Author: Katie Carson, Director, Food and Climate Policy, Tetra Pak
Food supply chains are being tested. Conflict in the Middle East and Europe, energy supply volatility and extreme weather events like the recent heat waves show all too clearly how vulnerable our food systems are to disruption. We must strengthen the resilience of our global food systems. Change is urgently needed.
A vital first step in food system transformation is identifying vulnerable points. Much of our food supply depends on the cold chain, the refrigerated transport and storage network that keeps perishable products safe until they reach consumers. Around half of the UK’s food supply depends on this network, but the UK’s Cold Chain Federation warns cold chains are a blind spot in government assessments of resilience and food security.[1] Disruption in refrigeration can have consequences within hours, leading to food loss, supply shortages and rising costs across the value chain, yet, in recent years, the UK has even come close to running out of cold storage.
Any break in the cold chain spoils food and drink, hurts the economy and wastes valuable food. The UN Environment Programme reports that 12% of total food production is lost due to insufficient refrigeration[2], and with the just-in-time model already vulnerable to supply chain shocks, and disruption set to increase, we must take action.
Looking beyond the cold chain
Those that support the dairy industry know the cold chain remains critical to food safety, for products like fresh milk, yogurt and ice cream, and it will be long into the future. Fortunately, a more sustainable cold chain is possible, through changes such as reducing mechanical cooling, adopting energy-efficient technologies that avoid refrigerants with high GWP, and circular strategies such as reusing waste heat. Passive cooling techniques are also important, such as better use of shade and packaging.
While that work continues, policymakers and industry leaders need to assess how exposed food supply chains are to disruption. Contingency planning must get food to consumers when refrigeration networks are disrupted. Meeting that challenge will require complementary approaches to storage and distribution.
This is where alternative distribution models can play an important role. Aseptic processing and packagingenables products such as UHT milk, juice and plant-based beverages to be safely transported and stored at ambient temperatures for up to 12 months without refrigeration or preservatives. In doing so, it can help extend access to safe nutrition in regions where cold chain infrastructure is limited.
Packaging that can be transported and stored at ambient temperatures also helps drive progress towards sustainability targets. The lack of effective refrigeration directly resulted in the loss of 526 million tons of food production, or 12 per cent of the global total, in 2017.[3] True resilience demands a balance of distribution options that tackle emissions, energy use and food waste.
A more flexible food system
The cold chain will remain indispensable. But as food systems come under increasing pressure, resilience will depend on having more than one way to store and distribute food safely. Combining refrigerated and ambient distribution models gives manufacturers and retailers greater flexibility when disruptions occur. Food security is strongest when critical systems have multiple pathways to success.
[1] Cold Chain Federation: Critical Link white paper https://www.coldchainfederation.org.uk/the-critical-link-white-paper/
[2] UN Environment Programme: Sustainable Food Cold Chains: https://www.unep.org/resources/report/sustainable-food-cold-chains-opportunities-challenges-and-way-forward
[3] UNEP and FAO. 2022. Sustainable Food Cold Chains: Opportunities, Challenges and the Way Forward. Nairobi, UNEP and Rome, FAO. https://doi.org/10.4060/cc0923en
