Consumers in supermarkets are very critical when it comes to fresh, chilled or frozen products. Perishables are goods that are highly susceptible to damage or destruction and require strict guidelines for transport, often in temperature-controlled environments. Refrigerated containers are increasingly being used to transport perishable goods. Damage to perishables is usually discovered by the receiver or warehouse keeper on receipt.

Most claims arise from temperature issues, either caused by f.i a not properly functioning reefer unit, bad stowage, insufficient pre-cooling, wrong temperature settings or improper packaging. We also see ventilation and controlled atmosphere (CA) problems on a regular basis.

Our company has a long history in marine cargo surveys on fruits and vegetables, carried in containers. We surveyed many climacteric tropical fruits with high respiration properties and ethylene producing fruits, such as bananas, mangoes, avocados, and sub-tropical fruits like apples and pears. Also non-climateric fruits like citrus, strawberries and pineapples, that do not ripen during shipping, are sometimes part of our investigations.

Frozen products, such as fish, shellfish and meat can be damaged easily if the cold chain is interrupted. We are frequently involved in surveys on reefer cargoes with temperature related problems, such as thawing deformations, spoilage, freezer-burn and taint damages.