Evaluation of Pallet Covers Performance for Produce Protection in Cold Chain Logistics for Chard, Cucumbers and Carrots

Abstract

Cold chain disruption and refrigeration failures are common issues in the logistics of perishable food products. In these cases, the use of pallet covers should be very useful, delaying the increase of product temperatures inside the pallets until cooling conditions are restored. However, there are no studies about the performance of pallet covers in these types of situations, which could persist for hours. This paper evaluates the performance of three different types of cold chain covers versus having no cover for three different types of vegetables (chard, cucumbers, and carrots). A refrigeration failure during the cold chain was simulated. The three covers presented an improvement in temperature loss compared to the no-cover situation, with the average time for the temperature to increase from 4 to 10 °C with a cover being a range of 214 to 506 min, while for no cover, from 162 to 211 min. Relative humidity (RH) always presented improved preservation with a cover than with no cover, except for one case. The correlation between the thermal images and sensor temperatures was also studied.