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Cold Chain Energy Analysis for Sustainable Food and Beverage Supply

Author

Listed:
  • Beatrice Marchi

    (Department of Mechanical and Industrial Engineering, Università degli Studi di Brescia, Via Branze 38, 25123 Brescia, Italy)

  • Simone Zanoni

    (Department of Civil, Environmental, Architectural Engineering and Mathematics, Università degli Studi di Brescia, Via Branze 43, 25123 Brescia, Italy)

Abstract

Perishable goods, such as chilled and frozen foods, have a short shelf life and high sensitivity to their surrounding environment (e.g., temperature, humidity, and light intensity). For this reason, they must be distributed within a specific time and require special equipment and facilities (e.g., refrigeration and dehumidification systems) throughout the entire chain from farm to fork to ensure slow deterioration and to deliver safe and high-quality products to consumers. Cold chains can last for short periods, such as a few hours, or for several months or even years (e.g., frozen food products) depending on the product and the target market. A huge amount of energy is required to preserve quality by maintaining the desired temperature level over time. The required energy is also affected by inventory management policies (e.g., warehouse filling levels affect the cooling demand per unit of a product) and the behavior of the operators (e.g., number and duration of door openings). Furthermore, waste entails the loss of energy and other resources consumed for processing and storing these products. The aim of the present study is to propose a quantitative approach in order to map the energy flows throughout the cold chain in the food and beverage sector and to evaluate the overall energy performance. The results of the energy flow mapping give decisionmakers insights into the minimum energy required by the cold chain and allow them to prioritize energy efficiency measures by detecting the most energy consuming stages of the cold chain. The implementation of a holistic approach, shifting from a single-company perspective to chain assessment, leads to a global optimum and to an increased implementation rate of energy efficiency measures due to the reduced barriers perceived by different actors of the cold chain.

Suggested Citation

  • Beatrice Marchi & Simone Zanoni, 2022. "Cold Chain Energy Analysis for Sustainable Food and Beverage Supply," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(18), pages 1-16, September.
  • Handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:14:y:2022:i:18:p:11137-:d:907962
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    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Beatrice Marchi & Simone Zanoni, 2017. "Supply Chain Management for Improved Energy Efficiency: Review and Opportunities," Energies, MDPI, vol. 10(10), pages 1-29, October.
    2. Beatrice Marchi & Simone Zanoni & Mohamad Y. Jaber, 2020. "Energy Implications of Lot Sizing Decisions in Refrigerated Warehouses," Energies, MDPI, vol. 13(7), pages 1-13, April.
    3. Antonella Meneghetti & Fabio Dal Magro & Patrizia Simeoni, 2018. "Fostering Renewables into the Cold Chain: How Photovoltaics Affect Design and Performance of Refrigerated Automated Warehouses," Energies, MDPI, vol. 11(5), pages 1-20, April.
    4. Zanoni, Simone & Zavanella, Lucio, 2012. "Chilled or frozen? Decision strategies for sustainable food supply chains," International Journal of Production Economics, Elsevier, vol. 140(2), pages 731-736.
    5. Antonella Meneghetti & Sara Ceschia, 2020. "Energy-efficient frozen food transports: the Refrigerated Routing Problem," International Journal of Production Research, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 58(14), pages 4164-4181, July.
    6. Beatrice Marchi & Simone Zanoni & Ivan Ferretti & Lucio E. Zavanella, 2018. "Stimulating Investments in Energy Efficiency Through Supply Chain Integration," Energies, MDPI, vol. 11(4), pages 1-13, April.
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    Cited by:

    1. Muhsin Kılıç, 2022. "Evaluation of Combined Thermal–Mechanical Compression Systems: A Review for Energy Efficient Sustainable Cooling," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(21), pages 1-38, October.

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