Dr. R.T. PatilDr. R.T. PatilFormer Director, CIPHET, LudhianaFormer Director, CIPHET, LudhianaChairman & ED, Benevole for PHT, Chairman & ED, Benevole for PHT,

Bhopal (ramabhau@gmail.com)Bhopal (ramabhau@gmail.com)

Hybrid Cool Chain for Preservation Hybrid Cool Chain for Preservation of Fruits & Vegetables in Indiaof Fruits & Vegetables in India

Production & Post Harvest ScenarioProduction & Post Harvest Scenario

•Agriculture contributes about 16% of GDP, employees 57% workforce and sustains approx over 70% of the population •India produces about 265 million tons of fruits and vegetables and ranks second in world •Post harvest losses are 3-18% amounting to Rs. 45000 crores•Low level of processing of fruits and vegetables at only 2% mainly due to perishability & unprocessable varieties.•Food processing is employment intensive, creates 1.8 jobs directly and 6.4 indirectly for every Rs. 10 lakh investment

High Value Products from WastesHigh Value Products from Wastes

• Pectin from fruit and vegetable peels• Lycopene from tomato peel and oil from seeds• Bio-colour from arhar husk and used flowers • A low calorie sweetner (xyletol) from corn cob and

bagasse • Beta amylase and Xylanase from cereal bran and husk • Enzymes (protease, laccase, peroxidase and polyphenol

oxidase) from green gram husk and wheat germ • Gelatin / Peptides from slaughter house waste• Dietary fibres from fruit pomace• Bio-plastics from tapioca • Aniti oxidents and phenolic compounds from cereal

brans and pulse husks

Integrated Cold ChainIntegrated Cold Chain

Primary Segments

1)Washing and cooling fresh produce, 2) Cool or cold storage (short or long term warehousing of chilled or frozen condition), 3) Distribution (cold transport and temporary warehousing under temperature controlled conditions) 4) Marketing (refrigerated or freezer storage and displays at wholesale markets, retail markets and foodservice operations).

Losses in Absence of Cold ChainLosses in Absence of Cold ChainVariable Global Developed

countries Developing countries

Refrigerated storage capacity (m3/1000 inhabitants)

52 200 19

Food losses (all products)

25% 10% 28%

Losses of fruits and vegetables

35% 15% 40%

Losses of perishable foodstuffs due to lack of refrigeration

20% 9% 23%

Source: IIR. 2009

Benefits of Cooling of Horticultural Benefits of Cooling of Horticultural ProduceProduce

• Reduces respiration: lessens perishability • Reduces transpiration: lessens water loss,

less shriveling • Reduces ethylene production: slows ripening • Increases resistance to ethylene action • Decreases activity of micro-organisms • Reduces browning and loss of texture, flavor

and nutrients • Delays ripening and natural senescence

Effect of Cooling on Storage Effect of Cooling on Storage Food products

Storage potential

at optimum cold temperature

optimum temperature + 10°C

optimum temperature + 20°C

optimum temperature + 30°C

Fresh green vegetables

1 month at 0°C

2 weeks at 10°C

1 week at 20°C

Less than 2 days at 30°C

Potatoes 5 to 10 months at 4 to 12 °C

Less than 2 months at 22 °C°

Less than 1 month at 32 °C

Less than 2 weeks at 42 °C

Mangoes 2 to 3 weeks at 13°C

1 week at 23°C

4 days at 33°C

2 days at 43°C

Apples 3 to 6 months at -1°C

2 months at 10°C

1 month at 20°C

A few weeks at 30°C

Cooling Methods & Steps Cooling Methods & Steps Cold chain step Small-scale Large scale Pre-cooling systems Portable forced air

cooling systems Vacuum cooling Forced air cooling Hydro-cooling

Cold Storage Walk-in cold rooms CoolBot™ equipped cold room

Refrigerated warehouses

Processing- chilling or freezing

“Direct expansion” chilling of bulk milk “instant” chilling of milk

Blast freezing IQF Vacuum cooling of packaged meats

Refrigerated transport USDA Porta-cooler Reefer vans Refrigerated marine containers Refrigerated intermodal containers (for road, rail and sea shipping)

Cooling Methods & Steps Cooling Methods & Steps Cold chain step Small-scale Large scale Pre-cooling systems

Portable evaporative forced air cooling systems

Slurry ice

Cold Storage Zero energy cool chambers (ZECC) Evaporatively cooled cool rooms (charcoal coolers) Underground storage (root cellars) Night air ventilation High altitude storage Radiant cooling Solar chillers

Evaporatively cooled warehouses Underground storage (caves) High altitude storage Radiant cooling

