Cool Chain Association trials new air cargo supply chain perishables label
13 / 07 / 2022
Cool Chain Association members at AGM. Photo: Cool Chain Association
Members of the Cool Chain Association (CCA) Technical Committee Programme have completed the first stage of a project to trial a new label for perishables shipments in the air cargo supply chain, driven by Challenge Group.
The label trial, undertaken by handlers and warehouse operators, tested the benefits of using a new label, including details of both commodity and temperature requirements on packaging for perishables shipments between Belgium and Israel over the last three months.
Under current regulations for perishables shipments, the commodity must be indicated on the packaging, but the temperature range is either not indicated or indicated on a second label, potentially leading to temperature deviation errors.
“During both acceptance and storage, the new label helped avoid temperature deviations, as well as avoiding time-consuming activities such as checking documents,” said Israel Amsterdamer, vertical operations manager, Challenge Group, who project-managed the trial.
“Feedback from participants was largely positive, but there were concerns around the costs involved in developing the new labels and additional implications related to the revision of the process flow.
“Challenge Group and CCA see the bigger picture – solving a very real problem, saving costs in the long run, and playing an important part in stopping food loss.”
The trial was the first milestone completed under the CCA’s Technology Committee Programme, which is part of a broader project to facilitate perishable identification and handling, with the mission to improve quality in the cool supply chain.
The results were discussed at the CCA’s Annual General Meeting (AGM) and perishables event last week in Rome, Italy, where CCA also announced a new risk management programme tracking asparagus consignments across the cool chain.
CCA’s risk management committee members, which include Able Freight, TIVE, Nature’s Pride, SMARTCAE and IATA, will plan and test the movement of asparagus from Peru and the US to Europe, initially in a virtual environment.
This will be followed by a real-time trial, with the results of both trials analysed to provide practical suggestions for improving the cool chain for asparagus.
