Food Cold Chain Research Articles

A Review of the Energy-Saving Potential of Phase Change Material-Based Cascaded Refrigeration Systems in Chinese Food Cold Chain Industry

As the global demand for food increases, the efficiency and environmental sustainability of refrigeration systems have become increasingly critical issues. Cascaded refrigeration systems (CRSs) are widely used in the Chinese food cold chain due to their capacity to meet a wide range of temperature requirements. However, energy consumption of these systems is always high. If phase change materials (PCMs) are combined with the refrigeration systems, the energy-saving effect is remarkable. The paper reviews the integration of PCMs within CRS, focusing on their potential to reduce energy consumption, thereby improving food safety and reducing reliance on conventional, electricity-intensive refrigeration methods. The study categorizes and explores the low-temperature applications of PCMs in CRS, providing novel insights into enhancing energy efficiency in food cold chain logistics. Despite most PCM research focusing on single-stage systems, this review innovates by introducing PCM integration in multistage cascade systems, which is particularly relevant for low-temperature requirements. The discussion encompasses the structure, working fluids, and applications of CRSs in the cold chain, emphasizing the role of PCMs in sustainable cold chain management. The review concludes by highlighting the need for further research on PCMs in CRS, especially regarding their economic viability and large-scale implementation potential.

Cold Storage and Release Characteristics of Phase Change Cold Storage Plate with Non-Uniform Fins

Ice plates, widely used in food cold chain refrigeration transportation, involve challenges such as long cold storage time and low efficiency in use. This study establishes a mathematical model for ice plate cold storage and release. It analyzes the influence of fin setting position, distribution, and size on the cold storage and release characteristics of non-uniform fins having diverse sizes and spacing on the inner and outer surfaces of the ice plate. Results show that compared to finless ice plates, plates with inner or outer fins can reduce the cold storage and release time, accelerate the charging and discharging efficiency of the cold storage equipment, and potentially save time. Cold storage and release time savings of up to 17.5% and 19.6%, respectively, were attained using outer fins. Driven by natural convection inside the finned ice plate, cold storage proceeds from top to bottom, while cold release proceeds from bottom to top. For inner fins, the distribution has a higher impact on the cold storage and release speed than the size. For outer fins, both the distribution and size equally affect the cold storage and release speed. The smaller the reference spacing between the outer fins, the faster the cooling storage, but the slower the cold release. The larger the reference area, the faster the cooling storage, but the slower the cold release. Thus, when designing ice plate products, the distribution and the size of fins should be selected based on prior consideration of storage or release speed. This study provides a theoretical basis and design guidance for the design of ice plate products, especially for refrigerated transportation applications.

Risk Assessment of SF Food Cold Chain Logistics Based on Analytic Hierarchy Process

In recent years, people's demand for fresh fruits and vegetables for freshness, quality safety, and on-time performance is constantly increasing, and the risk factors existing in each link are also different. The risk of any link may affect the whole process of logistics can not be fully operated, or even directly cause the logistics service can not be completed.Therefore, it is very important to identify and analyze the risks of cold chain logistics from different perspectives.Based on the above considerations, through fully understanding the characteristics of cold chain logistics, this paper takes SF food cold chain logistics as an example, and analyzes the risk factors in cold chain logistics, including warehousing risk, technical risk, distribution risk and information risk.And using the Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP) to analyze and model the risk factors and calculate, the results show that the weight of warehousing risk factor and distribution risk factor is 0.3597 and 0.3120 respectively, which has the greatest impact on food cold chain logistics.Finally, the four risk factors of the model results are analyzed, and the risk control measures of SF food cold chain logistics are given.

Assessment of the cold storage capacity used in bulk handling of perishable agricultural produce in Ugandan cities

Investment in the food cold chain has been reportedly identified as a solution to extensive postharvest losses worldwide. However, cold chain investment in the Ugandan food value chain is largely unknown. This study located, characterised, and determined the efficacy of bulk cold storage facilities used in handling perishable agricultural food produce in the 16 city districts of Uganda. Only 9/16 city districts had bulk cold storage facilities, translating to a cold storage capacity of 4.5 m3 per 1,000 inhabitants. The private sector owned the highest proportion by volume (90.3%) of these facilities with the highest volume used for handling multiple perishable products (11,590 m3). Generally, temperature varied significantly from the respective set points in the facilities. Variations were observed for between 1/3 to 3/4 of the logged period above maximum allowable storage temperatures for the different products, showing efficacy lapses. These results indicate investment and management gaps and opportunities in this indelible sector in food value chain by both government and private sector players.

