The secrets of a correct cold chain
Interview with Nika Bagdasarian, Frascold Sales Area Manager – North West Italy
To ensure the best quality of the goods, it is essential that the refrigeration systems used throughout the Chain are high performance and efficient.
Most of the foods we consume daily, before reaching our tables, go through the multiple phases of the so-called cold chain. This expression refers to the path that products take from the moment they are harvested, fished or slaughtered, until they arrive in our homes. The goal is to preserve food while preserving its organoleptic and aesthetic characteristics, while promoting compliance with hygiene standards and food safety.
To ensure the best quality of the goods, it is therefore essential that the refrigeration systems used throughout the Chain are high-performance and efficient. In this sense, the compressors, helping to maintain constant and controlled temperatures, stand out among the indispensable components in ensuring the freshness of food. Let’s delve into the topic with Nika Bagdasarian, Frascold Sales Area Manager – North West Italy.
The European Green Deal sets ambitious 2050 targets for the mitigation of climate change. Similarly, the UNEP “Food Waste Index” Report shows a correlation between food waste and climate change.
How much does a correct cold chain positively affect the achievement of these goals?
The updated data on food waste are alarming: FAO estimates that every year about a third of the food produced in the world is wasted*. A concrete problem that has significant economic and social consequences, along with the environmental ones. The disposal of Food Waste generates, in fact, from 8 to 10% of greenhouse gases globally, thus aggravating the climate crisis.
In this sense, a correct cold chain, thanks to the adoption of cutting-edge technologies, can make the difference and, in this context, Frascold compressors are a valid ally to meet every need of the actors in the supply chain. Our products contribute to fulfilling a double task: ensuring the best preservation of food, avoiding food waste, and limiting emissions into the atmosphere.
Thanks to extensive knowledge of the international market, a process of continuous innovation and constant investments in R&D, we offer one of the widest offers on the market. Combining reliability, flexibility and eco-sustainability, we support, in fact, solutions with very low environmental impact, for applications in single systems, multi-compressor and cascade systems.
How important is it to choose a quality compressor for maintaining the cold?
Choosing a quality compressor is essential for an effective design of a high-performance refrigeration system, because it contributes to preventing temperature changes, preserves products from contamination by pathogens and ensures a longer shelf-life.
In this regard, among the major challenges of the cold chain we highlight the design of systems for industrial refrigeration, dedicated, therefore, to the processing and storage of food. For example, fresh vegetables, fruits and meat must maintain a temperature between 0°C and 5°C, while dairy products and cured meats around 0°C. For frozen products, on the other hand, solutions are needed that guarantee low temperatures starting from -20°C and above. It is important to consider that these foods require the maintenance of a constant temperature, even during the delicate loading and unloading phases that involve high dispersions due to the temperature difference between the inside and outside.
In this sense, Frascold meets these needs with a constantly expanding range of compressors, which ensures optimal performance while respecting the highest standards in terms of reliability and durability. In this regard, 100% of the compressors are tested at the end of the line and subjected to a triple test: electrical, mechanical and seal. Lastly, further added value of Frascold is the in-depth knowledge of the reference sector, thanks to the professionals of our Competence Center who work alongside customers for the construction of production plants with low environmental impact, as well as products and technologies of the latest generation.
Our proactive approach, in fact, is aimed at the creation of ad hoc solutions, in order to respond to every request. The collaboration also aims at providing continuous support, from strategic consultancy in the design phase to after-sales assistance. A choice that has proven to be successful and evidenced by the numerous long-lasting partnerships established over the years.
