concept of cool chain in India

CONCEPT OF COOL CHAIN IN
INdIA
 Submitted to:
Dr Lal
Dr Lalit Bhatt
 Submitted by:
Surabhi
38037

WHAT IS A COOL CHAIN??
 A cold chain is a temperature-controlled
supply chain. It is a logistic system that
provides a series of facilities for
maintaining ideal storage conditions for
perishables from the point of origin to the
point of consumption in the food supply
chain.
 The chain needs to start at the farm level
and cover up to the consumer level
 A well organised cool chain reduces
spoilage,retains the quality of the
harvested products and guarantees a cost
efficient delivery to the consumer given
adequate attention for customer service.
 The main feature of the chain is that if

EVOLUTION OF COOL
CHAIN IN INDIA At the time of Indian independence there were
only a few cold stores mainly located in U.P,
Punjab & West Bengal. Most of these were bulk
cold stores designed for storage of potatoes &
were mainly based on old technology of
construction, thermal insulation &
refrigeration systems with practically no
automation systems.
 One of the oldest multi chamber cold stores
was in Fruit Research Station at Pune & was
supposedly installed in 1932 during the
British rule.
 However the major development of the concept
of multipurpose cold storage unit happened
between 1965 to 1970 when few units were
established for storage of a number of products
in Bangalore & Pune

 Many cold storage units were set up in
our country in the coming years but
they were mainly for the storage of
potato seeds and less for fruits and
vegetables.
 Due to concern to heavy post harvest
losses government constituted a
National Task Force on Cold-Chain in
2008 which was discharged in 2010 on
completing its mandate and it
suggested that there should be a
dedicated institute to promote and
coordinate various cold chain initiatives
and this lead to the formation of

NATIONAL CENTRE FOR
COLD-CHAIN
DEVELOPMENT(NCCD) NCCD is an autonomous body
established by the government of
India with an agenda to positively
impact and promote the development
of cold chain sector in the country.
 NCCD was registered under the
Society Registration Act 1860 in
2011 and obtained sanction by the
Union Cabinet of India 9 Feb 2012.

OBJECTIVES OF NCCD:
 Serves as a think tank to the government
on the subject of cold chain development.
 Provide an enabling envt. for cold-chain
sector & facilitate private investment for
cold-chain infrastructure.
 Narrows the gap in the supply and value
chain including storage,transport &
business processes.
 Address the concerns on standards and
protocols related to cold-chain
testing,verification,certification and
accreditation.
 Assist in developing and promoting new
and energy efficient technologies and their

 Capacity building and training
activities to reduce the gap in skilled
human resources required for cold
chain sector.
 Recommend guidelines to minimise
environment impact and promote
sustainability in the cold chain.
 Awareness programs on best practices
for perishable product
handling,indigenised for specific
requirements and conditions.
 NCCD is intended to address all
segments and the developmental

CURRENT STATUS OF
COLD-CHAIN INDUSTRY IN
INDIA
 Cold storage in India has been largely adopted for
long-term storage of potatoes, onions and high value
crops like apples, grapes and flowers.
 Over 65% of the cold storage capacity is confined to
U.P. and West Bengal only.
 In the potato & multipurpose cold storage,U.P. and
Uttarakhand account for the highest number of cold
storage and capacity.
 Maharashtra has the maximum number of fruits and
vegetables cold storage in india.
 The Indian cold chain market is highly fragmented
with more than 3,500 companies in the whole value
system.
 Cold storage solutions form about 85 per cent of the
Indian cold chain market by value and the balance
15 per cent is contributed by transportation.

 The number of cold storages in India
are around 5316 with the total
capacity of around 23333694mTs.
 The number of private sector cold
storage in India account for 4820
with capacity of 222343607mTs
,cooperative sector 363 numbers with
989445mTs,public sector account for
133 numbers with a capacity of
100642mTs.
 Cold storage services are available for
only 10% of the produce.

