EUROPE

Quality code welcomed

21 years ago

The proposed open industry standard, the 360 Quality Code, recently put forward by reefer carriers LauritzenCool, Seatrade and NYK Reefer, is wholly supported by Simon Bird and the port of Bristol. While he acknowledges this will inevitably add some degree of cost both to the port and to the shipping lines involved, this will not be especially onerous, he believes. ” Pushing and raising quality throughout the system is what those involved in the handling of chilled products should all be aspiring to,” he insists.

Eleven terminal operators from around the world gave their backing to the initiative at a recent conference. The idea is to promote quality handling from the time fruit and vegetables are delivered to the gate of the load port to the time they leave the gate of the discharge port, i. e. the part of the supply chain over which the carriers have control.

Fresh Produce Terminals also supports the initiative. Andre Uys, nevertheless points out that stringent quality standards already govern the way cold chain landside terminals operate.

In the post 9/11 environment, even more emphasis has been placed on the traceability of consignments, which has involved FPT in new investment. This includes scanners, barcode readers and RF tags to ensure maximum traceability. While this has definitely made it easier for fruit consignments to be better identified, the downside has been that the additional spend involved has, to some extent, distorted the business plans of many companies in the global transport of chilled and frozen produce. In order to recover these extra costs, FPT had to look at ways of improving efficiencies in other areas.