From extending fruit and vegetable seasons to reducing waste, cold storage affects the entire supply chain, from farm to fork. Those looking for cold storage solutions can choose from a plethora of systems and initiatives and a number of UK firms are leading the way.
Farm Refrigeration supplies and installs refrigeration equipment for controlled atmosphere stores. “We offer modern design technology allied with prompt and efficient after-sales service,” says managing director John Haffenden.
Controlling the atmosphere is critical for long term storage. Fruit takes in oxygen and, when in controlled atmosphere (CA) storage, these levels are brought down to between one to two per cent. Fruit also gives off carbon dioxide and, depending on what is being stored, this level needs to be maintained between zero and nine per cent.
“It is not just a case of pure refrigeration as humidity and temperature are both important factors,” says Haffenden.
Set up in 1986, the Marden-based firm notes that the biggest worry in fruit storage is dehydration and loss of product quality. “It’s very important to have the surface area of the cooler right to avoid letting too much moisture disappear from the fruit,” says Haffenden. “Air flow is the biggest cause of dehydration.”
Supermarkets have a huge influence over what can and can’t occur in packhouses and distribution centres. “We already know what most of the standards are but regimes change,” Haffenden says. “What we build this year isn’t necessarily going to be right the next year.”
According to Farm Refrigeration, retailers want fruit from the stores throughout the winter and the aim is to try to keep apples and pears as fresh as the day they were picked. “With the equipment we design, build and install, the humidity is right and the oxygen and carbon dioxide levels are correct,” Haffenden explains. “The fruit goes into suspended animation and comes out of the store virtually as good as it went in.”
Most of Farm Refrigeration’s customers are based in southern England, in Kent, East and West Sussex and parts of Hampshire. However, the company is also active in Jersey and a large project for the storage of Jersey Royal potatoes was completed in 2005.
In terms of outside forces, a raft of legislation on energy use and global warming, coupled with new, expensive refrigerant gases, has completely changed the fruit storage business, notes Farm Refrigeration’s operations director, Roy Bartlett.
“The cost of refrigerants per kg is five to 10 times the price it used to be. We as engineers have to be much more professional and conversant with the latest technology. The new generation of refrigerant gases must not deplete the ozone layer and so engineers have to ensure that any pipe work carrying gas around the refrigeration system in cold stores doesn’t leak. Some of the issues include higher pressures and engineers knowing exactly how they seal pipework.”
Global warming has brought new requirements to the design of cold stores. According to Paul Kennett, senior projects engineer, technology and innovation is designed to bring energy savings of up to 45 per cent. As well as reducing the customer’s electricity bills, initiatives will also help to avoid any climate change levy.
“There are many new regulations which are constantly getting more rigorous, coming into effect and we have to ensure that we abide by these and obtain the necessary approvals, certification and CE marks,” says Kennett.
In addition, reducing the number of leaks of liquid gas from refrigeration systems is a key priority, particularly since the Montreal Protocol outlawed those gases which could damage the ozone layer.
Meanwhile, as more world producers airfreight their valuable cargo to the UK, the airline industry has been looking closely at the issue of perishables handling. They’re doing their bit to ensure produce arrives at its end destination in as good a quality as possible.
Temperature control remains the biggest issue for the perishables industry, providing the greatest opportunities and challenges. That’s the opinion of Tony Wright, Envirotainer’s vice president of food sales.
“There’s still a complacency in the supply chain for temperature control,” Wright says. “We need to pull together and realise that having a fully working cold chain means better quality product and cost savings.”
Wright believes one challenge is in educating people to see the value of a better cold chain. “We’re getting there, but I’d like to see more progress. Food standard legislation is increasing and people have got to take better care of their product.”
In previous years, temperature control for perishables wasn not as big a concern but that has changed, Wright believes. He notes that there has been a lot of wastage in the perishables industry, in some cases up to 20 per cent, due to the abuse of temperature control.
Envirotainer was established in 1985 and has made a number of investments in recent years. The company specialises in manufacturing aircraft containers with independent, temperature control. These are leased out to its customers, which include airlines and freight forwarders.
Envirotainer’s containers have evolved since the mid 1980s, when the original models were developed to meet growing transportation needs. These containers were replaced by the current line of active temperature control models in the mid 1990s, which are equipped with the current dry ice and thermostat based control system.
Lufthansa, Emirates, British Airways and KLM are among Envirotainer’s growing list of airline clients who regularly use the company’s containers.
“Customers need reliability, this is paramount to the cold chain,” Wright says. “They want to know that fresh produce can survive a long journey from say New Zealand to Europe with a couple of stops along the way. In average shipping conditions, our containers will keep food fresh self sustainably for up to 72 hours.”
Envirotainer further notes that retailers are looking for competitive pricing, and the company says it is flexible where it can be.
“Customers also want back up and support and Envirotainer offers a cold chain management service,” Wright says. “We try not to be just a container company but also a knowledge company.”
Future plans for the company involve extending its availability network.
Wright further believes that the cold chain needs to work much closer with UK retailers and pinpoint specific examples of how to reduce perishable wastage.
Wright notes that there is a lot less regulation in transporting produce by air compared to road. However, he believes that this is changing. “More stringent checks are applied on seafood coming into the UK and this will happen over a longer period on fresh produce,” he believes.
British Airways is a huge handler of perishables and further growth is forecast in the future. BA’s Perishable Handling Centre (PHC) handles over 80,000 tonnes of perishable products every year and according to the firm’s Gerry Mundy, capacity could be as much as 140,000t within the next two years.
“The perishables market is strong and growing,” he notes. “In recent years, we have invested in greater capacity and a faster packing line at the PHC.”
