What can the cold chain offer the fresh chain?

New food concepts and new suppliers are making an entrance, the topic of food waste is higher up on the agenda than ever before, sustainability and energy efficiency form an essential part of the business strategy and the food industry is digitising. But what does all this mean for the cold chain? Read on for details of innovation and rejuvenation in refrigeration and freezing.

The fresh chain is changing. Food is increasingly linked to lifestyle, online sales continue to grow, far-reaching automation and robotisation are transforming processes, and the image and volumes of frozen products are on the rise. What can the cold chain offer the fresh chain in this changing landscape? We asked Ron Jongenelen, advisor for industry/cold stores at Biddle (Dutch manufacturer and supplier of heating, ventilation, air conditioning and air curtain products and solutions); Willy van Leeuwen, advisor at ENGIE Refrigeration (formerly Cofely); and René Siertsema, director of Pool Koudetechniek (designer and supplier of cold stores for the food industry, wholesalers, processors and distribution companies).

Sustainability 

Sustainability, energy efficiency and the environment are all important topics, including in the refrigeration and freezing industry. There is an intense focus on ‘alternative’ energy sources: the sun, the wind and natural coolants such as CO2 and ammonia. Many companies have already switched to natural coolants in their refrigeration and freezing systems as replacements for synthetic coolants (which will be completely phased out over the coming years). That’s not only good for the environment; solutions based on natural coolants result in better performance, plus the user already complies with future legislation. 

“In my opinion, the changes in the refrigeration sector are not based on really big innovations,” says Willy van Leeuwen (ENGIE Refrigeration). “Nevertheless, a number of major strides have been made in recent years, albeit step by step. Production, processing, storage and distribution have all become increasingly dependent on cooling. The more effective companies are at making use of refrigeration – and the resulting heat – in their operations, the more competitive they can be. We’re increasingly seeing the heat generated during refrigeration being successfully utilised to heat rinsing water, for example, or offices. When designing new buildings for Remkes in Epe and Zandbergen in Veenendaal we focused heavily on this, and at Wolter-Koops in Zeewolde all the heating in the offices and the garage comes from a heat battery that is charged entirely by the refrigeration system.” 

René Siertsema doesn’t predict any groundbreaking innovations in the short term either: “I don’t expect to see huge efficiency gains. Using parallel compressors and/or ejectors improves the performance of the CO2 unit by 5 or 6%. We are focusing on the use of natural coolants, however. There are more applications for existing techniques. For example, it’s always cheaper to utilise waste heat from CO2 units than to use gas-powered heating. At Fishpartners in Spakenburg much of the heat for the thawing cells comes from the freezer unit. We’ve applied the same concept at Nijland in Goor for the tempering cells. It’s also possible to take steps to reduce the need for cooling; think of the entrances to freeze stores, for instance, and regulating the moisture that goes in and out. One positive development is that the condensers that carry off the heat generated by the refrigeration system – and which are often installed outside, on the roof – are becoming bigger all the time. This makes it possible to work with smaller temperature differences. As an added bonus, they can hold larger ventilation fans that run at a lower rotational speed, which in turn means less noise, less nuisance for local residents and lower energy consumption. Although they are more expensive, they often have a short payback time. That’s not really an innovation but I do regard it as a clear trend. Noise pollution didn’t use to be such a big issue but it’s becoming more important nowadays, partly due to tighter environmental legislation.” 

Hard evidence

A nice example of the reuse of waste heat can be found at HANOS in Delft, where a so-called air curtain ‘hangs’ in the doorway between the cold store (approx. 2 degrees Celsius) and the freeze store (approx. -25 degrees Celsius). Ron (Biddle): “In the MAT hybrid, the air streams comprises three flows, each with a different temperature: a frozen flow with air drawn in from the freezer, a cold flow of air extracted from the cold storage chamber and a warm flow in between which acts as a buffer. The warm air flow can absorb more moisture, thus preventing the formation of mist and ice in the opening. Electricity would normally be required to heat that air, but this hybrid system first utilises the waste heat from the CO2 unit.”

