How food moves from farm to consumer is critical in ensuring food is safe for consumption. Cold chain management is one of the solutions to ensure that perishable food that is being transported is kept clean, remains of high quality, and has a longer shelf-life. Adopting a cold chain means that the temperature is controlled throughout the supply chain. NTUC Fairprice commented that adopting this system has helped reduce food waste because food can be kept for longer periods of time before going bad. At the same time, they can increase profit because of saved costs from food spoilage.
Producers can refer to the Singapore Standards for the cold chain management of specific food products. The Singapore Standards “sets out recommendations and guidelines for the proper management during production, processing, storage, transportation, distribution, at the point of sale and promotes consumers’ awareness in maintaining the cold chain.”
In addition to cold chain management, food products should also be well packaged such that they are well protected from the start to the end of the food supply chain.
Credit: Pinterst