Processing- chilling and freezing

None available None available

Refrigerated transport

Evaporatively cooled insulated transport boxes or trailers

Passive cooling (insulated pallet covers

Storage Life in ZECC Storage Life in ZECC Fruit/Vegetables Months Storage Life (days)

Ambient conditions

Cool Chamber

Bitter gourd May-June 2 6Carrot Feb.-March 5 12Cauliflower Feb.-March 7 12Cucumber May-June 3 8Green chilies May-June 3 6Kinnow January-March 8 60Ladies finger May-June 1 6Mango July 8 15Peas Feb.-March 5 10Plum June 4 10Spinach Feb.-March 3 8

Equiments/ Equiments/ Gadgets Gadgets

for Cool Chainfor Cool Chain

Mobile Cool ChamberMobile Cool Chamber

• The insulated box was designed such that it could hold 8 plastic crates of size 540x360x295 mm in two layer of four each

• Capacity of storage was 100 kg of fruits with 80% filling of each plastic crates

• Costs around Rs. 18,000-20,000/-

Low cost unit saves the fruits from exposure to sunlight and preserves the quality.

Refrigerated transportRefrigerated transport• Further a refrigeration unit is mounted on top for cooling the solution of ethylene glycol and salt stored in the jacket of insulated box.

• This solution is cooled to subzero temperature by running the refrigeration unit by plugging to power source for 8-10 hours before use.

• The refrigerated transport vehicle can lower the product temperature up to 5 °C.

• The wattage of compressor is 0.65 kW.

Ventilated Rail Transport Ventilated Rail Transport • Ventilated rail cars have been

developed by NHB where the slotted holes were provided on front bottom, front and rear ends to accommodate vertical forced air and natural convection due to holes at the bottom.

• At least 15% of total floor area was perforated and labyrinths provided for the protection from rain where ever essential.

• The design provides 5% area at the bottom and 10% area on the top at both from and rear ends.

• The rail trasnports the material as fresh over very long distances

Evaporatively Cooled Room for Storage of Evaporatively Cooled Room for Storage of Fruits and VegetablesFruits and Vegetables

Compared on the basis of 10% physiological loss in weight (PLW) the shelf life inside the room was 34 days for early kinnow, 23 days for late kinnow, 11 days for cauliflower and 4 days for spinach as compared to 21, 11, 5 and 2 days respectively in an ordinary room at the same time.

The cost of the chamber is Rs. 75000 and capacity is 2 tonnes.

•An evaporatively cooled (EC) room (3x3x3m. size) was developed for on-farm storage of fruits and vegetables. •The summer temperature inside the EC room was 5-8C lower than that inside the ordinary room and winter temperature was 5-8 C higher than that inside the ordinary room.

CIPHET Evaporative Cooled Storage Structure CIPHET Evaporative Cooled Storage Structure

• Storage of fruits and vegetables• Evaporatively Cooled Structure (ECS)

maintains a moderate low temperature and sufficiently high relative humidity for short term storage of fresh fruits and vegetables.

• Advantages Low level consumption of

electricity Less initial investment Negligible maintenance cost

• Features– Special design of roof, orientation – Uses wetted pad as cooling medium – 20oC below the outside temperature – An ECS of about 5 -7 tonne storage

capacity may cost about Rs. 1.5 – 1.8 lakh.

Earth Tubes for CoolingEarth Tubes for Cooling • Earth tubes is a passive heating and cooling

technique that uses the constant 50 degree F temperature of the earth to pre-heat incoming air in the winter and pre-cool incoming air in the summer by passing the air through tubes buried under the earth.

• This is an ancient technique used for thousands of years.

• It is best suited for climates that have extreme weather conditions...extreme heat and cold.

• Use of this system reduces the energy demands for cooling and heating the structure and creates better and healthier indoor air environments than conventional systems.

Contd...

Earth Tubes for CoolingEarth Tubes for Cooling • The system provides 67% of the energy required to

heat and cool the required (i.e. 800cfm) exchanged air.

• The tube Length should be max 80 ft as the majority of the heat transfer occurs in first 80-100ft of tube.

• The tube be placed at 6-8 ft below the surface of the earth with slope of the tube at a 2% grade.

• The material of tubes matters little, as long as they are not insulated because the thickness of the material absorbing the heat is actually the tube plus the ground around the tube.

• Avoid draining any roofs or ground areas into the area of the earth tubes.

ExamplesExamples

Evaporative Cooled Room

Surinder SinghVill Jalalabad, Moga PunjabProfession: Vegetable Farmer

Cold Room used for on-farm short term storage of fruits and vegetables

Cost of structure: Rs 75,000

Growing Processable Varieties and Providing Low Cost Cool Storage are essential for

increasing level of processing and reducing the post harvest losses.

The GDP growth in Agriculture is three times more effective to reduce the poverty compared

to GDP growth from other sources