OBJECTIVES OF COOL
CHAIN INDUSTRIES
 With the growing demands to keep and
distribute temperature sensitive
products in potent conditions,
organizations are seeking better
solutions to maintain and monitor cold
chain.
 A streamlined, well maintained cold
chain helps to:
*Reduce costs *Improve product
integrity
*Increase customer satisfaction
*Reduce wastage and returns of

COOL CHAIN
INFRASTRUCTURE
 Precooling facilities
 Cold storages
 Refrigerated carriers
 Packaging
 Warehouse and information
management system
 Financial and Insurance Institutions

Precooling facilities
 Precooling is the
prompt cooling of
produce after harvest
for removal of field
heat from fruits and
vegetables by
subjecting them to
any cooling method
like
hydrocooling,room
cooling,forced air
cooling,vacuum

CLASSIFICATION OF COLD
STORAGE
 As per the present day practice, the cold stores can be
classified as follows:
1. Bulk Cold Stores – Generally for storage of a
single commodity, which mostly operate on a seasonal
basis e.g. stores for Potato, Chillies, Apples etc.
2. Multipurpose Cold Stores designed for storage of
variety of commodities which operate, practically, round
the year. The products stored in these types of cold
stores are Fruits, Vegetables, Dry Fruits, Spices, Pulses,
Milk Products etc. These units have been mainly located
near the consuming centres.
3. Small cold stores with precooling facilities for
fresh fruits and vegetables, mainly, for export oriented
items like Grapes etc. The major concentration of these
units is in Maharashtra but the trend is now picking up
in other states like Karnataka, Andhra, Gujarat etc.

4. Frozen food stores with or without
processing and freezing facility for
fish, meat, poultry, dairy products and
processed fruits and vegetables. These
units have helped the promotion and the
growth of frozen foods sector, both in
the domestic and the export markets.
However the percentage of foods so
processed is extremely low and a great
potential exists for growth in this
category.
5. Mini units / Walk-in cold stores
located at hotels, restaurants, malls,
supermarkets etc.
6. Controlled Atmosphere (CA) Stores
for certain fruits/ vegetables like apples,
pears, cherries.
7. Ripening chambers mainly setup
for Bananas & Mangoes

Refrigerated carriers
 Various companies in India
offer refrigerated carriers
facilities to maintain the cold
chain system.For
example:Anand frozen food
carriers, Frigid systems,
Sushma everfresh foods private
ltd. etc.
 Different
refervans,refertrucks,rail cars
or refrigerated ships etc are
there for proper maintenance of

PACKAGING IN A COLD
CHAIN
 Packaging plays a key role in
protecting the product from
contamination by external sources and
from damage during its passage from
the food producer to the consumer.
 The choice of packaging is dictated
primarily by economic, technical and
legislative factors. Also, a well-
designed and consumer-appealing
package will help to portray an image of
high quality and responsible food
production to the consumer.
 The primary function of food
packaging is to protect the food from

 Package barrier properties protect the
food from ingress of gas, light, and
water vapour, each of which can
result in deterioration of colours,
oxidation of lipids and unsaturated
fats, denaturation of proteins and a
general loss of characteristic sensory
qualities.
 Similarly, barrier properties protect
against the loss of moisture from the
food to the external environment
thereby eliminating dehydration and
weight loss.
 A wide range of materials is used for
food packaging, including plastic,

Warehouses
> There are three agencies in public
sector that are involved in building
large scale warehouses:
#Food Corporation of India (FCI)
#Central Warehousing
Corporation(CWC)
#State Warehousing
Corporation(SWC)
>Other are the private agencies
involved in building warehouses.