“What strikes me is that the demand for sustainable solutions rarely comes from the customers themselves,” says Willy. “And yet switching to natural coolants is always a good and future-proof solution. The investment in such a system often pays for itself within a few years thanks to lower energy costs, water savings and less maintenance. Furthermore, businesses in the Netherlands can benefit from the Energy Investment Allowance (EIA) tax-relief programme.” 

Ron (Biddle) has noticed that customers can still be difficult to convince. “It’s not enough to simply give advice and share knowledge; customers want to see hard evidence that their investment will actually pay off. Now more than ever, customers want to see for themselves how something works and they will only do business with you if they really trust you. That’s why we’re increasingly starting business cases, or we build a trial system together with the customer so that we can monitor everything. Hard facts and figures, tailored to their own situation, give them clear insight into the return on investment.”

The building

Another important trend that affects cooling is that buildings are increasingly better insulated; the outer shell is more dense. Ron Jongenelen (Biddle): “Once the heat is inside, it’s more difficult for it to escape. Therefore, the issue of heating the interior of a building will become less of a problem in the future. Instead, the focus will shift to cooling. Nearly all large companies hold a BREEAM certificate*. In the past it was tough enough to obtain 3 stars even, but now the ‘excellent’ rating is becoming ever-more common. We try to do our bit towards that with an air curtain and fully automated CHIPS technology; it enables you to minimise the energy losses that occur due to open doors, for example.” 

René: “The health factor also plays a significant role. It can sometimes be difficult to find the right refrigeration solution for areas in which people work because there are conflicting needs. For the food products and from a food safety perspective, the area has to be kept very cold. But from a health and safety viewpoint that’s less desirable in terms of employee comfort, of course. Ways round this include the use of air socks or special chillers for processing areas.” 

Knowledge partner

The type of product, the thickness, the packaging – these are all factors that influence optimal freezing results. And the more effective the freezing is, the greater the benefits will ultimately be for the customers. So what are the most recent technological innovations? Willy: “One nice example of innovation is the ultra-fast freezing and post-freezing (glazing). This method is better for the cell structure of fish, meat or vegetables than conventional deep-freeze techniques. Fluid and important nutrients are retained in the product and the product dries out less. Furthermore, ultra-fast freezing consumes considerably less energy and it’s possible to achieve savings of up to 20 percent. Results from various sectors clearly demonstrate that there are huge gains to be made in terms of product quality and energy savings. For example, the potato industry is leading the way in sustainable refrigeration. We use the knowledge and experience in that sector to find new solutions for other areas,” comments Willy van Leeuwen. “We’ve made significant progress in the mushroom chain, for instance. Mechanical refrigeration makes it possible to regulate the temperature very precisely in order to minimise temperature fluctuations while also maintaining the right level of humidity. Those two elements have a crucial impact on mushroom quality.”

High care 

René has noticed that the desire for a longer shelf life and reduced spoilage is causing a rise in demand for high-care storage areas: “Whereas these were very rare just a few years ago, nowadays more and more companies are setting up a high-care area. We recently installed a temperature-controlled system of this kind at a company that processes cut meat products. It wanted to extend the shelf life of its products. The packing area must be hygienic and also refrigerated. We’ve recently installed four high-care areas at various meat processing companies, which strikes me as an unusually high number.” 

Whereas production companies are opting for sealed high-care areas, wholesalers such as Sligro, Hanos and Makro are increasingly asking for openness, according to Ron Jongenelen. “They want to display the products as accessibly as possible. That’s really a new trend. The wholesalers want to avoid situations in which customers have to open a door for each product. This demands new approaches to refrigeration. Solutions must compensate effectively for temperature differences between different areas. Climate separation enables us to minimise energy losses because it prevents temperature exchange between two separate areas. Furthermore this creates a safe situation in the warehouse (cold stores and freezers) because it avoids the formation of condensation and ice. Sligro is leading the way and is actually monitoring its energy consumption, and we’re seeing other companies becoming increasingly conscious of the issue of energy consumption.”

Last but not least

All three of the professionals see one more important trend. Ron: “Customers want us to ease the burden on them. They’re increasingly asking for customisation and convenience. Willy: “To be able to control the entire freezing line at the push of just one button.”
René: “For a number of our customers, we’re now monitoring the situation continuously. That’s been possible for a few years but has only recently become a clear trend. It will become ever-more important to continuously control and manage the entire chain.”