Original Research

Investigating temperature breaks in the summer fruit export cold chain: A case study

Heinri W. Freiboth, Leila Goedhals-Gerber, F. Esbeth Van Dyk, Malcolm C. Dodd
Journal of Transport and Supply Chain Management | Vol 7, No 1 | a99 | DOI: https://doi.org/10.4102/jtscm.v7i1.99 | © 2013 Heinri W. Freiboth, Leila Goedhals-Gerber, F. Esbeth Van Dyk, Malcolm C. Dodd | This work is licensed under CC Attribution 4.0
Submitted: 27 March 2013 | Published: 07 November 2013

About the author(s)

Heinri W. Freiboth, Department of Logistics, Stellenbosch University, South Africa
Leila Goedhals-Gerber, Department of Logistics, Stellenbosch University, South Africa
F. Esbeth Van Dyk, CSIR Built Environment, South Africa
Malcolm C. Dodd, Department of Horticultural Science, Stellenbosch University, South Africa

Abstract

There is concern in the South African fruit industry that a large amount of fruit and money is lost every season due to breaks in the fruit export cold chain. The possibility of a large percentage of losses in a significant sector of the economy warranted further investigation. This article attempted to highlight some of the possible problem areas in the cold chain, from the cold store to the port, by analysing historic temperature data from different fruit export supply chains of apples, pears and grapes. In addition, a trial shipment of apples was used to investigate temperature variation between different pallets in the same container. This research has added value to the South African fruit industry by identifying the need to improve operational procedures in the cold chain.

Keywords

Cold Chain; Temperature Breaks; South African Fruit Industry; Agro-logistics

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