It’s 6:00 a.m. on a California strawberry field, and one of the field crews is getting ready to start picking berries. At the same time, it is 9:00 p.m. at a Hong Kong restaurant, and the chef has just realized that he will need more fresh strawberries in two days. The field crew and the chef are working together – without knowing it – to provide consumers with fresher and tastier berries.
A battle against the clock has started again.
Why is there a battle?
Berries are among the most perishable items across the produce department. The big issue is that an oxidation process begins immediately after harvest. The pre-cooling procedure starts at the distribution centers that receive the fruit; they’re usually located close to the farms. Pre-cooling helps to stop the development of oxidation on the berries. Still, there’s a condition for that to work, and that's the need for the temperature to stay between 32 and 36° Fahrenheit from the pre-cooling stage all the way to the final destination.
As soon as the temperature rises above this range, our berries will begin to spoil.
Every hour that the fruit is not kept at the ideal temperature will decrease shelf life and quality once the berries arrive at their destination; this is why it is so critical for every strawberry to get to its final destination as fast and as cold as possible.
What are the main challenges we have as an industry?
Despite distances and differences in time zones, everyone expects to have the most delightful and freshest product once it arrives on the consumer’s plate. Berry products (strawberries, blackberries, raspberries, and blueberries) are often used to bring color and flavor to salads as well as to pastries, and nobody is happy to see over-ripe or unusable berries in restaurants or bakeries.
Consumers will always be eager to eat delicious berries, and it is always our responsibility to make them available.
So, what main barriers do we face to continue to please our customers, even in far-away destinations?
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Connectivity: All of us have suffered in one way or another from the lack of connectivity the world has experienced since COVID-19 hit. The fact that fewer flights – direct or with connections – to distant markets has narrowed the options and increased the cost.
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Inspection process on arrival: Even though the requirements across countries are the same – review documents, find pests, check soil – the times vary significantly, from best-in-class airports releasing the product in under two hours to airports that take up to six hours to release the fruit to customers.
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Temperature: This is probably the biggest challenge for the berries. Despite some airports having cooling facilities, the product could be moving through different points at an airport. Most of the time, those stages will happen at ambient temperatures. When they arrive in places like Saudi Arabia, Hong Kong, or Singapore in the summer, the berries will face temperatures from 60 to 100 degrees Fahrenheit. Although the product travels well insulated and with dry ice, the ambient temperature will start to fight that insulation. On top of this, at least part of the product must be removed from the insulation to be inspected, leaving that entire pallet at the mercy of the temperature, which will start to deteriorate the berries.
How can we address these challenges?
Many things across the journey I just described are out of our control, but that does not imply everything is lost on the mission to deliver the best possible berries worldwide. So here are some recommendations that will get us closer to winning our battle against the clock.
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Teamwork is Dream Work: Shippers can’t always be everywhere, so partnering with a trustworthy freight forwarder and a great partner at the destination is imperative. The first one will allow the fruit to arrive as fast as possible and with the best cool insulation; the second one will support us in picking up the fruit as fast as possible and delivering it with the proper cold chain.
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Partner with Local Authorities: Shippers and customers must continue showing authorities at the destination how rapidly berries deteriorate if not handled properly. Discussing ideal handling will help us move – even slowly – in the right direction, closing all possible gaps and bringing awareness of those issues requiring special work in the future.
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Process Improvement: There will always be room for improvement across the entire end-to-end process. A frequent review of our outcomes – the quality of the fruit when it is served – will help us improve and increase accountability through everyone involved in the journey of the berries.
Of course, the journey I’ve just described is a never-ending challenge. Consumers will always be eager to eat delicious berries, and it is always our responsibility to make them available. It is critical for us to keep our focus on that journey from California’s strawberry fields to that Hong Kong restaurant.