Information Management
System
 It includes a management system
capable of collecting and reporting
data.
 A stock inventory control system to
ensure proper management of all
supplies.
 Sufficient number of trained
personnel at every level ,with
adequate supervision.
 A good management system is very

STEPS IN A COLD CHAIN
 Harvesting during cooler part o the day
to decrease field heat.
 Precooling is done to remove field heat.
 Packaging is done in pack rooms.
 Cold storage at field condition.
 Refrigerated transport to destination
market or airport.
 Cold storage at destination or market.
 Cold storage by the consumer before
consumption.

TEMPERATURE
REQUIREMENT:
 Different products require different
temperature.
 The common standard temperatures
are Chiller(-20 C),Frozen(-18 C) and⁰ ⁰
deep frozen(-25 C).⁰

CHALLENGES IN THE COLD
CHAIN SECTOR:
Cold chains face several roadblocks in
their growth and some of the most
challenging hurdles are listed below:
#Rising real estate cost: A fully
integrated cold storage facility of
international standards,with one
million cubic ft. of storage space,will
require an area of approximately an
acre,which is a huge investment.
#Location for cold storage: Cooling units
are not mobile units so the location of
such units becomes a key constraint as
there are very few parcels of large land
spaces available in india.

#Lack of proper infrastructure: The cold
chain industry in india is very
fragmented,with players not having the
strength to invest in the technology
needed to build high quality cold
storage or to invest in reefer trucks.
#High energy cost: Energy expenses alone
account for about 30% of the total
expenses of the cold chain sector in
india.It increases the capital investment
costs.
#Uneven distribution of capacity: The
majority of cold storage in india have
been established in states like Uttar
Pradesh,Maharashtra,Gujarat,Punjab
and West Bengal.But the establishment
of such cold storages needs to be more
geographically diverse.

# The cold storages in india can cater to
single commodities only.Different
commodities require different
temperature conditions , resulting in
poor capacity utilization and low
financial viability.
#FDI Restrictions in retail: Cold chain
infrastructure needs huge
investment.Easing restrictions on FDI
in multi brand retail could open up
channels for further fund infusion from
new foreign entrants.
#Lack of access to market & technology.
#There is not always a continous cold
pathway from the field till it reaches to
the consumer that decreases the shelf

DRIVING FACTORS FOR
INDIA COLD STORAGE
 Government is taking initiatives in promoting
cold chain sector..
 Increasing government regulation.The demand
from customers for continously available high
quality food products are primary cause of cold
chain integration.
 Today’s busy & health conscious consumer is
demanding fresh ,wholesome and healthy
product in incresing volumes and a variety of
offerings.
 Cold chain systems can be of strategic
importance to companies since brand integrity ,
customer confidence ,market share and profit are
all at risk.

Various companies in India
involved in cool chain supply
 Reliance
 Godrej
 R.K.Foodland
 Apollo Everest cool solutions
 McDonald’s
 Indraprastha cold chain
 Glacio cold chain
 Bulaki deep freeze
 Snowman
 Refcon carriers
 Tata
 Aditya Birla Group

Recent news on cold chain in
Uttarakhand
 A refrigerated apple van, a vital link of
the cold chain has been developed for the
first time in Uttarakhand recently in
February 2013..
 It is initiated by Stichting Het Groene
Woutd(SHGW), a Dutch family
foundation and social investor and
NGO, Sri Jagdamba Samiti(SJS) and it
has helped create
employment,income,technical skill,and
capacity among the apple growers of

CONCLUSION
 An overview of the cold chain system in India
over the past 50 to 60 years shows that the cold
storage construction technology, the practices
of thermal insulation, refrigeration plant
technology, automation and material
handling have undergone significant
transformation.
 From the point of view of utilization also, the
cold stores today offer much wider scope than
in the past.
 Energy saving and the Green Cold chain
concept are also being seriously looked at by
the progressive entrepreneurs and designers.
 A scientifically developed Cold Chain,
designed to handle and preserve the
substantial quantity and excellent quality of
food products grown in the country, would
turn into a’ ‘Gold Chain’ for the country.

concept of cool chain in India

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