The equipment used in the Cold storage supply chain

Posted by Crystal Group on January 21st, 2019

The supply chain is a system that includes movement of products or services from supplier to the consumer end level. Supply chains link value chains which are necessarily responsible for all activities that process and shape the product for the consumer. A cold chain is a temperature controlled supply chain. It is used to preserve and enrich the shelf life of products like frozen food, seafood, chemicals, and pharmaceutical drugs.

The cold storage supply chain includes a series of storage and transport links which help in maintaining the required temperature for different kinds of products. The supply chain has three main components which are transport and storage equipment, trained personnel, and lastly the efficient management procedures.

The storage is the primary component of the cold chain supply chain. Cold storage facilities contain refrigerated rooms comprising of a wide range of temperatures according to the product specifications. The atmosphere consisting of air with a specific gas composition is maintained with more nitrogen or carbon dioxide than normal air. It enables to improve the quality of the product. The structure that encloses storage rooms is sealed with materials which include welded seams, polymer films bituminous, rubber cement and other such there insulating materials which retains the temperature.

The equipment used for this cold storage are:

• Refrigerators:  Refrigeration slows the bacterial growth. Hence it is used to preserve the products and add value to their shelf life. A fridge is a cooling machine powered by electricity. The solar-powered refrigeration system is also adopted where electricity is available in an interrupted manner.

• Cold boxes: Cold boxes are used to keep vaccines and drugs cool. They do not provide freezing but help in maintaining a cold temperature. These are boxes lined with ice packs.

• Ice packs: Ice packs are plastic bottles which are filled with water. These can be kept at refrigerating temperature or frozen levels depending upon the application.

• Dry ice:  It is solid carbon dioxide that sublimes at -78 degree Celsius. It is used as a refrigerant that offers natural cooling.

• Liquid nitrogen: It is a liquefied form of nitrogen that is used for cooling food and other cryogenic applications.

• Temperature data loggers and RFID tags: They are used to monitor the temperature history of trucks and warehouses.

Handling of products is mechanized with the help of hoisting and conveying machines. It includes freight elevators, electric loaders, trolleys, and storage battery trucks. A quality management system is essential for the cold chain supply chain. It needs to be evaluated and controlled from time to time. The information about each movement of the product, its shipment at predefined locations are the aspects which are essential to be known for efficient supply management.

The ultimate objective of using cold chain is to reduce wastage of old stocks and thereby to reduce costs by maintaining the quality of the product. Different industries using cold storage supply chain are fruits and vegetable industry, floriculture industries, meat industries, and pharmaceutical drug industries. It is a boon for vaccine storage and transportation.

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