You may not think twice about how the ingredients for your salad made their way to your refrigerator – but you have an intricate process known as the cold chain, specifically the food cold chain, to thank for that. In short, it’s a system of distribution and transportation that takes food from farm to market – and then to your home – while maintaining safe temperatures and preventing food waste.
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A reliable and uninterrupted cold chain is critical as a globalized economy enables food to be transported around the world safely and efficiently. But we cannot ignore how all of the systems that make the cold chain function impact the environment.
According to the Sustainable Food Cold Chains report from the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) and the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), the food cold chain alone is responsible for about 4% of total global greenhouse gas emissions. This includes emissions from cold chain technologies and food loss caused by lack of refrigeration. The United Nations also estimates that about 14% of food produced is lost between harvest and retail, and 17% of total food production is wasted. These compounding percentages need to be addressed.
The good news is that technology can help reduce greenhouse gas emissions, improve reliability and mitigate the loss that can occur between each link in the food cold chain.
For example, Honeywell has spent the last decade and more than one billion dollars in research, development and new capacity for ready-now, low-global warming potential (GWP) hydrofluoroolefins (HFOs)—molecules that are used in a variety of applications including growing, transporting, processing and storing food both in the supermarket and at home. Honeywell’s Solstice® portfolio of HFOs is designed to replace high-GWP hydrofluorocarbon (HFC) refrigerants and blowing agents.
Energy-efficient, low-GWP HFOs are also helping to meet important sustainability targets and regulations including the Kigali Amendment to the Montreal Protocol, demanding the phase-down of high-GWP HFCs. The Kigali Amendment has been ratified by 152 states to date, which underscores the need for reduced GWP HFO technologies. And there are many opportunities across the food cold chain for them to be used.
Take the journey of a head of lettuce. Farmers can use refrigerant in temperature-controlled greenhouses to grow the lettuce, even in some of the driest climates.
An innovative example is the work that Pure Harvest Smart Farms is doing in the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia, using an ultra-low-GWP HFO in its greenhouses to control the environment while reducing carbon emissions. This technology is making it possible to grow fruits and vegetables in the desert using climate-controlled greenhouses to manage temperature, light, humidity and water usage. Ultimately, this can create indoor oases where plants can thrive in ideal growing conditions.
Regardless of where the lettuce is grown, processed or stored, it usually moves from one spot on the cold chain to another in refrigerated containers or in trucks designed to transport items needing temperature control. These containers are insulated to keep their cargo fresh or frozen, and high-performing insulated panels and boards can be manufactured using ultra-low-GWP HFO blowing agents.
Then, processing facilities use refrigerant to keep lettuce cool before preparing it for shipment to supermarkets and other customers.
Once the lettuce arrives at supermarkets around the world, commercial refrigeration systems store and display food so that it is kept fresh for consumers. Major retailers like Walmart, Whole Foods and Food City are turning to HFO refrigerants for use in these systems to support their sustainability goals because HFOs help reduce carbon footprint and improve energy efficiency.
There are additional benefits to using HFOs over other alternatives. For example, HFOs operate at lower pressures than carbon dioxide (CO2) systems, meaning they have lower failure rates. If a failure were to occur, a lower pressure system means a leak would be slower, so it can continue to be operated until the leak is repaired, helping reduce food waste. With many technicians having been trained on HFO systems, maintenance and repairs can be carried out more quickly, again reducing food waste.
Once shoppers bring the lettuce home, ultra-low GWP technology comes into play again in the form of liquid blowing agents, which can aid insulation for some refrigerators and freezers to help keep produce fresher longer.
HFOs have an important role to play at every step of the food cold chain, helping to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and increase reliability, therefore reducing overall environmental impact and food waste. The potential is significant. To date, the use of Honeywell Solstice technology has helped avoid the potential release of the equivalent of more than 326 million metric tons of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere, equal to the carbon emissions from nearly 70 million gasoline-powered passenger vehicles per year.
So, the next time you dig into a bowl of salad or reach for your favorite seasonal fruits at the market, consider the science and systems that keep your produce fresh so you can enjoy it. At every step in the food cold chain, small molecules can make a big impact in helping operations from farms to markets reduce food waste and take steps to reduce their emissions.
Calculations are based on actual sales of Solstice products (in lbs) from Jan 2010 through Dec 2022, and utilize the EPA GHG equivalency calculator for conversion.