Supply chain sustainability and risk management in food cold chains – a literature review

PurposeThis article aims to evaluate published food cold chain (FCC) literature against risk management and supply chain sustainability concepts.Design/methodology/approachThe article uses the theory refinement logic proposed by Seuring et al. (2021) to analyze the contents of FCC management-related literature published over the past 20 years. A sample of 116 articles was gathered using Web of Science and subsequently analyzed. The respective articles were then systematically coded against the frameworks of Beske and Seuring (2014) and Vlajic et al. (2012), which focused on building sustainable and robust supply chains, respectively.FindingsThe literature review revealed that debates around managing contemporary sources of disruptions/vulnerability and making FCCs more sustainable and resilient are gradually developing. However, an overarching risk management perspective along with incorporating social and environmental dimensions in managing FCCs still needs the adequate attention of the respective research community.Research limitations/implicationsThe deductive internal logic of theory refinement approach used in this paper could have been further strengthened by using additional frameworks. This limitation, however, opens avenues for further research. The findings of the paper will stimulate the interest of future researchers to work on expanding our understanding related to sustainability and risk management in FCCs.Originality/valueThe paper is the first attempt to organize published FCC literature along dimensions of supply chain sustainability and risk management. The paper thus provides the respective researchers with a foundation that will help them adopt a focused approach to addressing the research gaps.

Research on Comprehensive Control and Traceability Management of Food Cold Chain Transportation

With the rapid development of economic globalization and cross-border e-commerce, the food import and export trade has encountered growth opportunities. Meanwhile, food safety has gained increasing attention from consumers worldwide. Most food products require cold chain transportation. However, in recent years, various safety hazards have emerged in the process of food cold chain logistics, with disruptions and food spoilage causing significant waste. Ensuring the safety and traceability of the entire food cold chain has become a critical factor limiting its development. This paper proposes strategies for the development of food cold chains, including the establishment of a comprehensive standard system, promoting orderly development of traceability systems, and enhancing traceability supervision platforms to achieve transparency in food cold chain safety.

An optimal decision for fresh products' cold chain considering freshness and carbon emission reduction

PurposeThe aim of this study was to analyze the effects of carbon reduction efforts and preservation efforts on system benefits in the cold chain industry of fresh products.Design/methodology/approachThis study develops an optimal decision game model for the fresh products in the cold chain, incorporating the retailer's preservation effort and the supplier's carbon emission reduction effort. It quantifies the relationship between carbon emission reduction effort, preservation effort and system profit. The model considers parameters like carbon trading price, consumer low-carbon preference and consumer freshness preference, reflecting real-world conditions and market trends. Numerical simulations are conducted by varying these parameters to observe their impact on system profit.FindingsUnder the carbon cap-and-trade policy, the profit of the fresh cold chain system is higher than that of the fresh cold chain system without carbon constraints, and the profit of the supplier under decentralized decision-making is increased by nine times in the simulation results. The increase in carbon trading prices can effectively improve the freshness level of fresh products cold chain, carbon emission reduction level and system profit.Originality/valueThis study comprehensively considers the factors of freshness and carbon emission reduction, provides the optimal low-carbon production decision-making reference for the fresh food cold chain and promotes the sustainable development of the fresh food cold chain.

Establishing a maturity prediction model for respiratory fruits via ethylene-regulated physiology: A case investigation of avocado

In addressing the severe waste issue in the Chinese avocado market due to uncontrollable storage temperatures and quality deterioration, this study investigated avocados under three distinct temperature conditions (20, 12, and 4 °C, with 80% ± 5% relative humidity), analyzing fruit respiration rate, ethylene release rate, peel color, flesh hardness, rheological properties, and sensory quality to explore the intrinsic changes during the ripening process. The study revealed significant differences in ripening rates among the different storage temperatures, albeit with relatively consistent physicochemical changes. Among the temperatures investigated, 12 °C was found to be the most suitable condition, effectively delaying fruit ripening, extending the shelf life, and yielding similar sensory quality to that of room temperature ripening. Subsequently, a ripeness prediction model based on respiratory and ethylene data changes was developed using LASSO regression analysis, achieving accuracy rates of 87%, 72%, and 91% at 20, 12, and 4 °C, respectively. This model demonstrates a high degree of fitting and can be used to predict the ripening stage of avocados. The study sets a direction for future data-driven strategies to optimize storage of climacteric fruits, contributing to reducing carbon emissions in the food cold chain and food waste.

