A publication for the seagoing container transport temperature control industry.
Summer 2003
Everything is coming Up Roses
Ecuadorian roses are world-renowned for their beauty. The long days
and nights, high altitude, bright sunlight, fresh air and volcanic soils of
the Ecuadorian Andes result in brilliantly colored roses with thick
stems and baseball-sized blooms. Each year growers produce 650
million roses to sell in the United States.
Currently, most of the delicate and valuable roses are transported via
airfreight. Since freight costs are such a big percentage of the operating
costs for the growers, Hamburg Süd put AFAM+ to the test to see
if roses would benefit from being transported by this technology.
Hamburg Süd worked with Transchryver Compania Limitada, part of
HJ Schryver Co. & GmbH in Germany. Transchryver conducted a
stationary test to see if the addition of AFAM+ technology would
enable growers to ship their roses via ocean container.
continued on page 2
I N S I D E
Stand by your Brand . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Page 3
LauritzenCool has Accolades for AFAM+ . . . . . . . . . .Page 4
MAGNUM® Opens New Markets for the
Chilean Salmon Industry . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Page 5
Plums from South Africa to Singapore with AFAM+ . . . .Page 6
New Product Delivers Vegetables
Fresher than Fresh . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Page 7
Ask the Expert . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Page 7
Reducing your Maintenance Costs
With the MP-3000 Tester . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Page 8
with AFAM+
continued from page 1
exporters were in the audience. CSAV, Maersk Sealand and Hamburg
Süd also attended,” said Beckjord. “After the presentation several
exporters came up to talk to me and told me they liked the
presentation, thought it was really interesting and easy to
understand. Many asked which shipping lines have AFAM+
technology.”
The stationary test began on April 17th in Guayaquil, Ecuador.
The test simulated 17 days of transport. Temperature control was very
tight throughout the test. Jose Zavala, Transchryver export manager,
was really enthusiastic about the results of AFAM+ and the flower
test. “The stationary test was 17 days but it actually extended to 30
days because once the container was opened the flowers were sent to
Quito for further evaluation. Also some gipsofilia was sent to Europe
for further evaluation,” said Zavala.
AFAM+ system utilizes carbon dioxide (CO2) sensors to control
respiration gases produced normally in transit. With AFAM+ system,
higher humidity levels are maintained because ventilation occurs only
when CO2 levels warrant it. Unlike constant fresh air exchange,
which tends to draw moisture out of the product, AFAM+ protects
cargo from dehydration. The result is a system that maintains
optimal CO2 levels throughout the voyage.
“After 30 days the flowers still looked fresh enough that I would give
them to my mother. The test was really exciting. I think we should
do further tests to determine the distribution time of flowers after
shipping in AFAM+ containers,” said Zavala.
“As part of the presentation about AFAM+, I showed pictures of the
test flowers that I had received from Alex Bustamante, the manager of
Contop,” said Beckjord. “I asked for the growers’ opinion of the
flowers after the 17-day test and they all agreed that they looked
really good.”
“After 30 days the flowers still looked fresh enough
that I would give them to my mother. The test was
really exciting. I think we should do further tests
to determine the distribution time of flowers after
shipping in AFAM+ containers,” said Zavala.
According to the research paper “Roses Production and Export
Situation,” “Within non-traditional agricultural export crops,
during the last ten years, flowers–especially roses– have occupied first
place.” With the success of the Ecuadorian roses, the growers are
looking to open new markets. A cost-effective and consistent
transportation
method
could open new doors and
would allow them to
penetrate the Asian and
European markets. A
consistent
low-cost
transportation
method
would
help
the
Ecuadorians vie with new
competition from Kenya,
Zimbabwe, Uganda and
Mexico. Although flowers
from these new markets
cannot compete on quality,
they have become a new
threat to the market.
At the flower show in Chile, Thermo King featured the AFAM+.
As a result of the successful stationary tests, Transchryver invited
Thermo King to exhibit at Agriflor with them. Agriflor 2003 took
place in Quito, Ecuador, in June. It was the site of the 9th
International Fresh Cut Flower Exhibition and about 10,000 visitors
participated. There were over 100 exhibits of flowers and the air was
thick with their beautiful scent. Each arrangement was more beautiful
than the next.
At the Agriflor show, Thermo King had a stand next to Transchryver
Compania Limitada. Contop, the Thermo King dealer in Ecuador,
helped with the stand set-up and arrangements. They were present
for the entire show and spoke with exporters when the stand got really
busy. Thermo King had an AFAM+ unit in the booth.
