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As a matter of interest....
September '06
"All perishables
being delivered in
winter
have acceptable standards of quality, regardless of means of
transport!"
Door-to-door Milk deliveries in
Zanzibar.
That is some statement, isn’t it? If
broken down and analysed I am sure that many would disagree
with me and argue that not ALL perishables would have
the same properties and therefore some might perform better
than others under the various circumstances.
So let me try and briefly qualify my
statement by narrowing the perishables down to two products:
Fresh Milk and Fresh Cream. Now I invite ANYONE to argue my
point!
Here in Johannesburg, we have winter
days, like a few weeks ago when light snow fell in parts of
the city and temperatures fell as low as 0ºC. In summer,
like the last season, we encountered record temperatures as
high as 38ºC. You have to admit that the variance is
astounding.
I conducted experiments over September
2005, in which I placed a pre-programmed temperature sensing transponder first on a vehicle with a fibreglass canopy
(Fig. 1), and then placed the same transponder, with the
exact same settings, on one of our new refrigerated vehicles
(Fig. 2). The difference in temperature fluctuations was
astounding.
Fig.1: Fibreglass Canopy on a bakkie.
On 13/09/06 The Citizen Newspaper’s
temperature forecast for the day was 10/28. We loaded our
MAC Milk at 5.1ºC at 07h10. By 12h00 the temperature had
risen to 27.6ºC.
Fig. 2: Insulated Body with Refrigeration
Unit on a bakkie.
On 14/09/06 The Citizen Newspaper’s
temperature forecast for the day was 10/25. We loaded our
MAC Milk at 5.1ºC at 07h10. By 12h00 the temperature had
fallen to 2.8ºC.
There is no comparison.
In winter, however, most of the
transportation is done while outside temperatures assist in
maintaining the temperature of the products at around 8ºC.
Although this is still high in comparison to the accepted
0ºC-6ºC storage and transportation standard of dairy
products, the effect on the shelf life of the product is
minimal.
When compared to temperatures such as
27.6ºC the damage to Fresh Milk and Fresh Cream is rapid and
beyond repair. The shelf life of these products at such high
temperatures could reduce by up to 50%, which means that the
product may only last thirty-six hours at the customer. Not
only that, but the longer milk stands at excessive
temperatures the more likely it is that the ‘frothing’
abilities of the product diminish. Likewise cream may lose
its ability to whip up to acceptable standards. The health
risk implications for the patrons of customers who are
accepting these products that are ‘turning’ are another
issue unto itself.
So in winter companies delivering Fresh
Dairy Products have standards of quality that are similar
regardless of what their delivery vehicles are equipped
with. In summer, however, those companies with vehicles
fitted with insulated bodies and refrigeration units remain
consistent and maintain high levels of quality that are
synonymous with successful products and in turn successful
customers.
I rest my case.
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