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- CFD Modelling of the Thermal Performance of Fruit Packaging Boxes - Influence of Vent-Holes DesignPublication . Ilangovan, Adhiyaman; Curto, João Paulo; Gaspar, Pedro Dinis; Silva, Pedro Dinho da; Alves, NanciThe shelf life of perishable products depends mainly on the conservation of air temperature. Packaging boxes are usually used to accommodate food products during cold storage and transport and/or display. The design of the vent-holes of the packaging box must promote cold airflow and remove the field heat of the produce after harvest at a short time. This study describes the influence of the vent-holes design and its performance during cold storage. The cooling performance of the different packaging boxes is evaluated experimentally and numerically using Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD). Three new packaging box configurations with the same size but different vent-holes design (size, shape and position) and a reference box are modelled. The transient three-dimensional CFD model predicts the airflow pattern and temperature distribution within the different packaging boxes. The best thermal performance packaging achieved a fruit model temperature 1.5 K to 5 K lower than the other configurations at the end of 8 h of cooling. These predictions allow the development of new packaging box designs that promote the shelf-life extension of perishable products.
- Numerical Study of the Impact on Cooling Behaviour of Vent-Holes Design of Fruit Packaging BoxesPublication . Curto, João Paulo; Ilangovan, Adhiyaman; Gaspar, Pedro Dinis; Silva, Pedro Dinho da; Alves, NanciFruit packaging is highly impactful in temperature and humidity distribution for post-harvest fresh fruit cooling and conservation. It is also the most flexible part on fruit production and should be able to increase shelf-life by deterring adverse conditions. However, packaging thermal performance during cold storage where it is displayed to the internal airflow is influenced by the size and position of vent-holes. In this study airflow inside the fruit box and fruits thermal behaviour are evaluated in order to determine differences between three prototype package models. Models differ from each other by the holes' configuration and size. Furthermore, models' performance is compared to a commercially available box of similar dimensions. Experimental tests were carried out in three stacked boxes, equipped with temperature and humidity sensors, and placed inside a refrigeration chamber with forced air cooling. Packaging box CFD models of each prototype wall were developed to predict the airflow and heat transfer during storage in a refrigeration chamber. Models predictions were validated by experiments results. According with simulation results, all prototypes have better thermal performance than the commercial model. However, significant performance differences between prototype walls were found. Fewer, larger and strategically distributed vent-holes allow a better result in terms of temperature homogeneity inside the box and significant reduction in fruit cooling times.
- Traceability in food supply chains: SME focused traceability framework for chain-wide quality and safetyPublication . Curto, João Paulo; Gaspar, Pedro DinisIt is relevant for traceability systems to have a common structure for information exchange. Without it, these systems lose much of their utility as they will only be usable internally and will have reduced capacity to add value to products and manage recalls. Based on extensive literature review, a non-proprietary framework for traceability was developed. This framework encompasses whole food supply chains and aims to maintain records of quality and safety while not necessitating mature IT capabilities, uncommon characteristic of SME’s. As such the volume of information is divided between all stakeholders according to their necessities and funding capacities. Most of the information is stored by regulators as they have access to more funding. This improves the ease and flexibility of implementation of traceability systems by the companies. Tools were developed and simulated, and all results are presented, clearly demonstrating the capability for quality information sharing through food supply chains which in turn can increase transparency between consumers and producers as well as adjusting the quality to the desired end use.
- Safety and quality based traceability system for food supply chainsPublication . Curto, João Paulo Gonçalves da Silva; Gaspar, Pedro Miguel de Figueiredo Dinis OliveiraThe onset of new technologies and new procedures for food production has reduced the familiarity and capability of consumers to discern the quality of products bought, as well as being unable to verify if all health and safety regulations were complied with. Traceability can be a tool for safety and quality assurance for perishable food as well as for process optimization and economic gain. However, it is often considered mere bureaucracy and an economic burden. Such is prevalent in micro and small-sized (MSE) enterprises. As they constitute most of food sector, the adoption of traceability systems is quite slow and mostly to satisfy legal requirements. In order to determine the main advantages and disadvantages of traceability models, implementation and technologies, a literature review and MSE focused analysis was performed. Economic gains, more quality and safety, better efficiency and a more direct contact with consumers are some of the main advantages. High implementation costs, poorly defined benefits, lack of compatibility, consumer focused perspective and exposure of sensitive information are some of the main issues. With the result of that analysis, a an open-source traceability framework was developed. The framework includes an external communication model and is accompanied by software capable of fulfilling all tasks required for quality assurance both internally and externally. It encompasses whole food supply chains and maintains records of quality and safety while not necessitating mature IT capabilities, uncommon characteristic of MSE’s. It is imperative for traceability systems to have a common structure for information exchange. Without it, these systems lose much of their utility as they will only be usable internally and will have reduced capacity to add value to products and manage recalls. It is also imperative to develop this type of framework by focusing it on existing resources such as HACCP flowcharts to define gateways for quality evaluation. With that in mind, the volume of information is divided between all stakeholders according to their necessities and funding capacities. Most of the information is stored by regulators as they have access to more funding. This improves the ease and flexibility of implementation of traceability systems by the companies. Using all developed tools an hypothetical food supply chain was simulated. The objective of this simulation was to observe all quality variations and capacity to transmit information. It was verified that the developed system was able to evaluate quality throughout an entire chain and to effectively communicate all necessary information.
- Traceability in food supply chains: Review and SME focused analysisPublication . Curto, João Paulo; Gaspar, Pedro DinisTraceability can be a tool for safety and quality assurance for food perishables as well as for process optimization and economic gain. However, it is often considered mere bureaucracy and an economic burden. Such is prevalent in small and medium-sized enterprises. As they constitute most of food sector, the adoption of traceability systems is quite slow and mostly to satisfy legal requirements. To determine the main advantages and disadvantages of traceability models, implementation and technologies, a literature review and Small and Medium Enterprises (SME) focused analysis was performed in the part I of this study. In Part II, a low cost open-source traceability focused on food safety and quality is developed. It is based on HACCP flowcharts to define gateways for quality evaluation and encompasses external verification and product history maintenance. Economic gains, more quality and safety, better efficiency and a more direct contact with consumers are some of the main advantages. High implementation costs, poorly defined benefits, lack of compatibility, consumer focused perspective and exposure of sensitive information are some of the main issues. This study serves to expose these issues and suggest solutions, aiming to encourage the adoption of traceability systems, with last-end benefits to producers, retailers, and consumers.