Risk Mitigation Strategies in the Post-Pandemic Supply Chain Era: A Case Study of Food Cold Chain Logistics (FCCL)

The COVID-19 outbreak has had great impacts on traditional trading activities and lifestyles. More and more consumers choose to shop on online platforms, which requires more efficient management of supply chains. Sellers face real problems, such as maintaining a stable and reliable supply chain and avoiding the risk of supply chain disruption. There has been some research on supply chains, but they mainly focus on upgrades, digitalization, business collaboration efficiency improvement, etc. Few have paid attention to the causes of supply chain disruption and how to avoid the risk. In this regard, this article aims to summarize the actual risks that can be found in the operation of a supply chain, taking a cold chain in the food supply as an example, in the background of the digital economy, and to put forward some ideas and suggestions for avoiding such risks. The research presented in this article will help to reveal the potential risks of supply chain disruption and provide some inspiration for improving the resilience and anti-risk capabilities of the supply chain.

Eco-Friendly and Self-Sanitizing Microporous Cellulose Sponge (MCS)-Based Cooling Media for Mitigating Microbial Cross-Contamination in the Food Cold Chain.

Maintaining precise temperature control is vital for cold chain food transport, as temperature fluctuations can cause significant food safety and quality issues. During transport, ice that melts can promote the growth of microbes and their spread, resulting in microbial cross-contamination. This study developed sustainable, non-melting, self-sanitizing "ice cubes" using food grade compositions including microporous cellulose sponges (MCS) and photosensitizers, aimed at enhancing temperature regulation and minimizing microbial contamination in the cold chain. Upon absorbing water, the MCS matched traditional ice in cooling efficiency and heat absorption and exhibit remarkable mechanical and thermal durability, withstanding multiple freeze-thaw cycles and compressive stresses. The cationic MCS combined with erythrosine B demonstrated strong self-sanitizing capabilities, effectively reducing microbial cross-contamination in food models. Additionally, the release rates of photosensitizers from the MCS can be modulated by altering environmental ionic strength. This research offers viable solutions to address microbial cross-contamination challenges in current cold chain systems.

Antibacterial mechanism of slightly acidic electrolyzed water against Pseudomonas arsenicoxydans A1 from greater amberjack (Seriola dumerili)

This study aimed to identify the specific spoilage organism (SSO) from the metamorphosed greater amberjack (Seriola dumerili) fish. Pseudomonas arsenicoxydans A1 was identified as SSO by culture-depending method. Further, the antibacterial efficacy of slightly acidic electrolyzed water (SAEW) was explored and the mechanism of action on P. arsenicoxydans A1 was studied. SAEW with 20–60 mg/L of available chlorine concentration (ACC) showed a good antibacterial effect on P. arsenicoxydans A1. The total number of colonies, growth curve, OD value at 260 nm and 280 nm, DNA fluorescence intensity, alkaline phosphatase (AKP), lactate dehydrogenase (LDH), superoxide dismutase (SOD), and catalase (CAT) enzyme activity and SEM results showed that SAEW could destroy the permeability and integrity of P. arsenicoxydans A1 cell membrane, and affect bacterial cell activity at metabolic, enzymatic and DNA level, which caused bacterial cell death. This study provided the application of SAEW in sterilization and preservation of raw fish fillets, which showed a promising effect on the growth of P. arsenicoxydans A1 in food cold chain.

4IR 시대의 식품 콜드체인 3PL 서비스품질과 공급체인 성과에 관한 실증연구

Recently, the cold chain market in the food industry has been rapidly advancing with the application of Fourth Industrial Revolution technologies such as Big Data, IoT, RFID, enhancing both information technology and logistics systems. Consequently, in the support of food cold chain systems, physical quality and logistics information quality have improved during the distribution and logistics processes. Therefore, there is a need for distribution and logistics companies to derive and examine service quality factors that impact relationship maintenance and performance in the supply chain management process with small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in the food industry during the Fourth Industrial Revolution era. This study aims to identify the cold chain service quality factors of third-party logistics (3PL) companies based on expert in-depth interviews and a three-dimensional service quality model. Additionally, it seeks to understand the influence of relationship orientation in Korean food SMEs on supply chain performance. To achieve this, a systematic survey was conducted through preliminary investigations, distributing structured questionnaires, and collecting a total of 240 responses, excluding 9 unreliable responses, for empirical analysis. The collected survey data were analyzed using SPSS version 28.0 for frequency analysis to understand the general characteristics of respondents. Furthermore, Smart PLS version 4.0 was employed to test the internal consistency reliability, concentration, and discriminant validity of the measurement model. After evaluating the structural model, hypotheses were verified. The results of the analysis indicate that all three-dimensional service quality factors of cold chain services provided by 3PL companies (data processing expertise, digital-based customer responsiveness, and smart logistics information accuracy) positively influence relationship orientation. Additionally, the relationship orientation of food SMEs toward 3PL companies was confirmed to have a positive impact on supply chain performance. Therefore, the significance of this study lies in providing service quality factors for distribution and logistics companies to maintain relationships with food SMEs in South Korea and confirming the causal relationships affecting supply chain performance.