Ecuador is looking at flower exports to play a major role in building
their economy. Their main competitor is Colombia and it costs 50
percent less to ship flowers from Colombia via air, so container
shipments are more important than ever. The President of Agriflor
spoke at the opening ceremony and challenged the airfreight forwarder
companies to give Ecuador lower airfreight prices so they can
effectively compete with Colombia.
“Flowers
are
highly
perishable, and the transportation process is very important,” said
Beckjord. “We hope to provide an alternative to the current
method of shipping them on commercial, passenger or charter
flights. Shipping by container would significantly reduce transport
costs and increase returns for both growers and distributors.”
On Thursday, June 5, Nora Beckjord, Thermo King sales director,
container, Americas, gave an AFAM+ presentation to about 60 people.
“Of the companies that attended I was told that the most important
2
Stand by your Brand
Consistency in Temperature Ensures Product Quality
It’s called the cold chain – the process that takes food “from farm to fork.” The interconnected network
starts with the farmers and continues with manufacturers, warehouses, shippers, seagoing containers,
trucks and grocery stores and ends in the customers’ freezers and refrigerators. The process is commonly
referred to as a chain because in order to be effective all the links need to be strong. All of the links in the
chain share a common goal to have the food arrive safely at your table. The advances in technology have
enabled the transportation of perishables to be faster and more efficient than ever before.
Major shipping lines make their business by delivering perishables in the best possible condition. Allowing
loads to be shipped at improper temperatures will seriously impact both the monetary value of the load
and the reputation of the shipping line and the shipper.
Maintaining proper temperature is very important because seagoing containers are often identified as the
link where refrigerated products spend the highest portion of time in the cold chain. This segment also
represents the link with the most significant gap between the desired refrigeration performance and the
currently available capabilities. As quality representatives of these customers become aware of lower
transportation temperature capabilities, they will recommend lower temperatures to maintain the quality
of their product during the transportation process.
Some of the top customers of shipping lines are frozen food processors who sell their product into a retail
environment. To maximize their market impact, these frozen food processors spend millions of dollars
promoting their brands. In the retail environment, the end customer does not complain when a product
does not meet their expectation. They simply avoid that particular brand for future purchases. Because of
this, it is essential for the shipper of the product to ensure that all possible measures are taken to protect
their brand reputation.
Given a choice, the shipper of the product will select the shipping line that offers the best protection
for their products. Shipping high-value products such as frozen fish, ice cream and frozen vegetables at
–35 degrees C not only maintains superior product quality but also extends shelf life. As more and more
shippers become aware of MAGNUM®’s capacity to ship at –35 degrees C, market share will shift toward
the shipping lines that offer this service.
3
LauritzenCool has Accolades for AFAM+
LauritzenCool, together with ReeferShip, is the world’s largest operators of specialized
refrigerated vessels. The LauritzenCool joint fleet, of more than 120 modern pallet
reefer vessels between 266,000 and 760,000 cbft capacity, is operated in all major reefer
trades worldwide.
LauritzenCool Logistics (LCL) specializes in global IT supported, integrated doorto-door and multi-destination transportation solutions for refrigerated perishables.
Recently, LauritzenCool decided to put AFAM+ to the test in cooperation with
growers Halls & Son under the supervision of the South African Avocado Growers
Association (SAAGA). Tests were conducted from South Africa to their destination of
Paris, France.
“We had already tried the AFAM+ technology on other products and wanted to see the
results on avocados. We conducted the test to compare AFAM+ with Controlled
Atmosphere (CA),” said Ralph Mohlin, of LauritzenCool. Mohlin is responsible for
all activities related to the care of cargo within the company. “We were curious to see
how Pinkerton avocados would respond to the different methods to
transport in an oceangoing container.”
Since the ripening process of avocados is halted when the
fruit is held at cold temperature, the fruit arrived in a
firm condition upon delivery. According to the
surveyor from SAAGA, both the CA and AFAM+
shipments arrived in good condition, but the
true test was yet to come.
Sample fruits were held at ambient / room
temperature when they arrived in Paris.
During the testing, the weather in Paris was
very warm with daytime temperatures often
exceeding 30 degrees (86 degrees F). This
affected the ripening process of the fruit. The
average fruit age from date of packing upon
reception at Cool Control was 21 Days for
AFAM+ samples and 22 Days for CA samples.
The majority of both AFAM+ and CA fruits took
more than one week to ripen at ambient
temperatures.
The incidence of rots was lower for AFAM+ treated fruits. No
cases of gray pulp were found for any of the fruits from either
treatment, which was encouraging, especially since Pinkerton fruits are
often prone to this quality defect upon ripening.
