The Cold Chain

The cold chain refers to the various stages that a refrigerated product passes through on its journey from farm to fork.

From the moment a fruit or vegetable is harvested or an animal is slaughtered, it needs to be kept at the appropriate temperature in order to avoid that it spoils. The deterioration of a product can be slowed by reducing the temperature at which it is stored. In fruits and vegetables, this slows down metabolic processes, which, in turn, slows spoilage. Reduced temperatures slow the growth of potentially harmful bacteria in animal products that are stored at frozen temperatures, allowing them to be shipped all over the world with minimal food safety risks. It is important that suitable temperature control be maintained from as soon as is feasible to as close as possible to consumption.

From the raw materials stage to the various distribution storage facilities a commodity passes through, transport refrigeration keeps it at the temperature required to maximize storage life and quality for many days, weeks and months between cold storage facilities.
UN Environment and IIR, 2018. Cold chain technology brief, Cold storage and refrigerated warehouse

Raw Cityscape The only way to make sense out of change is to plunge into it, move with it, and join the dance.
The Kingdom Zen does not confuse spirituality with thinking about God while one is peeling potatoes. Zen spirituality is just to peel the potatoes.
Going in Deep To have faith is to trust yourself to the water. When you swim you don't grab hold of the water, because if you do you will sink and drown. Instead you relax, and float.
Galactic Oneness Things are as they are. Looking out into it the universe at night, we make no comparisons between right and wrong stars, nor between well and badly arranged constellations.
Wonderful Sunrise You and I are all as much continuous with the physical universe as a wave is continuous with the ocean.
Vast Deserts But the attitude of faith is to let go, and become open to truth, whatever it might turn out to be.

Cold storage

Cold storage facilities usually operate at two temperature levels, frozen (well below 0o C) and chilled (above 0o C). Frozen produce must be stored below -18o C, and it is usual to maintain the store between -22o C and -26o C to provide a factor of safety in the event of major equipment failure. Some products require lower temperatures, for example ice-cream and similar produce is stored between -26o C and -29o C, and some niche market products such as some types of sushi must be kept significantly colder, even down to -60o C, in order to retain product quality.

Chilled produce is typically held between 0o C and 4o C, although fruit, bakery products and vegetables are stored between 8o C and 12o C. Some stores offer long term storage contracts, in order to stock produce until it is “out of season” and therefore more valuable. Stock may be held for months in these warehouses.

Other sites provide marshaling facilities in order to restock supermarkets on a daily basis; in these plants the product is not usually in the building for more than 24 hours. The cooling load on such a building is high because of the amount of traffic through the temperature controlled chambers, although product load is typically low because the residence time is not long enough for the air temperature to have any appreciable effect on the product.

UNEP 2018. Montreal Protocol on Substances that deplete the ozone layer. 2018 Report of the Refrigeration, Air Conditioning and Heat Pumps Technical Options Committee, 2014 assessment; Industrial refrigeration and heat pump systems

Raw Cityscape The only way to make sense out of change is to plunge into it, move with it, and join the dance.
The Kingdom Zen does not confuse spirituality with thinking about God while one is peeling potatoes. Zen spirituality is just to peel the potatoes.
Going in Deep To have faith is to trust yourself to the water. When you swim you don't grab hold of the water, because if you do you will sink and drown. Instead you relax, and float.
Galactic Oneness Things are as they are. Looking out into it the universe at night, we make no comparisons between right and wrong stars, nor between well and badly arranged constellations.
Wonderful Sunrise You and I are all as much continuous with the physical universe as a wave is continuous with the ocean.
Vast Deserts But the attitude of faith is to let go, and become open to truth, whatever it might turn out to be.

Refrigerated Transport

Over time, the increased demand for temperature sensitive goods and the extension of shelf-life, has led to the development of diverse means of transport. This has been accompanied by technical developments designed to maintain unbroken cold chains.

Transport refrigeration is by land, sea and air. Land transport being the most diverse comprise refrigerated semitrailers, containers rigid vehicles and small vans. Sea transport is now mainly refrigerated containers though entire refrigerated ships exist and significant numbers of fishing and fish processing vessels. Air transport times are short and the temperature control rudimentary.

Whilst many people only experience refrigeration domestically, in chilled and frozen sections of supermarkets and possibly air conditioning, the cold chain to get the produce to them often goes unnoticed. Without developments in cold storage and transport throughout the production and distribution processes, the modern supermarket would look very different with many commodities imported long distances being either very expensive or unavailable.

UN Environment and IIR, 2018. Cold chain technology brief, Transport Refrigeration