Comparison of the environmental impact of typical packaging systems for food cold chain express based on life cycle assessment

With the rapid growth of e-commerce in the food industry, Food Cold Chain Express (FCCE) services have experienced significant expansion. These services typically entail extensive use of packaging items, including insulation boxes, insulation bags, and refrigeration materials, etc. This usage potentially leads to significant environmental burdens, encompassing resource consumption, greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, and waste disposal. This study conducts a comparative environmental impacts analysis of two food cold chain packaging systems using life cycle assessment (LCA), for ice cream transportation. The reusable vacuum insulated panel (VIP) box packaging system demonstrates superior environmental performance when compared to the disposable expanded polystyrene (EPS) box packaging system across all evaluated impact categories. The results suggest that conclusions regarding lower environmental impact cannot be exclusively based on the choice of insulation material. The weight of the packaging and the transportation distance also exert a significant influence on the overall environmental performance of the systems. Furthermore, minimizing the environmental impact of dry ice usage by exploring alternatives is highlighted as a crucial aspect of sustainable packaging practices. The results provide valuable insights for optimizing cold chain packaging systems in the pursuit of environmental sustainability.

Cost optimization model design of fresh food cold chain system in the context of big data

The assessment of cold chain logistics for fresh products can be more precise with high-dimensional information data, providing valuable insights for the optimization of associated costs. Nonetheless, traditional data processing techniques fail to meet the processing efficiency required for such high-dimensional cold chain logistics data. Therefore, this paper proposes a spectral clustering algorithm based on the local standard deviation and optimized initial center, which comprehensively analyzes the fixed, transportation, refrigeration, and cargo damage costs of cold chain logistics. Additionally, this algorithm includes a variation operator based on clustering and introduces a large neighborhood search mechanism for optimizing the individual connectivity gene layer after selecting the gene layer site for variation. Simulation results demonstrate that the proposed algorithm exhibits better convergence in 15 iterations, reduces error rates, and significantly cuts down on the clustering process time. This ultimately leads to a reduction in the total cost of cold chain calculation.

Freezing enhances the killing of S. aureus by thymol via a unique bactericidal mechanism in cold chain food

Microbial pathogens e.g., S. aureus can survive and spread in food cold chain. Under low temperature, microbes develop resistance to common antibacterial agents. Thus, it is important to identify alternative strategies to control pathogens in food cold chain. In present study, we discovered that thymol, different from other tested essential oils, displayed improved ability to kill S. aureus under frozen condition (−20 °C). Time-killing kinetics showed that 99.99% S. aureus were killed after exposure to 100 μg/mL thymol within 6 h, and such bactericidal activity was maintained even after multiple cycles of freezing and thawing. In contrast to the ROS-dependent bactericidal mechanism at 37 °C, thymol killed S. aureus in a ROS-independent mode at −20 °C. The proteomic analysis supported that thymol killed S. aureus by directly destroyed the stability of cell membrane without intracellular biological responses. Under frozen condition, thymol efficiently prevented bacteria contamination in low-lipid foods without affecting the foods’ hardness, chewiness, resilience, adhesiveness, springiness and cohesiveness. These findings uncovered a new mechanism of thymol-mediated bactericidal activity under frozen condition and suggested an alternative efficient strategy to control bacterial contamination in cold chain food.

Kinetic models applied to quality change and shelf-life prediction of fresh-cut pineapple in food cold chain

This study developed a predictive model of the remaining shelf-life of fresh-cut pineapple by considering microbial, chemical, and sensory indicators under storage temperatures.The effect of temperature on quality indices (Ea)was29.57–96.8 kJ/mol. The acceptable limits for vitamin C loss and weight loss for fresh-cut pineapple were 27.71 mg/100 g fresh weight and 4.32 %, respectively, in accordance with cutoffs determined on the basis of sensory changes. Key quality indicators that could predict the remaining shelf-life between 5 °C and 25 °C were the TVC and WL. Vitamin C loss was only suitable when storage temperature was above 10 °C. The remaining shelf-life in a real supply chain in terms of the TVC, vitamin C loss, and WL were 9.9, 3.5, and 4 days, respectively. Overall, the shelf-life prediction model developed using selected key indicators may help in managing temperature in the fresh-cut fruit supply chain and improving storage shelf-life.

