Cold Link Africa VOL. 01 - No.01 | September / October 2015 | Page 24

FEATURE
INCORPORATING COLD CHAIN

“The change in logistics has required
industry to change their operational
processes,” explained Chetty. PPECB was
instrumental in establishing logistical forums
within Port Elizabeth, Cape Town and
Durban to assist the industry in mitigating
challenges in the logistical chain.

excess refrigeration capacity to cope
with a decline in thermal efficiency due
to the ageing of the insulation and in
many instances a pick-up of moisture,”
explained Dodds. “These two changes
have compromised the temperature
management of fruit and thus quality and
shelf life in the market place.”

Challenges in the industry
There are several issues currently facing
the local exporters utilising refrigerated
containers, in particular the fruit industry,
explained Malcolm Dodds, principal at
Cold Chain Solutions. One of these is
that containers aren’t being replaced
as often as in the past. The replacement
cycle for the containers by the shipping
line has stretched out from eight years in
the mid-2000s to around 12 today. “The
older units appear not to have the same

As such, exporters are now placing as
many as three independent temperature
recorders inside the 20 pallets of fruit to
measure the air temperatures so that in
the event of a distressed load they have
evidence with which to substantiate an
insurance claim, explained Dodds. So
independent temperature records are
important. “In time there will be a need
for real time temperature recoding in
order that remedial action can be taken
if necessary.”

New technology
Because of the challenges with keeping
the required temperatures, a growing
number of exporters are making use of a
disposable airflow kit that can easily be
installed for once-off use in a container. This
kit is affordable and changes the direction
of airflow within the container from vertical
to horizontal, Dodds explained. This evens
out the airflow and results in much improved
fruit pulp temperature and raised relative
humidity. “Both of these factors contribute
to better maintenance of fruit quality and
shelf life.”
Another technology that is finding favour
with exporters is ethylene scrubbing through
the use of It’sFresh sheets in particular
according to Dodds. These sheets are
placed in a carton of fruit at the time
of packing and removes the ethylene
(naturally produced ripening hormone) from
the storage air around the fruit. Successful
comparative trials were conducted on
plums this past season and the fruit arrival

Ethylene scrubbing through the use of
It’sFresh sheets can prolong shelf-life during
shipping.

quality and subsequent shelf life was
improved with this technology.
There are also many great
advancements with regards to tracking and
controlling temperatures of the refrigerated
containers remotely. CLA
Sources
• www.omegacontainer.co.za
• www.containertech.com

Creative uses of shipping containers

When being transported by ship, integral units have to be connected to the on-board power
supply system. Image credit: Dole.

24

As mentioned, the fact that reefers aren’t
replaced as regularly as they used to be,
is a big challenge. What gets done with
these containers though after the 8-12
years of use is up? There are quite a few
interesting (and creative) ideas of how to
repurpose these shipping containers.
Shipping containers are of a superior
construction with maximum sustainability.
Reefer containers are built to very high
standards of strength to withstand
loading and offloading from great
heights, able to be stacked fully loaded

www.coldlinkafrica.co.za

on top of each other (sometimes 10
high), need to remain operational
when drenched in sea water and have
tested thermal efficiencies. Due to these
benefits, shipping containers have been
modified and transformed into buildings
used for numerous applications including
residences, offices, art spaces, pop-up
shops, and restaurants.
Once released from marine duty,
reefer containers are often used as
stationery cold rooms under shade cloth
for many more years.

COLD LINK AFRICA • September | October 2015