“We were very encouraged by the results of the AFAM+ trials. The results suggest that
AFAM+ treatment results in fruit quality at least equal to that found for Pinkerton
avocados sea-freighted to Europe with CA,” said Mohlin. “We look forward to testing
the capability of AFAM+ technology with other cultivars.”
4
LauritzenCool Logistics (LCL) specializes in
global IT supported, integrated door-to-door
and multi-destination transportation solutions
for refrigerated perishables.
MAGNUM Opens New Markets
for the Chilean Salmon Industry
®
The Chilean salmon market has exploded
over the past 10 years. It is big business.
In fact, it was recently announced that the
salmon industry is the top Chilean export this
quarter. Chilean salmon farming has a
relatively short history. It was started in 1977
and has now grown to 800 aquaculture
production areas. Chile is the number two
farmed salmon producer in the world, right
behind the global leader, Norway. Chile
produces more than 1.6 million tons of fish
annually with a value exceeding $1 billion
U.S. dollars.
Salmon farming is located primarily in the
southern part of the country because of its
extensive network of lakes and coastline.
Northern Chile’s growth has been driven by
the production of fresh fruits and vegetables
for export. This has resulted in an increase in
average income, infrastructure development
and a general increase in prosperity. For the
continued growth of southern Chile, the
salmon industry is vital.
However, this hasn’t been without growing
pains. The expansion of salmon aquaculture
in Chile along with the growth of existing
salmon farming operations in Norway and
Scotland have driven prices down on a
global basis. Traditional markets have been
limited to the United States and Japan, and
Chile has targeted those same markets for
their salmon products. Chile needs to widen
the reach for their products.
With the advent of -35 degrees C capability
provided by the MAGNUM®, and the
resulting extended high-quality shelf life,
new markets such as Asia may be in range
for the Chilean farmed salmon products.
The Japanese prize fresh products and they
see the ability to maintain very low
temperatures as the next best practice in
maintaining high quality and value. Also,
new markets may come into play because
with the MAGNUM, high-quality salmon
can be maintained up to 25 months with
consistent temperatures below -30 degrees C.
Earlier this spring, Thermo King
representatives attended the Aquasur Expo
in Puerto Montt, Chile, the Southern
Hemisphere gathering of companies involved
in the aquaculture industry. A wide variety
of products were displayed including fish
farming hardware, pharmaceuticals for the
prevention of disease in fish, diving
equipment, fish foods and transportation
equipment.
At the Expo, Thermo King sponsored a
session on “The Cold Chain for Chilean
Seafood.” Steve Bryant, Thermo King
global director, product marketing container,
outlined each step in the cold chain,
identifying the seagoing transportation
sector as a weak link. “ATP
standards still recognize
-18 degrees C as
the set point
temperature for
“d e e p - f r o z e n”
products,” said
Bryant. “And
degradation of
the insulating
properties of
containers soon
makes that difficult to
achieve. In high ambients,
some older containers
struggle to achieve -18
degrees C.”
5
Currently, a good deal of the salmon is
shipped by air. Air shipment is an expensive
method of transport. Although air shipment
is fast and it can get products to their
destinations quickly, it can be problematic if
connections are missed or the freight is
bumped due to weight restrictions. With the
decrease in air travel globally, there are fewer
flights available. This creates problems for
air shippers dependent on time-sensitive
service. Container transport would result in
a safe, consistent, cost-effective and reliable
shipping method.
The MAGNUM has adequate capacity to
maintain -35 degrees C throughout the life
of the container. “Many salmon farmers
attended the session, and they agreed that
-35 degrees C would benefit their products,”
said Bryant. “The added capacity of -35
degrees C could result in a change in
market strategies and shipping methods.”
Hamburg Süd currently has the
largest fleet of MAGNUM units
and ships from Chile,
North America
and Asia.
O
ne product that has been difficult to ship to
Southeast Asian ports is plums. Although the
plums arrive in normal air exchange containers
with good appearance, the sugar levels don’t please the
palate. A ‘flat’ taste and stringy texture don’t allow the
consignees to achieve the price they want. In addition to
Australia and New Zealand, Pacific International Lines
(PIL) has services to the east, calling on ports in South
Africa. Dean Buder of PIL felt that the next natural
expansion for his AFAM+ service should include the high
volume growing area of South Africa.