The role of supply chains for the sustainability transformation of global food systems: A large‐scale, systematic review of food cold chains

AbstractGlobal food systems need an urgent transformation to be compatible with sustainable development. While much of the recent academic discussion has focused on food production and consumption, food supply chains have received considerably less attention. Here, we conduct a large‐scale, systematic literature review of 48,014 academic articles to assess the links between the food cold chain literature and sustainable development. We find a multitude of deep links between food cooling and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), but also identify underexplored areas of sustainable food cooling research regarding its (1) goals, (2) analytical depth, and (3) context specificity: There is a limited understanding how several relevant synergies between SDGs can be captured, how to best design sustainable food cold chains across multiple value chain stages, and how to scale sustainable cold chains in low‐income and lower‐middle‐income country contexts. We recommend to explicitly consider the salient interconnections between SDGs, increase the analytical depth by deploying more system‐level approaches across entire value chains, and focus on localized solutions in contexts where food supply chains are most underdeveloped.

Risk Analysis in the Food Cold Chain Using Decomposed Fuzzy Set-Based FMEA Approach

Risk analysis is employed across various domains, including the increasingly vital food supply chain, particularly highlighted by the COVID-19 pandemic. This study focuses on applying decomposed fuzzy sets (DFS), a novel extension of intuitionistic fuzzy sets, within the context of the food cold chain. The objective is to develop “Decomposed Fuzzy Set-Based FMEA (DF FMEA)” by extending the well-known failure mode and effect analysis (FMEA) method to DFS, to assess risks in the food cold chain. The functional and dysfunctional questions related to the severity, occurrence, and detectability of the identified risks; they were addressed to three experts working on the food cold chain. The purpose is to prevent an inconsistent assignment considering the uncertainty and indecision of decision makers. Due to the implementation of the DF FMEA, the identified risks were prioritized as follows: “Financial Risks” held the highest priority, followed by “Delivery Risks”, “Technological Ability Risks”, “Environmental Risks”, “Quality Risks”, and “Social Risks” with the lowest priority. The study’s practical impact lies in the innovative risk assessment method. By considering decision makers’ preferences and uncertainties, the DF FMEA approach enhances informed decision making. This contributes to a robust framework for addressing risks in the food cold chain, aiding practitioners in more effective risk management.

Outranking-based failure mode and effects analysis considering interactions between risk factors and its application to food cold chain management

Failure mode and effects analysis (FMEA) is helpful to control potential risks of enterprises by ranking failure modes based on their evaluation values regarding multiple risk factors. However, due to the cognitive limitation of experts, obtaining explicit evaluation of failure modes is difficult; in addition, existing literature on FMEA rarely considered interactions between risk factors. To bridge these research gaps, this paper proposes an outranking-based hesitant fuzzy linguistic FMEA method. Firstly, inspired by the PROMETHEE-II and the best-worst method, the outranking relation between each failure mode and the best or the worst failure mode is determined, so as to reduce the number of pairwise comparisons. Also, the hesitant fuzzy linguistic term set is used to express the ambiguity of expert judgments regarding the comparisons of failure modes. The Choquet integral is applied to integrate the scores of risk factors considering their interactions. Finally, the proposed method is implemented in an example of food cold chain risk assessment. Results shows that failure modes with high risks are the illness of cold chain workers, product loss and long-time transportation. This study contributes theories about managing ranking efficiency of failure modes in FMEA under fuzzy evaluation environment with interactive risk factors when addressing food cold chain risk evaluation problems.

Cold chain relevance in the food safety of perishable products

The food cold chain is an effective tool that allows food markets to maintain food quality and reduce losses. Poor logistics may result in foodborne disease outbreaks and greenhouse gas emissions caused by organic matter decay. The ongoing pandemic of COVID-19 makes it necessary to study the chances of SARS-CoV-2 transmissions in food products.
 This study reviews cold chain logistics as a handy tool for avoiding food safety risks, including COVID-19.
 The cold chain of perishables and its proper management make it possible to maintain quality and safety at any stage of the food supply chain. The technology covers each link of the food chain to prevent microbial spoilage caused by temperature fluctuations and the contamination with SARS-CoV-2 associated with perishable foods. Given the lack of knowledge in this field in Latin America, the region needs new research to determine the impact of the cold chain on perishable foodstuffs.
 The perishable cold chain is only as strong as its weakest link, and the national and international markets require new traceability protocols to minimize the effect of COVID-19.