Running on Ice: The cold chain needs a little warmup

All thawed out

Once upon a time, there was a study that found that raising temperatures in ultracold freezers to minus 15 degrees Celsius versus the typical minus 18 boosted energy efficiency and had no effect on the quality or life span of the frozen food. Researchers asked cold storage companies and shippers to consider this adjustment to reduce carbon emissions.

The initiative has taken off in Europe. Nomad Foods, Europe’s leading frozen food manufacturer, has thrown its support behind The Move to -15C coalition. So has the international Danish food company Danish Crown. In fact, more and more companies are joining the coalition, and with only energy savings and carbon emission reduction to gain, it seems like a no-brainer.

The chairman of The Move to -15C coalition, Thomas Eskesen, said in a Riviera article: “By redefining temperature set points, we stand to make a significant impact in the decarbonisation of global supply chains. But no one company can do this alone. To set us up for success, our focus remains on scaling our membership base and we encourage key players within the frozen food supply chain to reach out and get involved.”

Temperature checks

A new study by the University of Michigan, supported by the U.S. National Science Foundation and climate and energy solutions company Carrier Global Corp., found that fully refrigerated supply chains have the potential to reduce global food waste-related emissions of climate-warming greenhouse gases by 41%. As it turns out, meat accounts for more than 50% of food loss-related greenhouse gas emissions and has the most room for improvement.

“The scale of our opportunity for reducing food loss and waste globally is evident,” said the study’s lead author, Aaron Friedman-Heiman, a master’s student at the University of Michigan’s School for Environment and Sustainability and at the Ross School of Business. “Approximately half of the roughly 1.3 billion tons of food that goes to waste annually can be solved through food supply-chain optimization.”

The researchers analyzed the effects of moving from the current state of inconsistent and variable-quality cold chains throughout the world to an optimized system with high-quality refrigeration across all stages. Regions such as sub-Saharan Africa and Southeast Asia are highlighted for their significant potential to reduce both food loss and related emissions through enhanced cold-chain implementation.

Food and drug

One of America’s top food companies has brought the summer heat to the grocery store. Conagra Brands is bringing more than 50 new items to grocery shelves, including single-serve and multiserve frozen meals, frozen vegetables, and snacks.

Leading the pack is none other than Mrs. Dolly Parton. After the success of her baked goods, Dolly’s favorite meals are coming to the freezer aisle with mac and cheese, chocolate pie and a whipped cheesecake.

Chef Boyardee is also coming to the freezer aisle, in the form of skillet meals. The lineup features spaghetti and meatballs, chicken alfredo, and cheese ravioli. Sadly, SpaghettiOs will remain in the can aisle.

Birds Eye will increase its frozen vegetable offering, but the real news from the company comes in the form of multiserve meals. For example, the new sesame chicken dish will have the full meal in one bag: the breaded chicken, broccoli, carrots and white rice all with the sauce for tossing. Chicken bacon ranch mac and cheese and beef lo mein are also coming to shelves.

Cold chain lanes

This week’s SONAR reefer market is none other than Kansas City, Missouri, the backdrop for the newest Hallmark wintertime movie, if that’s your thing. More importantly, Kansas City seems to have hit its peak of reefer outbound tender rejections, reaching a 13.2% rejection rate earlier this week. That’s not quite the highest of the year but for sure the highest of the quarter. Rejections are trending downward, but come next week there should be another upward swing heading into the Fourth of July as drivers make plans for some extra home time.

Reefer outbound tender volumes are on a run without an end in sight, up 27.69% week over week. They could slump late next week for the holiday, but the true test of the market’s resilience will be post-holiday. If outbound tender volumes and rejections return to current levels, then it’s a sign that Kansas City might be on the rebound. 

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Wanna chat in the cooler? Shoot me an email with comments, questions or story ideas at moconnell@freightwaves.com.

See you on the internet.

Mary

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Source: freightwaves - Running on Ice: The cold chain needs a little warmup
Editor: Mary O'Connell