COLD SUPPLY CHAIN MANAGEMENT IN PROCESSING OF FOOD AND AGRICULTURAL PRODUCTS

The quality and safety of food and most agricultural products during storage time in cold stores and distribution is highly dependent on management and monitoring of time-temperature history concept. Control of temperature should be taken into account throughout the cold chain, from farm or factory to consumers ( i.e. farm-to-fork) , to ensure food safety and hygiene and to maintain product quality. Microbiological and biochemical changes take place in food stuffs, and therefore the end quality depends on the temperature and moisture history of products. In order to control the end quality, it is therefore necessary to trace and control the temperature. The Radio frequency identity (RFID) and the Temperature monitoring tags are showing a future in completing the cold chain of perishable products (such as dairy, meat, seafood, fruit and vegetables). Time-Temperature indicators or integrators labels (TTIs) are another traceability tools that could be used as an intelligent shelf life decision system for quality optimization of the food and agricultural products during chill chain. In this paper some important tools for traceability and monitoring of safety and quality of main agricultural products in cold supply chain were reviewed.