All consignments of fresh produce arriving at any of British Airway’s three London gateways of Heathrow, Gatwick or Stansted are transferred in refrigerated vehicles to BA World Cargo’s PHC, located on-airport at Heathrow.
Open 24 hours a day and 365 days of the year, this fully chilled facility handles consignments in a controlled environment until it’s ready for despatch.
At the PHC, British Airways World Cargo offers its customers a range of value-added services including packing, labelling and quality assurance to meet the requirements of importers and retailers.
Some 40-50 key importers use the centre, with 10-20 of these importers relying on speedy movement of cargo.
“Our clients have voted with their feet,” Mundy says. “We’re moving more cargo via the centre and getting more volumes. Our customers are very satisfied with our services.”
Mundy notes that in these challenging times, everyone is looking to take unnecessary costs out of the supply chain. “Time and cost savings have to be attractive and as part of the supply chain, we need to offer efficiencies,” he explains. “Customers come under enormous price-point pressures and we have to show how we can bring efficiencies to meet their challenges.”
Mundy feels that the perishables sector is an exciting one to be in and one that is expected to continue growing.
As with most sectors on an upward trend, the perishables business has evolved and adapted to meet the myriad challenges they face.
“One major trend is for producers to bring in prepared goods which are dispatched to retailers,” Mundy says. “Preprepared goods have a shelf life of six to 10 days, and we can provide a 24-48 hour time saving which offers tremendous benefits to retailers.”
In terms of the debate concerning food miles, Mundy is keen to respond to airline critics. He notes that 85 per cent of all perishables are transported on passenger aircraft so the vast majority of planes would already be carrying some form of cargo.
At the end of the day, what consumers want, and are willing to pay for, is good quality fresh fruit and vegetables. The cold storage industry knows all about this and is doing its utmost to offer every guarantee.
ALL PEACHY FOR EUROTEK
Eurotek Engineering, the freezing and chilling systems specialist, has successfully beat off stiff competition to win a contract with Greek food company, Alterra.
Eurotek has supplied two IQF freezers for Alterra’s new state-of-the-art plant in Giannitsa. The two new freezers are each capable of freezing up to 3,500kg of cut and washed peach cubes every hour. The fruit pieces are then supplied to yoghurt manufacturers or used as cake ingredients.
“Alterra told us they wanted the best installation in Greece,” explains Eurotek managing director Roger Smith. “They also wanted their own ideas incorporated into the design, and although this added to the complexity of the job it also gave us the edge over two competitors.”
ALL CLEAR FOR NORMAN PENDRED’S TRU-FOG
Norman Pendred & Co believes that by using its visible Tru-fog crop hydration system, producers can gain a significant number of benefits.
“Our customers are constantly looking for ways of reducing waste and enabling their product to be supplied at the highest quality possible,” says managing director Christopher Pendred. “Our system, when installed in a good refrigerated cold store, provides just the benefits that our potential customers are looking for.”
The system works by turning a cold store into a conditioning room. “Once air has been humidified to over 85 per cent, the cold store is then filled with a light cloud of fog, providing an airborne supply of moisture droplets,” Pendred says. “This enables produce to re-hydrate and effectively turns the shelf-life clock back to zero.”
While humidification systems have been around for the last 20 years and some are known as fogging systems, Pendred believes that Tru-fog is a cut above the rest.
“Some fogging systems don’t provide a true fog of <5 microns and almost never use purified water,” he explains. “Our challenge is to get our message across and demonstrate to customers the additional benefits that are obtainable through crop hydration systems or, as we call it, a Tru-fog system.
“A standard humidification system can only minimise the loss of moisture when perishable products are in cold store rather than provide additional moisture but without wetting to the product or floor as ours do.”
By using Tru-fog, Pendred claims that produce is visually improved, wastage is reduced and less time is spent grading produce prior to final packing.
“Over the last three years we have consistently improved and upgraded the packaging of our crop hydration system and now deliver them to site in a ‘plug and play’ state,” Pendred notes.
“This has made site installations more economical and enabled them to be completed more quickly, allowing more time to be spent tuning the system and discussing its operation with the client.”
Norman Pendred & Co works closely with salad and vegetable producers and counts Vitacress, Staples Vegetables, Maurice Crouch and Intercrop among its customer base.
The firm is relaunching its website in January and will include various levels of information about its water, crop hydration and other humidification systems.
PROCOOL WEIGHS UP ENTRIES
Several major European manufacturers of commercial refrigeration equipment have registered for the EC-backed ProCool competition. Among these are Caravell, Carrier, Frigoglass, Liebherr and Vestfrost. These companies have submitted new, innovative, energy-efficient products in the categories of refrigerators, refrigerated display cabinets and freezers.
Products are to be assessed and tested and the award ceremony will take place in the spring at the Hanover Technology Fair, where the most efficient appliances will be presented.
ProCool is a joint international project of the Austrian Energy Agency, the German Energy Agency - DENA, the Austrian Association for Consumer Information and the Wuppertal Institute for Climate, Environment and Energy. Its main objective is to promote the development of energy-efficient, plug-in refrigerator and freezer systems for commercial applications.
In the face of rising energy costs, the demand for energy-efficient appliances by retail and trade is likely to grow significantly over the next few years, ProCool notes, adding that manufacturers participating in the competition can meet this new demand and present themselves as leading innovators in the European market.
Major retail and trade companies are supportive of ProCool and Coca-Cola, REWE and Globus are among the firms to have signed a framework agreement. “This underlines the commitment of the companies to eco-efficient product design and their support of our concept,” says ProCool.
Other major companies such as Unilever and McDonalds have announced their intention to support the project and register as a partner.
No comments yet