Unless you are a warehousing or logistics professional, you probably think of ‘cold storage’ simply as a place where you can keep perishable goods like fruits, vegetables, beverages, meats, and even tobacco from going bad. And while this idea is correct overall, the actual definition is getting increasingly more complicated with time.
A cold storage warehouse, like the Miami cold storage facility operated by our partner, Miami Frozen Storage, is a refrigerated, or deep-freeze, storage facility specifically designed for perishable goods. These warehouses maintain controlled, interior temperatures as low as -25C degrees to prevent spoiling, rotting, and sprouting. The specially controlled temperatures also help prevent insect damage and other forms of degradation, enabling seasonal agricultural products to be provided to retailers across a much longer season – sometimes year-round. Most importantly, the concept of cold storage means receiving foodstuffs and other perishable items intact through proper management and accurate and timely shipping.
Facing Complex Challenges
But modern cold storage has become more complex. Its challenges now exceed the common culprits of food spoilage, non-performance of rack labels in extreme environments, cost effectiveness, and product traceability.
In June 2015, Danfoss North America hosted its 23rd EnVisioneering Symposium, “Paths of Food,” which concentrated on the tendencies of the cold food chain that are altering the norms for food producers, warehouses, retailers, and consumers. The symposium addressed the desperate need for a consistent culture of safety through all phases of the cold storage chain.
Steps to Resolving the Dilemma
No doubt, meeting rapidly changing customer demands while still addressing the real impact of regulations on facility operations is quite the dilemma for the cold storage industry. Cold storage providers are faced with the need to redesign facilities and systems, and retrain workers on current best practices when immersed in the harsh environments of a frozen facility. Beyond storage and worker safety, these providers also face the scrutiny of food exposure and shipping.
Palisades Logistics
The cold storage industry faces increasingly complicated challenges today. Ensuring that strict food safety requirements are met is a major concern for cold-chain managers in the logistics industry; however, it does not have to be your concern.
Palisades Logistics has established and nurtured business relationships with top-notch companies like Miami Frozen Storage. Palisades Logistics’ growing, regional network of partners affords the customers of Palisades Logistics a single source provider with the resources ready to meet all your third-party logistics requirements, whether they are local or regional in nature.
For more information about Palisades Logistics, or to request a rate quote, please contact us at 973-331-8220 or via our Contact Form.
