Chilled transport of potatoes, fruits and vegetables: here’s how to do it
Every day in the Netherlands we reap the benefits of the agricultural expertise we have accumulated over the centuries. Not only on our own soil but all over the world people enjoy potatoes, vegetables and fruit grown in the Netherlands. However, the proper storage and transportation of these products is complicated and can lead to high failure rates if mistakes are made. In this article you will read what to consider when transporting potatoes, vegetables and fruit nationally and internationally.
Potato, fruit and vegetable (AGF) market.
The Netherlands is big on exporting fruits, vegetables and potatoes. Thus, the Netherlands is the second largest exporter of agricultural products worldwide after the US. Looking at recent developments, we see a decrease in cut flower exports and other ornamental crops in the first quarter of 2020 compared to 2019. Interestingly, fruit and vegetables, on the other hand, actually saw an increase in export value(CBS, 2020). Domestically, we also benefit from homegrown vegetables, fruits and potatoes.
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After harvesting, AGF products are often quickly transported to their destination. After all, the longer they wait, the greater the risk of loss of quality. But what are the optimal environmental conditions for potatoes, vegetables and fruit, and how do you guarantee the quality of AGF products during transport? We would be happy to tell you more about it.
Transporting potatoes, fruits and vegetables nationally and internationally
Unfortunately, in the world of potatoes, fruits and vegetables, claims for rejected produce that does not arrive at the desired quality level are not rare. When storage and transportation conditions are not optimal, the quality of AGF can quickly deteriorate, resulting in rejects. This quickly amounts to 20-30% of the total crop.
AGF products are particularly sensitive to the following external factors:
- Temperature changes. During transport, fresh products may be exposed to various external conditions. For example, by transferring from one vehicle to another. However, large fluctuations in temperature are disastrous for quality.
- Excessive temperatures. Fragile fresh produce such as soft fruits and mushrooms should be refrigerated immediately after harvesting. This is because it delays spoilage. The optimum chilling temperature varies by product, but is usually between 0 and 8 degrees Celsius.
- Moisture. When fresh fruits and vegetables are stored or transported in too humid an environment, mold occurs. Keep your produce dry during transport by using moisture-absorbing packaging materials.
- Too much light. Potatoes are an example of a typical product sensitive to too much light. This is because light stimulates the formation of solalin, which is a natural toxin. This causes green spots to appear on potatoes. You should therefore store and transport potatoes dry.
Tools for refrigerated transport of AGF
Potatoes, fruits and vegetables are therefore sensitive to external conditions. To ensure that your crop arrives fresh at its destination, whether in the Netherlands or abroad, you can take several measures.
First of all, it is advisable to ship your products refrigerated. For this, you can use cooling elements and insulating packaging. Since packaging materials for distant shipments usually remain at the destination, it is best to use single-use refrigerants here. Here you can think of gel packs. Within the AGF industry, No sweat gel packs are popular because they have an absorbent function in addition to a cooling function. In this way, moisture created during transport is immediately absorbed and your products remain dry.
You can also choose specially developed absorption mats. These keep your products dry during transport, so fungi and diseases have no chance. This way you keep the risk of crop failure low.
With soft fruits and fragile vegetables, pallet covers are often used in addition to cooling elements . By protecting a pallet of small packages of fresh produce from extreme external conditions (such as high temperatures at a foreign airport, for example), your products are not exposed to high temperatures or temperature fluctuations. Pallet covers not only maintain a constant temperature but also reflect light from outside.
Soft fruit by plane from the Netherlands to Shanghai
One of our customers uses gelpack strings and pallet covers to fly pallets full of soft fruit over to Shanghai. By folding the gelpack strands around the full pallet and covering it with an insulating pallet cover, you create a kind of mobile refrigerator. The cold stays in, the heat stays out: in fact, the pallet covers have a high-quality aluminum coating that reflects heat from outside. The test results show that regardless of the extreme external conditions, the temperature inside the pallet cover remains within a temperature range of 2-3 degrees Celsius throughout the 36-hour transport.
Download free whitepaper
Transporting fresh produce is a challenge in itself. In our free Whitepaper, focused on the transport of AGF products, you can read all about the optimal transport conditions of potatoes, fruits and vegetables.
If you have any questions or are looking for a solution to a specific transportation challenge, feel free to contact us. Our experts are happy to think along with you. No challenge is too crazy for us.
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