Development & Optimisation of Fresh Produce Supply Chain and Storage Systems.

作为一家主要经营易腐烂水果和蔬菜的农业食品企业，僧伽冷藏公司以及印度的其他生鲜农产品企业目前正面临着严重的浪费和重大的经营挑战。该项目涉及印度合作伙伴桑哈创新中心、旁遮普农业大学(PAU)和创新与应用生物加工中心(CIAB)，以及英国合作伙伴林肯大学(国家食品制造中心)、Coveris Flexible UK Ltd、FRPERC(食品制冷与工艺工程研究中心)和ECH Engineering Ltd，共同开发和优化印度的生鲜农产品供应链和相关储存流程。项目活动将包括审查、研究和开发小型(小农户和社区10吨单位)和大型新鲜农产品冷藏设施，包括土豆和其他水果和蔬菜。我们还将开发高度新颖的大容量储存控制系统和新一代包装材料，以控制农产品储存期间的湿度和气体水平，这些材料是可生物降解的，适合热带气候和印度农产品供应链的其他挑战。在印度的项目收益将包括帮助小农户改善他们的生活条件，防止他们的作物迅速贬值，使他们能够将产品保存足够长的时间，以销售到更高价值的市场。一些目前具有足够质量的新鲜农产品仅用作动物饲料，由于这一项目，将保持足够高的质量供人类消费，增加营养丰富、高效生产的新鲜农产品的供应。这些好处将通过以低成本、高能效的方式引入温度控制，与负担得起的功能性包装相结合来实现，其中一些包装有可能从不可食用的粮食作物废料部分生产出来。包装将是可在家中堆肥的，有助于解决印度已经面临的巨大塑料垃圾挑战。

As a major agri-food business operating in perishable fruits and vegetables the Sangha Refrigeration amongst other fresh produce businesses in India are currently facing high wastage levels and major operational challenges. This project involves Indian Partners Sangha Innovation Centre, Punjab Agricultural University (PAU) and the Center for Innovative and Applied Bioprocessing (CIAB) and UK partners the University of Lincoln (National Centre for Food Manufacturing), Coveris Flexibles UK Ltd, FRPERC (Food Refrigeration & Process Engineering Research Centre) and ECH Engineering Ltd, working together to develop and optimize the fresh produce supply chain and related storage processes in India. Project activities will include the review, research and development of small (10 tonne units for small farmers and communities) and large scale cold-storage facilities for fresh produce including potatoes and other fruit and vegetables. We will also develop highly novel large volume storage control systems and a new generation of packaging materials to control moisture and gas levels during produce storage, which are biodegradable and suitable for a tropical climate and other challenges of the Indian produce supply chain. Project benefits in India will include helping small farmers to improve their living conditions by preventing rapid value loss in their crops, allowing them to keep produce long enough to sell into higher-value markets. Some fresh produce currently of sufficient quality only for use as animal feed, will as a result of this project, maintain high enough quality for human consumption, increasing availability of nutritious, efficiently produced fresh produce. These benefits will be achieved through introducing temperature control in a low-cost, energy efficient way, working in conjunction with affordable, functional packaging, some of which has the potential to be manufactured from inedible waste portions of food crops. The packaging will be home-compostable, helping to address what is already a large plastic waste challenge in India.