Cold Chain Management for the Fresh Produce Industry in the Developing World

Vijay Yadav Tokala, Majeed Mohammed, Vijay Yadav Tokala, Majeed Mohammed

• Publisher: CRC Press
• Year: 2021
• Print ISBN:
  9780367498191
• eBook ISBN:
  9781000474008
• Topic: Technology & Engineering
• Subtopic: Food Science
• Index: Technology & Engineering

Global food losses are a result of a lack of necessary infrastructure, improper food safety handling procedures, and insufficient training for the personnel working in the cold chain. The development of a resource-efficient and energy-smart food supply chain requires a well-integrated evaluation and development of the cold chain. Cold Chain Management for the Fresh Produce Industry in the Developing World provides a comprehensive review of the benefits of an unbroken cold chain in developing countries and focuses on the critical role of extension education in the implementation of cold chain management.

The unbroken cold chain is essential for all stakeholders in the fresh produce industry to maintain the quality and safety of food products during handling, transporting, and storing in their journey from producer to consumer. Appropriate cold chain management is crucial not only to reduce the postharvest losses and wastages, but also to increase farmers' income, generate employment opportunities, and improve the livelihood of stakeholders along the supply chain.

Key Features:

• Includes case studies for promoting the expansion of existing technologies for cold chain development in Asian, Africa and the Caribbean nations.
• Assesses cold chain management as crucial to the growth of global trade in perishable products with contributions from international organizations, researchers and commercial experts.
• Articulates resilient, sustainable and creative concepts to develop cold chains to enhance food distribution.

This book comprises of chapters contributed by the experts and practitioners of cold chain development in developing countries. The authors in the book provide the scenario of cold chain management in the world and discuss the importance of the cold chain as well as the different options and innovations of cooling systems. Chapters also include case studies, success stories, capacity building activities, and other opportunities in cold chain development.

Section III Cold Chain Development, Capacity Building and Case Studies

9 Capacity Building for Cold Chain Development

Amanda Brondy, Lowel Randell, and Madison Jaco

Global Cold Chain Alliance

DOI: 10.1201/9781003056607-12

Contents

1. 9.1 Introduction
2. 9.2 Cold Chain Drivers
   1. 9.2.1 Consumer Demand
   2. 9.2.2 Access to Finance
   3. 9.2.3 Government Regulations
3. 9.3 The Global Cold Chain Alliance and World Food Logistics Organization
   1. 9.3.1 Capacity Building through the Association
   2. 9.3.2 Latin American Institute
4. 9.4 Capacity Building through International Development Projects
   1. 9.4.1 Formal Training
   2. 9.4.2 Study Tours
   3. 9.4.3 Consultations
   4. 9.4.4 Remote and On-Line Learning
5. 9.5 Challenges for Self-sustaining Capacity Building Programs
6. 9.6 Lessons Learned and Recommendations
7. 9.7 Conclusions
8. References

9.1 Introduction

The COVID-19 pandemic revealed the critical nature of the global food supply chain and its need to be resilient and adaptable. While frontline workers in the food system have worked tirelessly to ameliorate disruptions, images of bare shelves combined with reports of product rotting due to a lack of cold storage underscored the critical importance of temperature-controlled logistics. Even before the pandemic and its associated challenges, the problems associated with postharvest food loss and waste (FLW) and its negative impacts on nutrition, climate change, and economic development were widely acknowledged. This resulted in increased attention from governments, international donors, business leaders, and academics on how best to combat FLW.

The good news is that a solution to these challenges exists through the cold chain. The cold chain refers to the temperature management of perishable products as a means of maintaining quality and safety from the point of slaughter, harvest, or production through distribution networks to the final consumer. The impacts of temperature control on reducing food loss throughout the supply chain while enhancing food safety and quality are well documented, and the need to develop cold chains in emerging economies is frequently cited (Rezaei and Liu, 2017; Kitinoja and Thompson, 2010).

While cold chain should be recognized as a solution, it must also be acknowledged that the actual development is complicated. As a chain, it begins once the product has been harvested with postharvest handling practices and that critical but often overlooked step of removing field heat. It includes the transportation required to get the product off the farm, perhaps to further processing, and onward into storage, and then secondary distribution and finally into retail where it can be sold for consumption (Brecht et al., 2019). Too often, a cold chain is equated only with cold storage. This is important because taking a product that has been temperature abused and placing it into cold storage will mitigate further deterioration, but it will not fix the product. Also, if field heat is not removed through precooling before putting the product directly into a refrigerated truck or cold storage, it taxes the equipment which is designed to maintain temperatures, not to remove the field heat. Because it is a chain, what occurs at each link is critical for the next step, as demonstrated in Figure 9.1.

FIGURE 9.1 Overview of the cold chain.

