issue that product does
not meet customer requirements, but
is still consumable? The effort around
the globe is the attempt to rescue that
food to a food bank, for example. If the
product is not fit for human consumption,
it might be used or reworked as animal
feed, but most likely most of such product
is destroyed or dumped in a landfill.
“Fresh fruit and vegetables are
inspected upon arrival in South Africa by
plant health inspectors to ensure that the
product complies with the relevant plant
health import conditions, including cold-
chain integrity for special phytosanitary
treatments such as cold sterilisation to
protect produce from pathogen or insect
infestation. Imported produce is also
subject to South African food quality and
safety standards,” she says.
Effective temperature management
slows down the growth of microorganisms
and the natural metabolic process.
“In short, the cold chain extends
shelf life, reduces food loss and waste,
COLD LINK AFRICA •
OCTOBER 2019