The two critical factors that heavily contribute to the issue of spoilage of food produce in India are the high field heat and the challenging road conditions during transportation from the farm to the nearest cold storage facility, said Dr R Saravanan, Professor of Mechanical Engineering, R&AC Division, College of Engineering, Chennai, in India.

Dr Saravanan, who also serves as the National Secretary of the Indian Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air Conditioning Engineers (ISHRAE), is part of the team that is in the process of producing the 6th Edition of REFCOLD India, from October 12 to 14, in Chennai. He said that REFCOLD (refrigeration and cold chain exhibition) by ISHRAE will be placing significant emphasis on addressing the urgent global challenge of food wastage. He pointed out to statistics indicating that 30-40% of vegetables and fruits are spoilt while being transported from the farm to the nearest cold storage facility in India. This alarming reality, he said, underscores the crucial need for improved refrigeration and cold chain practices, and it will be one of the focus areas of REFCOLD.

Dr R Saravana

A potential solution to mitigate the losses is to emphasise the importance of tackling field heat and improving transportation conditions, Saravanan said. To reduce the field heat, there are existing methods like evaporative cooling and conventional cooling, he said, adding that these technologies will help bring the temperature down to a range between 20 and 26 degrees C, which is ideal for the transportation of the produce in a controlled atmosphere. He further said that by implementing these pre-cooling techniques and maintaining a consistent temperature during transport, a substantial amount of produce and the quality can be preserved.

Saravanan also touched on the potential for mobile adiabatic cooling in India. This method, which involves cooling the produce directly at the site, will have a significant impact on power consumption as opposed to traditional methods of refrigeration, he said. Moreover, adiabatic cooling, he said, could also address the financial limitations faced by farmers and could help optimise the cooling processes and reduce energy costs. “The potential benefits of these strategies,” he said, “are to reduce food wastage during transportation, reduce the load on cold storage facilities and improve the quality of harvested produce in Indian conditions.”