🧊 Improved cold chain could halve food waste

Welcome back to CubeCold News where we cover the latest developments in the cold chain industry and temperature-controlled logistics.

In today’s edition:

• Improved cold chain could halve food waste

• UPS Healthcare opens first dedicated facility in Ireland

• Emergent Cold completes expansion of its facility in Apodaca, Mexico

• First UK Food Security Index 2024 published at Farm to Fork Summit

News

Improved cold chain could halve food waste A new study by the University of Michigan suggests that improving refrigeration in food supply chains could reduce nearly half of the 1.3 billion tons of food wasted globally each year.

• The study, published in the journal Environmental Research Letters, found that fully refrigerated supply chains could eliminate about 620 million tonnes of food waste and cut food waste-related greenhouse gas emissions by 41% worldwide.

• The greatest potential for reductions in food losses and associated emissions through increased cold-chain implementation is in sub-Saharan Africa and south and southeast Asia.

• The study also found that meat accounts for more than 50% of food loss-related greenhouse gas emissions, despite accounting for less than 10% of global food losses by weight.

• The researchers compared the benefits of globalised, technologically advanced food-supply chains with those of localised "farm-to-table" food systems, finding that hyper-localised food systems resulted in lower food losses than optimised global, refrigerated supply chains. (link)

UPS Healthcare opens first dedicated facility in Ireland UPS Healthcare has inaugurated its first dedicated facility in Dublin, Ireland.

• This new facility is part of UPS's strategic expansion to enhance its healthcare logistics capabilities across Europe.

• The Dublin facility spans 6,000 sq. m. and is designed to support the storage and distribution of critical healthcare products, including pharmaceuticals and medical devices.

• It features advanced technology and infrastructure to ensure the safe handling of temperature-sensitive products, with capabilities for cold chain storage ranging from 2°C to 8°C and -20°C to -80°C.

• The facility is strategically positioned to leverage Ireland's role as a major hub for pharmaceutical and medical device manufacturing.

• It aims to provide comprehensive logistics solutions to healthcare companies, ensuring efficient and compliant delivery of products to patients and healthcare providers. (link)

Emergent Cold completes expansion of its facility in Apodaca, Mexico This expansion added 3,900 pallet positions, bringing the facility's total capacity to 17,500 pallets and covering 145,000 cubic meters.

• This project is part of a broader strategy to enhance the company's infrastructure in Mexico, which also included a recent expansion in Villagrán, Guanajuato.

• Juan Pablo Benitez, Managing Director of Emergent Cold LatAm for Mexico, stated that these expansions are just the beginning of the company's ambitious growth plans in the country.

• The company is also building a new warehouse in Monterrey and is actively seeking further opportunities to expand its network within Mexico.

• The strategic importance of Mexico is highlighted by its domestic market potential, proximity to the United States, increasing agricultural production, and opportunities for connectivity with other Latin American countries. (link)

First UK Food Security Index 2024 published at Farm to Fork Summit The UK government recently published the first UK Food Security Index (UKFSI) 2024 at the Farm to Fork Summit held at Downing Street on May 14th.

• The index, led by the Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs (Defra) in collaboration with devolved administrations, provides an annual assessment of the state of UK food security for 2023-2024.

• The Index complements the more comprehensive UK Food Security Report (UKFSR) which is published every three years.

• The UKFSI measures year-on-year changes, building upon the evidence base of the UKFSR while also considering wider intelligence, forecasts, and policy developments.

• It aims to monitor the impacts of external factors on UK food security, such as the Ukraine war, extreme weather events, domestic food production, land use, input costs, and farmer productivity.

• The index consists of nine indicators to provide a comprehensive view of food security rather than relying on a single metric.

• The 2024 UKFSI found that UK food security is currently "broadly stable" as the country recovers from recent supply chain shocks like Covid-19, the Ukraine invasion, and related inflationary pressures. However, it notes longer-term risks from climate change. (link)

Other headlines

RJM & Company advises WOW Logistics in its sale to I Squared Capital.

McCulla, a Northern Ireland refrigerated haulier has raised £3.1 million to expand its biogas fleet.

Thermo King has introduced its Hybrid-Electric Multi-Temp Trailer in Chicago in collaboration with Martin Brower.

Americold Realty Trust, Inc. has declared a dividend of $0.22 per share for the second quarter of 2024.

Port of Greenock invests £750,000 to boost refrigerated cargo capacity.

CJ Logistics America will open a new 291,000 sq. ft. cold storage warehouse in New Century, Kansas in Q3 2025.

Chicago is experiencing a surge in cold storage development, with companies like Karis Cold and Alston Construction building refrigerated facilities to meet growing demand.

That’s it for today!

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