The Influence of Cool Chain Management on the Shelf Life and Quality of Horticultural Products: Review

Abstract

The ever rising of population growth around the world necessitates the food demand greatly. The available land produces constant quantity of product per given area despite to the liner increment of food demand. Conversely, some of the produced food may not be reached to the end consumer due to food inaccessibility, food loss and food wastage which may still able to feed million of peoples who are living under nourishment. The horticultural crops are a perishable product due to its highest moisture content which deteriorate by high temperature. However, this temperature effect can be managed to its lowest optimum storable of individual products by cold chain management system at all levels of movements. The Cold chain logistics management is a systematic logistics project which the temperature sensitive products are always provided in low temperature environment in every aspect of production, storage, transportation, marketing and consumption to ensure quality of goods. Cold chain constitutes four aspects of frozen processing, frozen storage, refrigerated transport and distribution and frozen sales. The proper cold chain management system reduces a significant quantity loses of horticultural fresh products which occurred between harvesting and consumption period. At storage house and during transporting, the temperature adjustment according to the crop optimum lower temperature is a crucial activity of cool chain management. At the final, temperature management of produce at retailer shop is a component of cool chain management system to supply quality product to end consumer. The temperature management activities can be regulated by conventional thermometer, electronic data logger, and smart wireless autonomous micro system and time temperature indicator to  control the temperature breakage that occurred in cool chain management system at any point and time that makes cool chain management as efficient to pro long the shelf life of the products.

Keywords: Food Waste; food loss; Temperature; Storage; Transportation;whole seller; Retailer; Deterioration