One significant importer in Hong Kong was attracted to
the theory behind AFAM+ and arranged to have a trial
shipment of plums from South Africa with PIL. The voyage
lasted for 20 days and the AFAM+ maintained beneficial carbon
dioxide and oxygen levels. The natural respiration of the plums built the
CO2 to the designated level and then maintained it there for the rest of the voyage.
Upon discharge of the cargo, the consignee was extremely pleased at the color and texture of the product, but
was overjoyed with the taste. He stated that it was apparent that the AFAM+ treatment had retained the natural
high sugar content of this shipment, and in fact was able to sell the entire shipment at a premium over the plum
market in Hong Kong. This consignee is now specifying AFAM+ for his shipments from South Africa.
PIL has been a pioneer in proving the benefits of AFAM+ for a wide variety of products, concentrating on
shipments between Australia and New Zealand and points in Southeast Asia and the Far East. Beginning with
trial shipments of melons, clementines, mandarins and avocados, PIL has been successful in establishing a
customer base loyal to AFAM+ due to the response of consignees. Better condition upon arrival, including
better color, taste, texture and shelf life, or generally increased value have these customers specifying
transport under AFAM+ for their high-value shipments.
Buder has been driving these developments. “We have been successful in the Australasia trades. And have
begun to be recognized for it. PIL won the South Australian Food Award with the AFAM+ for innovation in
supporting the market expansion of South Australian Food Products,” said Buder, PIL (insert title).
PIL has grown to become one of the largest shipowners in Asia. It is ranked 21st among the top containership
operators in the world. PIL has diversified into logistics-related activities such as supply chain management,
consolidation/distribution facilities, warehousing, container depot operations, trucking as well as having interest
in ship agencies worldwide. They own and operate 88 vessels with a total capacity of about 101,577.
;
6
NEW PRODUCT DELIVERS
VEGETABLES
FRESHER THAN FRESH
Growers, Shipping Lines, Consumers Benefit
Frozen tastes better than fresh. Now that’s a statement that is hard to believe. Most of us were
brought up to believe that fresh vegetables are the gold standard in quality and freshness. We
have the romantic notion that fresh vegetables are brought to our table straight from the farmer’s
field. With the advancements in technology, the quality of frozen vegetables can rival fresh and
in some cases, surpass fresh. And studies have shown that frozen vegetables don’t lose any of their
vitamin content. According to the International Food Information Council, the nutritional
value of frozen vegetables are virtually identical to fresh produce.
This is because foods for freezing are picked at their peak of freshness and ripeness and then
Individually Quick Frozen (IQF) within hours of harvest. On the other hand, fresh produce is
often picked unripe so it can withstand the rigors and rough handling of transport. IQF makes
the vegetables free flowing so customers can take out exactly how much they need, reseal the bag
and return it to the freezer. Due to the low temperature involved with freezing, foods are not
subjected to heat damage. When vegetables are flash-frozen, there is no need for additives or
chemicals. Freezing is a natural way of preventing bacterial growth.
After initial preparation, these vegetables are usually blanched, or slightly pre-cooked, a process
that ensures that they retain much of their natural appearance and flavor for long periods of time
in storage. And often, that flavor and appearance of frozen vegetables will actually be superior to
that of fresh vegetables.
The whole process of harvesting, washing and blanching is a very fast process, usually completed
within hours. The vegetables are then frozen very rapidly in a freezing tunnel before packaging.
The vegetables are then frozen at the lowest possible temperature. The lower the temperature,
the smaller the ice crystals that form, resulting in a higher quality product. The package is not
just there to contain the product. It also helps protect the food from dehydration during storage.
Long-term storage of seasonal produce is held in cold stores operating at -25 degrees C or colder
to ensure that the product maintains its quality.
“It is very important that the changes in the distribution chain are kept to a minimum.
The whole cold chain process is like a relay race with the responsibility passed on from
producer to distributor to retailer. The temperature history is monitored and recorded to
ensure the baton has not been dropped. But often transportation is the weak link in the cold
chain,” said Wayne Benson, Thermo King product manager, container.
The MAGNUM® unit is the only container refrigeration unit that can hold -35 degrees C. Most
refrigerated containers on the market today have difficulty holding box temperatures at -29
degrees C. Deep-frozen cargo of high-quality frozen vegetables demand more. Six degrees or
more can add the confidence and security needed when transporting premium products. Colder
transport and storage temperature has been proven to minimize water loss and increase shelf life.
Ask the expert
How would holding ice cream at -35
degrees C during transport impact
premium ice cream? Would it increase
the likelihood of recrystallization after
transport?
