Australian Food Cold Chain Council formed in Queensland

A new cold chain advocacy group has been established in Queensland to improve compliance and standards in the handling of food at all levels of the cold chain.

With mounting pressure about the costs and environmental damage of food waste, the Australian Food Cold Chain Council (AFCCC) — which consists of leaders in manufacturing, food transport, refrigeration and cold chain services — aims to address these issues and encourage innovation and compliance across the food cold chain in Australia.

The interim directors of the AFCCC include:

• Stephen Elford, General Manager Australia New Zealand, Carrier Transicold
• Mark Mitchell, Managing Director, SuperCool Australia Pacific Pty Ltd
• Peter Lawrence, Technical Director ANZ, Thermo King
• Kyle Hawker, Transport Manager, Simplot Australia
• Adam Wade, National Transport Leader, Lion
• Kevin Manfield, General Manager Products & Markets, MaxiTRANS Australia Pty Ltd

Interim Chair Mark Mitchell specified that the group aim to improve the existing industry, as opposed to promoting it.

“One of our priorities will be to apply whatever pressure is needed in industry and in government to make sure the existing Australian standards for cold chain food handling are properly followed.”

Every year, Australians waste an average of 860 kg of food per person, which consequently affects all inputs into food production. The water, soil and energy are also wasted and there is less food available to feed the hungry.

Food wastage is responsible for about 5% of Australia’s greenhouse gas emissions, and the AFCCC believes that Australian industry has the tools, technologies and workforce that can reduce food waste by improving the cold food chain.

They aim to contribute to the development of the National Food Waste Strategy and become part of the cooperative research centres designed to address food waste and fraud.

“There’s lots of rhetoric in government programs, associations and among food handlers and suppliers about commitments to food waste reduction and cold chain compliance, but little, if nothing, is being done at any level about improving the cold chain, and ensuring that standards are followed. Australia’s track record in efficient cold food handling, from farm to plate, is far from perfect,” Mitchell said.

Mitchell suggested the Australian industry is in a strong position to improve the food cold chain with better equipment and improved monitoring and assessment to determine where the weaknesses lie.

During an investigation of Europe’s food cold chain, Deloitte estimated that for every unit of energy and dollar invested the return to investors was tenfold. Mitchell stated: “As an industry, as a society, we simply cannot afford to waste such an opportunity.”