Sorting:

• Sorting means removing damaged produce (from mechanical injuries, insects, diseases, immaturity, overripeness, and deformities) and foreign matter (like plant debris, soil, and stones) from marketable fresh produce.Cooling users should sort their crates before checking them in.
• Cold room operators should regularly check the crates stored in the room and discard spoiled items. Mixing damaged produce can hasten spoilage or ripening of the entire batch.

Pre cooling:

• Pre-cooling refers to the initial cooling of freshly harvested crops before they enter cold rooms. It removes field heat from the produce using methods like room cooling, forced air cooling, and water spraying.
• Pre-cooling benefits farmers transporting their produce to distant markets, reducing bruising susceptibility and transit refrigeration needs.
• In temperatures above 35°C, pre-cooling should be performed within an hour of harvest to increase shelf life.
• Passive cooling techniques such as cooling blankets can be used if pre-cooling options are unavailable.
• Harvesting during cooler morning hours also can be used when pre-cooling and passive cooling options are unavailable.
• Fruits with soft exteriors (berries, grapes, tomatoes, stone fruits, capsicum, chilli peppers, eggplant, cucumbers, green beans, peas, and spinach) need rapid pre-cooling, while harder ones (such as papaya, guava, green bananas, pomegranates, radish, cabbage, cauliflower and carrots) can store well without it.

Check-in:

• All produce entering the cold room should be placed in well-vented plastic crates with company-assigned IDs.
• Plastic containers are preferred over cardboard boxes as they remain stable with ample perforation and high humidity and can be sanitised to prevent mould growth.
• Operators should ensure that:
  • Crates are dry before placing produce in the cold room to prevent bacterial growth.
  • Details like farmer name, product type, storage duration, and harvest date are logged into the Coldtivate app.
  • Operator-entered data is visible to farmers, who can quickly rectify errors in the app for transparency.

Stacking crates:

• To ensure that the quality of the produce in storage is preserved, follow the following tips when stacking crates:
  • Use 20-23 kgs of produce in a 25kg standard crate for proper storage.
  • Leave a 5-10 cm gap between crates to prevent spoilage spread.
  • Keep crates 10-15 cm from cold room walls to avoid chilling injury.
  • Pay special attention to bananas, grapefruit, mandarin and oranges, sweet potatoes, tomato, avocado, and mango as they are the most sensitive to chilling!

To properly maintain the cold room:

• Install plastic curtains on doors to prevent cold air loss, decreasing condensation, ice buildup, and energy wastage.
• Ensure high humidity levels in cold rooms to prevent moisture loss, frost, and ice formation. High relative humidity (RH) means the air has a lot of water vapour compared to its maximum capacity at a specific temperature. However, extremely high humidity can cause condensation and dew deformation.
• In general, around 95% relative humidity at slightly above freezing is required. Even items stored in warmer conditions benefit from a RH level of approximately 75%.

Sanitation measures:

• Regular tidying and maintenance of the cold room is vital to keep stored food safe. Follow these tips to ensure that both the cold rooms and the produce are kept clean:
  • Use vacuum cleaners or scrubber dryers with mild cleaning agents to remove dirt from the floor.
  • Cover open crates before cleaning to avoid getting cleaning sprays on the food.
  • Clean the room when empty, turning off the cooling system to use water and cleaning agents.
  • Check crates for spoiled items and remove them to prevent bacterial growth.
  • After cleaning, let the room dry completely to prevent frozen and slippery floors.

Packaging:

• Follow these tips to ensure that the quality of the produce is preserved during transportation:
  • Highly dehydration-sensitive crops like lettuce benefit from plastic bags to slow dehydration.
  • Products with high ethylene production, such as bananas, benefit from plastic coverings to contain ethylene.
• When fruits and vegetables get bruised, they make nearby items ripen faster. When placing delicate crops like berries, grapes, or peaches in plastic containers, use protective foams or poly liners to stop them from getting damaged from movement during transportation.