4th International Workshop
"Cold-Chain-Management"
September 27-28, 2010
Bonn, Germany
The 4th international workshop Cold Chain Management will be hosted by the Cold Chain Management Group; University Bonn, Germany
In recent years, food supply chains have become more and more complex. As a consequence, the pressure on the industry to produce both high quality and consistently safe products is becoming even greater. Due to increasing long transport routes, safe products and extended shelf life times are paramount for economic reasons.
The inception of such a system requires a detailed knowledge about the temperature control in the different stages of the chain and about the product characteristics since this is the key point in cold chain operations.
Recently an enormous technological progress has been made in the development of temperature monitoring systems and in the field of predictive food modelling. But an economical use of the new technologies and the implementation of new theoretical knowledge and models to support cold chain management as well as the integration of such systems in decision support tools in food supply chains is still a great challenge.
Besides that a deep and extensive knowledge is also necessary in the field of new cooling technologies and new packing solutions. Furthermore it is also important to integrate the consumer in the overall concept of an effective cold chain management. This implies a detailed knowledge about the handling of fresh products in private households and concepts of how to integrate the consumer in the cold chain.
As there is a potentially high spoilage activity of fresh products, this is a major and particular challenge for the industry. One of the most important aspects in meeting these demands is the use of an effective cold chain management system.