Panasonic is currently working on developing technology for cold chain solutions that can deliver freshly picked fruits and vegetables from production sites to selling areas more efficiently and as fresh as possible. Safety, reliability, and freshness are the core of the food supply chain.
What achieves freshness, in particular, is a technology that quickly pre-cools the fruits and vegetables during the pre-transportation stage after being harvested in the production areas. Panasonic's end-to-end supply chain solution from farm to table that makes full use of IoT technology has been adopted in a blueberry production area in Guizhou, China.
Pressure cooling unit
The hand-picked blueberries rapidly pre-cooled to cool down the field heat. This pre-cooling suppresses produce respiration to better maintain freshness. The blueberries that are quickly chilled to the ice point inside Panasonic's pressure cooling unit are later transported to storage for food processing center until it hits the stores.
Panasonic Refrigeration Company aims to contribute to the Chinese market, and over the last few decades, have worked to establish and standardize the optimal pre-cooling technology for production sites. From 2019, together with the province of Guizhou, China's first ministry-level shared mobility pre-cooling service has been developed.
Pre-Cooling equipment
Panasonic has helped achieve increased profits for farmers and has contributed to the promotion of Guizhou
Before that, lots of fruit spoilage was occurring during the packing and transportation process. Panasonic's pre-cooling equipment can eliminate field heat in just half an hour, which reduces loss and extends the storage cycle. Also, thanks to Panasonic's original controlled freezing point technology, these blueberries will taste even better after being stored in the unit for 2-3 days.
By offering these types of advantages, Panasonic has helped achieve increased profits for farmers and has contributed to the promotion of Guizhou and reducing poverty. With the continuous improvement of Panasonic's pre-cooling technology and solution, the shelf life of fresh produce from the field to supermarkets is significantly secured. Produce can be expected to stay fresh for 3 to 7 days.
Cold chain system
After delivering fresh food, Panasonic's technologies continue to be active in supermarkets and sales areas. Panasonic's refrigerated showcases have a simplistic yet highly textured look, which is a great companion to fresh produce. The shelving design is based on customers' browsing habits. Details of the design have effectively enhanced the shopping experience.
Panasonic will continue to promote the development of technologies in the cold chain system to seamlessly deliver safe and healthy foods to households together with the desires of the producers to infuse the vitality of great food into daily life.