In my opinion, -35 degrees C will be
superior to -22 degrees C for long-term
distribution. -30 degrees C would
probably be sufficient for a shelf life of
several months. In processing, ice cream
is hardened to approximately (in practice)
-30 degrees C. This establishes the ice
crystal distribution in the package. Once
it is warmed up to the range of -22
degrees C or warmer, ice recrystallization
will occur, and the rate is a function of the
temperature. At -15 degrees C, it is quite
rapid, and -22 degrees C it is rather slow
but still significant. Recrystallization
causes coarsening of the texture and it is
cumulative over the life of the product.
For example, if ice cream has been stored
at -18 degrees C for awhile then reduced
back to -35 degrees C, the quality will not
improve but it will not deteriorate further
than what it was, either.
Temperature fluctuations do exacerbate
recrystallization, but only when the
temperature has been brought up into the
critical range of greater than about -15
degrees C. Storage at -35 degrees for
a few weeks followed by raising
to -22 degrees C would produce
better product than maintaining at
-22 degrees C for the entire time. The
really critical temperatures, in my
opinion, are -32 degrees C, which is
typical of a glass transition for ice cream,
below which no changes will occur; -20
degrees C, below which is a safe
temperature for a few weeks; and -13
degrees to -15 degrees C, which is typical
of scooping but at which ice cream
quality only lasts for a few days.
Professor Douglas Goff
University of Guelph, Canada
7
Reducing your Maintenance Costs
with the MP-3000 Tester
The microprocessor and the main relay board (MRB) are the brains
of the MAGNUM®, CRR and CSR refrigeration units. If the
alarm code goes off, the first tendency is to remove the
microprocessor and or MRB and replace it. This is an easy, yet
expensive, option for these very important pieces of equipment.
Now with the MP-3000 tester, you can test the microprocessor and
MRB while these components are still in the unit. This eliminates
the possibility that there is something wrong with these two
components and allows you to concentrate on other
less expensive options for service.
Thermo King introduced the MP-3000
tester about a year ago. It was developed
because close to 30 percent of the
microprocessors and MRB’s sent in to
Thermo King for testing came back
as “No Trouble Found.”
In the field, the tester is a great
troubleshooting tool and has many
advantages. First of all, you don’t
replace a microprocessor or MRB that
isn’t defective. And secondly, you have a
record of the processor being tested,
which provides peace of mind. Another
advantage of the MP-3000 tester is that it
allows for testing of the keypad and
microprocessor display, both of which can be
replaced in the field, further reducing maintenance costs.
“Making this microprocessor tester available is saving our customers
thousands of dollars every year in unnecessary repairs,” said Arlo
Eslinger, Thermo King global director of service. Since the tester can
reduce troubleshooting time of a unit, the service provider can lower
his costs also. "Everybody wins when the tester is used properly."
When parts are returned for warranty, a printed tester report showing
the component did fail while being tested in the unit must be
submitted with every microprocessor and MRB warranty claim. By only
replacing defective components all parties can see the full benefits of
reduced maintenance costs and increased confidence that
everything is working the way it should. “The tester is
simple and easy to use and the results of the printed
reports can be e-mailed anywhere in the
world,” said Eslinger.
If you do need to send the microprocessor
and MRB cores in for a warranty
redemption, it is important to
remember that these pieces are valuable
and should be treated with care and
placed in the box the new replacement
part came in, before returning. If an
electrical part does fail and it is not
properly handled, the core is ruined and
it cannot be remanufactured and the
shipping line will not be credited for
the core when it is returned.
“Now we are fixing only truly defective
controllers,” said Eslinger. “When we first
introduced the tester, we wanted to eliminate the 30
percent of NTF (“No Trouble Found”) claims. Recently, I
was looking at the warranty reports, comparing first quarter 2002 to
2003. We saw a 91 percent reduction in microprocessor warranties.
And MRB warranty claims were down 77 percent first quarter.”
20/40 is published for the seagoing container transport
temperature control industry by Thermo King Corporation.
To be added to our mailing list, please send an email to:
[email protected]
20/40, Thermo King Corporation, 314 West 90 St.,
Minneapolis, MN 55420, 952-887-2206
To change your mailing address or to request additional copies, contact
Patsy Bettenga at 1-800-735-3237 or [email protected]
Executive Editor: Randal Gast
Editors: Kimberly Thorsen, Joe Cretella
Managing Editor: Sara Kubiak
For more information, contact Sara Kubiak at 952-897-9447
or [email protected]
Published by Thermo King and Kerker.
www.thermoking.com © 2003
C
Printed on Recycled Paper