All over the world, it is estimated that around one third of the food produced for human consumption gets lost, is wasted, or is never eaten.
According to The Department for Environment Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA), this accumulates to roughly ten million tonnes of food and drink, being wasted annually within the UK.
An especially high level of food is wasted in the warehouse due to inconsistent temperatures, which can result in business loss. While food waste is common throughout the supply chain, better monitoring of temperatures in refrigerated warehouses and transport can significantly reduce this waste
Un-disrupted temperature-controlled environments, within the supply chain are referred to as “Cold Chain”, used to prolong the life of fresh and perishable produce which predominantly includes fruit, vegetables and frozen food. Cold chains are fundamental to safely transporting food and pharmaceuticals at a constant temperature from where they are grown or extracted, through the manufacturing process, into shops and restaurants and ultimately to the end consumer.
The cold chain requires sophisticated logistics operations including the use of temperature-controlled vehicles, ISO sea/rail containers and warehouses. Controlled, documented, measured and validated processes are intrinsic to the successful operation of the temperature-controlled supply chain. Recent innovations and further development in sensor-based GPS enabled technology enables logistics and transport managers to accurately collect, monitor and analyse temperature throughout the cold chain.
Providing a voice for the UK’s temperature-controlled logistics industry; The Cold Chain Federation is the platform for information, collaboration and discussion for its membership, made up of businesses who operate frozen and chilled storage facilities and/or temperature-controlled distribution vehicles plus companies who have mutual commercial or policy interests
A regulated industry body; The Cold Chain Federation’s aim is to educate and influence the regulatory, policy and political establishment, surrounding the value and importance of what their members do, whilst addressing government policy issues which impact upon business.
On Thursday, 12th September the ‘Future of Refrigerated Transport’ conference will be hosted at the National Conference Centre (NCC), Solihull by The Cold Chain Federation in conjunction with headline sponsors, The Supply Chain Consulting Group. As a leading Supply Chain and Logistics Consultancy in this sector, The Supply Chain Consulting Group works throughout the UK, Europe and Africa with major Grocery FMCG suppliers and Retailers in the design and implementation of temperature controlled logistics networks including warehouse and distribution centre location and design, transport operations, including fleet profiling and route scheduling, and implementation support to ensure the operations are optimised.
At the September conference next week, Gideon Hillman – director of The Supply Chain Consulting Group – will be chairing a conference session, alongside three industry speakers. The session will include trending topics from change of platforms within the supply chain, increasing demands of customers and regulation; to change in refrigeration solutions for vehicles.
The participants will benefit from industry updates; moreover, the session will be consistent in strategies, trends and context within the cold chain. Delegates will be welcome to ask any questions at the session close, which will be answered diligently by the event’s knowledgeable speakers.
You can visit The Supply Chain Consulting Group representatives on the day between 10.00am and 3.30pm, on Stand 12, at the National Conference Centre, Solihull, B92 0EJ.
