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www.jacobs-university.de/press_release_Lebensmittellogistik Jacobs researchers find flaws in food logistics Prof. Dr. Michael Hülsmann, Professor for Systems Management Each year 35% of perishable foods are thrown away before reaching the consumer. In many cases a lack of refrigeration or insufficient cooling during transport lead to food decay and waste, say logistics experts at Jacobs University. After studying worldwide food transportation they found that disruptions in the cooling process could be attributed to communication errors and disorganization at the interface of transportation. April 18, 2011 Rotting bananas, yellow-colored broccoli or mushy strawberries are not what customers like to find at their local supermarket. But when picking fresh produce at the vegetable counter consumers are fairly unaware of how much food is deemed unfit for human consumption and ends up on the rubbish heap. The problem usually starts during transport, when even small changes in temperature are enough to impair the quality of fresh food. Michael Hülsmann, Professor for Systems Management at Jacobs University and PhD student Verena Brenner have investigated the matter and found insufficient cooling during transport to be a major issue. Each year more than a third of fresh food produced worldwide is destroyed before reaching the consumer. Finding the critical points in cool chains To find out exactly how and where perishable foods are damaged, the Jacobs researchers looked at more than 100 literary sources. “The most critical point is the interface of a transport chain,” says Verena Brenner. “When food is on its way to the supermarket different means of transport are used. Reloading the fresh goods from container to van, or sending them from the warehouse onto the road is tricky,” explains the Bremen-based scientist. “If cooling systems aren’t put in place to keep the temperature at a constant level, heat or severe cold will have an adverse effect on the quality of fresh food.” Furthermore employees in food transportation are often unaware that even the slightest temperature change can damage the produce. Containers and storage rooms should be kept at certain temperatures to guarantee sufficient cooling – a prerequisite that is frequently underestimated resulting in considerable loss. “With strawberries for example, two hours of inadequate refrigeration can lead to wasting 10% of the fruit,” says Brenner. Positive effects on the environment Improving cooling systems not only cuts waste and financial loss, but also has an effect on the environment. “A rotting food unit will set off 4.5 times its weight in carbon dioxide, which contributes to global warming. Such emissions could be avoided," argues Brenner. "If less food was wasted, production processes could be adjusted accordingly and thus energy, water and fertilizer usage be reduced.” According to the Jacobs researchers, efficiency of cooling processes could be improved by fairly straight-forward means. Co-ordinating employees in transportation through communication systems such as "radio-frequency-identification" (RFID) could be a solution. The logistics experts also advocate reducing long breaks within the transport chain and keeping reloads to a minimum. Furthermore they advise to continuously monitor perishable foods in order to identify and eradicate product-specific weak points. The logistics study, which was supported by the Bremen-based logistics company Cool Chain Group, will be published in the coming weeks as part of the series “Beiträge zum strategischen Management” (Contributions to strategic management) (Issue 28, ISBN: 9783-938786-26-0).