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Energy Efficiency in Food Cold Chain

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Every year, billions of pounds of food get thrown away. While a good amount of this waste occurs post-consumer purchase, a prominent segment comes from spoilage during transportation. Increasing the efficiency of the food product supply chain can add several days to the life of a product. Such a change would have hugely positive financial implications for every stakeholder in the supply chain, and make sure our ever-precious resources are not wasted. Worldwide, it is estimated that 40% of all foods are refrigerated at some point, and that 15% of global energy consumption is devoted to refrigeration. With the growing worry over climate change, global warming and the recent sharp increases in energy costs, one clear aim is to reduce the energy used in the cold chain without reducing food safety or quality. If we look at the transport segment of the chain, truck loading appears to present opportunities for increased efficiency. Automated truck loading systems can considerably reduce the cooling losses during the loading and unloading process. Therefore, those systems can play a role in the sustainable and efficient energy management in temperature-controlled transport. Automated truck loading systems are used predominately for transports where loading times play an important role. Standard truck loading or unloading with fork lift trucks takes on average 30 minutes. With automated systems, the loading times can be reduced to just 2 minutes. Avoiding temperature variations during the loading and unloading periods is important, but we must also not forget about potential unforeseen temperature changes occurring in transit. A business whose trucks are equipped with quality temperature reporting technology can get instantly notified when a prominent increase or decrease occurs. Thus, they can address and rectify the issue before completing the transportation process where, for example, a grocery store’s receiver may turn the driver away. If you are interested in how Cooltrax can help you with ensuring energy-efficiently the quality and safety of your perishable loads, get in touch! We offer a 30-day trial and a free cold chain assessment. Cooltrax provides real time information and remote management tools that allow for hands-on supervision of goods in transit. Our reporting is also used as validation for HACCP Plan audits and regulatory inquiry.

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