The cold chain is also costly. Making the necessary investments, whether it is building a refrigerated warehouse, purchasing trucks, or providing the necessary infrastructure, such as roads, water, and energy, requires capital. As it costs money to provide temperature control for a product, these costs are eventually passed on to consumers where, in many countries, only the wealthy citizens can afford to pay for products that have passed through the cold chain.

Finally, as a chain, it requires specific knowledge about commodity storage, handling, packing and packaging, refrigeration maintenance, warehouse operational practices, and appropriate business and financial models. Considering the different links of the chain, successful capacity building involves working with farmers, processors, transporters, warehouse workers, and even retail to ensure proper handling, storage, and food safety practices are implemented. It can require educating representatives from government, financial institutions, and academia on cold chain practices to facilitate a positive enabling environment, especially in areas where the cold chain is in a nascent development phase.

In recent years, there has been a push to search for new technologies and innovations to solve the challenges associated with FLW. In addition to widespread interest, this has generated some really interesting ideas and concepts, several of which have been demonstrated and tested on pilot projects. These efforts may increase with the challenges highlighted by the COVID-19 pandemic. However, the critical importance of accompanying technologies with foundational best practices cannot be overlooked. Introducing a technology may be as much as 50% of the solution, but it will not be enough without appropriate capacity building for all of the actors involved with the cold chain.

This chapter examines the critical role of capacity building for cold chain development, based on the experience of the Global Cold Chain Alliance (GCCA). It is written from the perspective of the GCCA based on our experience in growing the cold chain globally through international development work, education programs like the WFLO Institute, and our advocacy work with governmental policies and regulations. This chapter will begin with a description of cold chain drivers, followed by a deeper examination of the experience of GCCA’s foundation, the World Food Logistics Organization (WFLO), with cold chain capacity building via member-based education and specific international development projects. Finally, it will close with a deep dive into lessons learned and subsequent recommendations.

9.2 Cold Chain Drivers

Indicators such as per capita gross domestic product (GDP) growth, trade flows, poverty, and education impact the development of the cold chain. On average, adding temperature control to a product increases the price by approximately one-third, so strong economic growth is a good measure for success. In addition to economic data, auxiliary issues critical to driving cold chain development include consumer demand, government regulations, and access to finance.

9.2.1 Consumer Demand

As stated above, cold chain infrastructure is expensive. In addition to basic infrastructure, including access to clean water, a reliable power source, and good roads, constructing facilities and purchasing transport solutions require large capital expenditures sustained by extensive operating costs. Some of the costs may be recouped by improvements to product quantity and quality as food loss is reduced. However, at least a portion of the cost must be passed on to the consumer. Therefore, a question of fundamental importance is whether consumers, foreign or domestic, are willing to pay more for products that have benefitted from the cold chain.

Typically, the export markets lead the demand for cold chain in countries with access to these markets. On the domestic side, the GCCA experience has reflected that cultural food preferences are important for consumer demand. In one Central Asian country, meat was sold in open-air fresh markets. Temperature control was only applied when the meat was beginning to rot, leading to a general distrust of any product that had been in cold storage. In India, many consumers prefer to shop in markets daily, choosing products that have arrived straight from the farm. Many American consumers are expressing similar preferences as can be seen by the increased popularity of farmers markets in urban settings.

It is important to acknowledge the implications that the COVID-19 pandemic may have on open-air, wet markets. We may start to see a greater push from consumers and even governments to shift to more organized retail as a means to better control and curtail the spread of diseases and enhance food safety.

9.2.2 Access to Finance

Shortage of capital is a constraint to small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) looking to invest in the cold chain. In Nigeria, business owners struggle with high interest rates on loans needed for capital-intensive investments, often leading them to seek assistance from development projects. While projects can and often do provide valuable sources of funding, there are at times certain strings attached via deliverables and reporting that may detract, or at least distract, from the fundamental core business of managing cold chain logistics.

The persistence of financing gaps is common for SMEs. Even if alternative financing options exist via family and friends, microfinance from banks, or statutory bodies, the cost may remain out of range, making profit elusive. This can incentivize shortcuts in best practices and deviations from standard operating procedures that lead to lower quality products. Where cold chain does not yet exist as a regular practice, loan officers understandably have little prior knowledge of the business models and are reluctant to loan large amounts of capital for what is perceived to be a risky and little-understood service.

9.2.3 Government Regulations

Regulatory issues involving the cold chain cover a variety of areas inclu...

Table of contents

• Cover
• Half Title
• Series Page
• Title Page
• Copyright Page
• Table of Contents
• Foreword
• Preface
• Editors
• Contributors
• Section I Cooling and Cold Chain
• Section II Cooling Systems
• Section III Cold Chain Development, Capacity Building and Case Studies
• Index