LAST MONTH, we introduced you to a few of the terms common to the public refrigerated warehousing (PRW) and cold supply chain industries, and we promised we would continue the topic this month. So, here they are — five more terms to help make you feel right at home during a visit to any cold storage operation.
• Cold plates – Basically, these are large hardware ice packs. These refrigeration plates, containing coils and insulating material, are cooled by electricity and are imbedded in the walls and ceilings of trailers for short-run transport of perishables. Cold plates can be found on ice cream trucks and in panel vans seen at food truck rallies.
• HACCP – Pronounced “hassip,” this is short for Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Points. HACCP is a vital control system that identifies where hazards (such as contamination and spoilage) might occur in the food production-transportation-storage process and puts into place stringent actions to take to prevent the hazards from entering the consumer marketplace.
• 3PL – It’s not the name of a droid from “Star Wars.” It’s shorthand for “third-party logistics.” A 3PL is a company that works with shippers and/or receivers to manage their logistics operations, with “logistics” meaning the activity required to ultimately transport goods to customers. A PRW operation, which stores cold or frozen products and provides other services for food processors, is one example of a 3PL company.
• Tempering – In PRW, this is the process of freezing already cold food products or increasing the temperature of frozen products (thawing) to meet the needs of food processors and their customers. For example, bread products that are stored frozen in a warehouse often are tempered, or thawed, to certain specifications before delivery to stores and restaurants.
• IQF – This is short for “individually quick frozen.” In this process, food products (such as fresh vegetables, berries, breaded or batter-dipped items, chicken tenders, shrimp, and fish sticks) are frozen separately — on a conveyor moving through a freeze tunnel — before packaging.
This column is sponsored by Adams Cold Storage.
CREDIT
column by BEN ADAMS, JR.
BIO: Ben Adams, Jr. is an owner and president of Adams Cold Storage, LLC, in Auburndale. He has been directly involved in citrus production, warehousing and distribution, as well as state and community support, since 1980. His facility incorporates 200,000 square feet of multitemperature warehousing, with an extensive expansion project currently under way.