The Implications of a Three-Degree Increase in Frozen Food Storage Temperature
An inadequate control of temperature results in the loss of 12% of the food produced each year for human consumption worldwide. Farmers and other food system stakeholders must be protected to counteract this loss, as the expected increase in the world’s population will boost the need for nourishment while the effects of climate change will decrease food production.
Food freezing, as a method of conservation, extends product shelf life without jeopardizing food safety for months while also providing built-in chances to optimize utilization through timed consumption. According to studies, frozen foods account for 47% less household food waste than fresh food categories. However, frozen foods provide a huge energy and greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions challenge to the feasibility of a shift to sustainable cold chains: freezing foods and maintaining them at sub-zero temperatures requires a lot of energy.
At the heart of this challenge is the sub-zero temperature at which fixed and mobile refrigeration systems must be adjusted (the ‘set-point’) to handle frozen items. Currently, the industry standard set-point is -18°C or lower, a temperature established in the mid-20th century that gives a significant margin of safety. However, for many goods, we only need to preserve them at temperatures just below -12°C, and each degree lower demands an additional 2-3% energy.
“There is therefore an important question to be investigated: is -18°C relevant in the context of today’s food products, and does reducing refrigeration temperatures to below those that are required to maintain product safety and quality lead to unnecessary energy consumption with associated avoidable GHG emissions?” Professor Toby Peters, from the Center for Sustainable Cooling, University of Birmingham and Heriot-Watt University, wrote in the “Three Degrees Of Change” paper.
Some industry experts believe that a standard set point of -15°C would be better suited for some food products, and that a mandate not to ‘over-freeze’ could be implemented with no substantial detrimental effects on food safety or quality. The shift in temperature could be beneficial in terms of reducing energy demand and GHG emissions from the sector. It would also provide a significant commercial benefit to cold chain businesses by lowering energy costs.
“When considering the food system of the future and developing its infrastructure and technology strategies in the low-income – but food system critical – regions of the world, such as Sub-Saharan Africa, there is a real need to undertake a thorough review of the set-point standard for refrigeration of frozen foods. Not just by calculating the energy efficiency wins, but also fully understanding the food safety and quality implications, as well as the risks and impacts on the entire food system and stakeholders,” Peters added.
Quick frozen French fried potatoes is the product subjected to a freezing process in appropriate equipment and complying with the conditions laid down hereafter. The freezing operation shall be carried out in such a way that the range of temperature of maximum crystallization is passed quickly. The quick freezing process shall not be regarded as complete unless and until the product temperature has reached -18oC (0oF) at the thermal center after thermal stabilization, according to CODEX STAN 114-1981.
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