Pre-cooling containers prolong the shelf life of fruit and vegetables
Eliminating waste is a key element in the drive towards a more sustainable future. With this in mind, Güntner has pledged to launch the refrigeration and cooling industry’s first truly circular unit by 2030. The aim is for every single element, from the packaging to the refrigerants to the cladding, to be 100% recyclable or reusable.
A similar philosophy has prompted the UAE government to launch its National Food Loss and Waste Initiative. Named “ne’ma,” which means “blessing” in Arabic, the collaboration between the Ministry of Climate Change and Environment and the Emirates Foundation aims to halve food waste in the country by 2030. Its scope covers farms, producers, distributors, retailers, restaurants, and households.
Food waste is a particularly important issue in a desert country that currently imports 80% of its fruit and vegetables. The government has plans to increase the proportion of food grown locally, using innovative techniques such as vertical farming and hydroponics. Maximizing the shelf life of existing crops is also crucial, and a key element of this is providing sufficient pre-cooling facilities for freshly harvested produce.
Rapidly removing heat from fruit and vegetables in the field can make a huge difference in how long they remain edible. Generally, produce needs to be cooled down until it reaches 88% of the difference between the outside temperature and its optimal storage temperature. The process has to be rapid: an hour’s delay in cooling in field conditions of 95°F can lead to a loss in shelf life of a whole day.
To this end, local refrigeration company ADEAREST recently designed, fabricated and delivered six 20-foot mobile pre-cooling containers to various farm sites within the UAE. Its sister company, Polar Specialized Industries (PSI), manufactured and installed the containers’ full control panel solution, valves, piping, and accessories. Built with a skid-mounted steel body insulated with polyurethane panels, each container is designed to cool three metric tons of vegetables from 90°F to 54°F within four hours. This is achieved thanks to a state-of-the-art ADEAREST refrigeration system that includes a Güntner Blast Air Cooler. The go-to solution for rapid chilling and blast freezing, the Güntner Blast Air Cooler is quick and easy to install and is used worldwide in the food industry to rapidly cool products such as pasta dough, ice cream, and ready-to-serve meals.
After the pre-cooling process is completed, the produce is processed and packed and either sent to market or stored in cold rooms. “The containers are improving the quality and shelf life of produce in the UAE,” says Yousif Al Safi, General Manager of ADEAREST. “We feel proud to have contributed to the government’s goal of attaining long-term food security and self-sufficiency in the country.”