Tools exist so that agricultural products can maintain their characteristics during the post-harvesting phase. Optimal temperatures depend on the type of product and ripening phase. In general, products must be stored at the correct temperature to maintain their shelf-life and guarantee their freshness. FreshPlaza has talked about it with Nicolò Canì, CEO at Sistem Cold.
Nicolò Canì
The importance of the cold chain
"Maintaining the cold chain is important because fruits and vegetables are highly perishable and can deteriorate rapidly, decreasing their nutritional and commercial value. It is precisely the integrity of the cold chain that prevents the proliferation of bacteria and microorganisms that can cause problems. Logistics and storage require different temperatures depending on the type of products and ripening level. In general and except for some exceptions, fresh products are stored at a temperature between 0 and 4 degrees Celsius."
Above: facility for the storage of produce
Below are some temperatures of reference for a few products:
- Apples, pears, oranges: -1 – 2 °C
- Oranges: 4 - 6 °C
- Bananas, mangos, papayas: 11-15°C
- Grapefruits: 13 - 16 °C
- Lemons, limes: 11 - 13°C
- Strawberries, raspberries, blueberries: -1-1°C
- Salad, spinach, arugula: 1-3 °C
- Tomatoes, cucumbers, bell peppers: 10-12 °C
- Potatoes: 7-10 °C
- Carrots, turnips: 2-5 °C
"It's important to mention that violating the cold chain leads to losses in product quality and can represent a risk to human health. We are very careful when it comes to the safeguard of products stored or even simply handled to be transported. Our cold storage units aim in fact at maintaining environmental conditions such as temperature, humidity and all parameters that qualify the chain."
Above: system for the processing of produce
"The use of high-quality products, state-of-the-art technologies and highly-reliable plants means we can meet the increasingly numerous and specific needs of our current and future clients. Our organization and the constant availability of components mean we can accompany clients along the entire way, from technical-economic feasibility studies, installation and testing down to maintenance."
New facility equipped with cold chain systems
Ozone systems and much more
Sistem Cold goes beyond the set up of units for the storage of fruits and vegetables: air conditioning for production and processing rooms; freezing of vegetable products and quick cooling tunnels; ripening of bananas, citrus fruit degreening, persimmon detanning and ozone systems.
High-tech electrical panels
"We recently implemented a new in-house service for the design and setup of electrical panels for cold storage units. We wanted to perfect an aspect of our work to provide what I would call 'customized' answers for specific needs when it comes to the management of controlled temperature. Depending on whether storage needs to be short, medium, or long, we can arrange the necessary parameters for the most diverse needs."
For further information:
Nicolò Canì
Sistem Cold
C.da Maredolce
92028 Naro-Camastra (AG) – Italy
+39 335 533 1980
info@sistemcold.it
www.sistemcold.it