The refrigeration chain is a first-class chain system based on refrigeration technology, which ensures that the food is kept at a low temperature in all links from production to consumption by controlling the temperature, so as to maintain the quality of the food to a large extent, reduce the loss and prevent pollution. The refrigeration chain mainly includes refrigerated transportation and refrigerated sales, covering the whole process of food from raw material collection, processing, storage, transportation to sales. Establishing and maintaining a cold chain requires significant investment in technology and capital to guarantee the entire process of temperature control and food safety.
There are clear differences between refrigerated and frozen chains in terms of function and application.
The refrigerated chain is mainly used to maintain the quality and freshness of fresh food, including fruits and vegetables, meat and dairy products, etc., which need to be kept within the temperature range of 0 10 during transportation and storage. The goal of the refrigerated chain is to keep food products cold at all times in the chain to reduce wastage, prevent contamination and extend shelf life.
In contrast, the cold chain is mainly used to handle food products that need to be frozen during transportation and storage. These foods need to be stored at temperatures below -18 to ensure that their quality and shelf life are maintained. The purpose of the cold chain is to control the growth and reproduction of microorganisms through deep freezing to guarantee the safety of food and extend its shelf life.
The cold chain is mainly concerned with the preservation and quality of fresh food, while the cold chain is more concerned with the safety and shelf life of deep frozen food. In practical applications, both types of a-chain systems have their specific scope of application and requirements.
The functions of logistics cold storage are:
1.Storage and preservation: Cold storage provides a low-temperature environment for cold chain logistics, which can effectively extend the shelf life of food, medicine and other items, and ensure that their freshness and quality remain unchanged for a long time.
2.Temperature management: In order to ensure that items are kept at a stable low temperature during storage and transportation, the temperature is usually specially controlled in cold storage. This can effectively prevent the adverse effects of temperature fluctuations on the goods, and ensure the safety and quality of the goods.
3.Humidity management: Cold storage can maintain a suitable humidity environment to ensure the quality and freshness of fruits, vegetables and other items that require specific humidity conditions.
4.By adopting low-temperature storage and transportation, the multiplication of bacteria and microorganisms can be effectively controlled, thereby reducing the loss rate of products.
5.Cold storage can meet special needs, such as the specific temperature and humidity conditions required for items such as vaccines, blood, etc., to provide accurate temperature and humidity control to meet their special storage and transportation needs.
6.Optimize logistics processes: As a key link in cold chain logistics, cold storage helps to improve logistics efficiency. By scientifically managing temperature and humidity, we can ensure that products remain stable during transportation, reduce losses and delays, and optimize logistics processes.
7.Food safety assurance: Cold storage can provide a low temperature environment, prevent the growth of bacteria and microorganisms, ensure food safety, and reduce the risk of foodborne diseases.
Cold storage plays a vital role in cold chain transportation. It maintains the freshness and quality of items by providing a low-temperature environment and accurate temperature control, reducing wastage, improving logistics efficiency and ensuring food safety. Therefore, cold storage is an indispensable and important part of cold chain logistics.