Refrigeration and controlled-atmosphere solutions for the agri-food industry

General features

Cold chain management in the agri-food business is strategic in ensuring the quality, safety, and commercial value of products throughout the supply chain, from farm to market. Fruit, vegetables, meat, dairy and processed products are extremely sensitive to the surrounding environmental conditions and require advanced, highly reliable preservation systems.

Refrigeration and controlled-atmosphere solutions play a key role in preserving the flavours and aromas of produce, slowing degradation, and precisely managing ripening and curing. Suboptimal control of parameters such as temperature, humidity, and gas composition can lead to a rapid decline in product quality, with consequent economic losses and food waste.

The preservation of agri-food products and their transformation through ripening or curing processes therefore require special care in terms of controlling the environmental storage conditions.

The ability to precisely and continuously control environmental conditions, such as temperature, humidity, and gas concentration (CO₂ or ethylene) is essential in ensuring high product quality and maximising sales profitability.

Careful monitoring of these parameters means natural degradation processes can be slowed, weight loss limited, and the texture, colours, and flavours and foods preserved. At the same time, dynamic management of environmental conditions allows processes to be adapted to the specific needs of the product, optimising the storage, ripening, or curing stages.

Continuity of control is likewise crucial in preventing unwanted variations that may compromise entire batches of goods. Advanced monitoring and control systems allow automatic actions and prompt responses, while maintaining stable and uniform conditions in cold storage rooms and warehouses.

Depending on the type of food, in-depth knowledge of the related biological and physical phenomena is used to define temperature, humidity, and gas concentration profiles that can extend shelf life and optimise the various stages of processing.

Specifically, in controlled-atmosphere environments or ripening rooms in large refrigerated warehouses, application of custom control logic enhances customer know-how through optimised management of refrigeration systems. 

CAREL’s development tools can be used on its wide range of programmable controllers and interfaces for extensive customisation and rapid integration of the different system components.

Moreover, the vast range of temperature, humidity, and gas sensors ensures reliable measurement of environmental conditions in every stage of the process, guaranteeing product freshness. 

The use of advanced measurement technologies also allows the collection of accurate and consistent data, fundamental for optimising the control logic and improving overall system performance. Measurement quality is indeed a key factor not only for correct functioning of refrigeration systems and reducing energy consumption, but also for ensuring optimal product preservation conditions.

CAREL can also offer support for the design and supply of electrical panels for managing individual cold rooms or entire refrigerated warehouses, thus further facilitating integration of the individual components, and simplifying system commissioning by using control units that have been tested and validated in production.

Benefits

• Enhance customer know-how based on the specific product being preserved
• Maintain product appearance and freshness
• Control ripening processes, thus maximising sales revenues
• Minimise the energy consumption of the entire system