Temperature Management in Cold Chain

Abstract

The supply chain can be quite complex when dealing with food products. The limited lifetime and the deteriorating quality of perishable foods over time contribute substantially to the complexity of their management. The preliminary tasks before storage are as important as the tasks after storage to maintain a sustainable and unbroken cold chain. In storing perishable products, one must consider product characteristics, especially temperature requirement. Temperature requirements vary among food items, whether frozen or chilled, and they even differ across types of foods. Even short exposures like a few hours to extreme hot or cold temperatures can cause a marked decrease in shelf life and loss of quality. Good temperature management is, in fact, the most important and simplest procedure for delaying the deterioration of food products. The optimization of temperature control in storage facilities such as refrigerated truck, warehouse, and cold store is crucial in today’s operation of Cold Chain Logistics. Some methods to define optimal target temperature are introduced in this chapter. The improved cold chain needs to be instrumented, interconnected, and intelligent. Therefore, cold chains need to be interconnected to customers, suppliers, and IT systems, as well as to products, trailers, and other smart objects that monitor the cold chain.