Packaging and transportation needs
Some products, such as grains, may be transported dry in bulk,
while others, for instance, fish, may be conveyed wet in bulk in the deep holds
of sea-going vessels. Tuna frozen at sea may be stacked up fish on fish in the
refrigerated hold of a mother vessel, unprotected from handling, the surrounding
fish or the handlers. Other perishable cargoes are packaged in units in cartons,
bags, boxes or polyethylene or may be palletized before loading. Many such
cartoned products are then dispatched in 20 - or 40-foot containers.
To protect the food, packaging has to be suitable for the
purpose, the duration and the complexity of the storage and journey. Suitable
packaging is more likely if the selling and buying parties make a contract
before the product is transported. Much produce, however, is sold after
manufacture and packaging to buyers who do not specify how it is to be protected
en route to destination. This oversight can result in disputes when the product
arrives.
A 20 - or 40-foot container provides considerable advantages
over bulk transportation since the control over the conditions for perishable
products is potentially greater, raising the total product security. A
refrigerated or controlled-atmosphere container can carry cargo under pre-set
conditions, and if loss of control occurs it may be limited to one unit,
However, one container load is not as valuable as a hold full of material, so
insurers may have less incentive to investigate damage claims for a single unit.
The duration of journeys can vary tremendously from a few days
(as with a fresh chilled vegetable) to a period of months (as in the case of a
block of frozen fish) (Figures 1 and 2). A perishable commodity may spend time
at container terminals or in warehouses which may be owned and managed by
different companies, each following instructions for carriage and passing the
product to the next carrier or storage facility, Contractual and legal
relationships determine the levels and limitations of responsibility for the
commodity at any one time.
TABLE Examples of perishable cargoes
|
Frozen |
Chilled |
Controlled atmosphere |
Dried |
Ambient or air-conditioned storage |
|
Fish and fish products: IQFa shrimps and prawns,
surimi, farmed salmon, whole and fillets |
Fish (on melting ice) |
Fruit:
bananas, avocados |
Herbs |
Chocolate |
|
Meat |
Meat |
Some meats |
Mushrooms |
Processed products in cans: fish, meat, vegetables, fruit |
|
Vegetables: IQF asparagus, mushrooms |
Fruit:
grapes, apples, pears, nectarines, plums |
|
Beans |
Wine |
|
Fruit: IQF raspberries, blackberries |
Fruit juices |
|
Grains |
Fish meal |
|
Block frozen raspberries |
Vegetables: asparagus, onions, garlic, salad crops, peas |
|
Milk powders |
Fermented fish and vegetables |
|
Flowers |
|
|
|
a IQF = individually
quick-frozen.
Stages in a simple
journey - Diverses pes d’un trajet simple - Etapas de un viaje en un
solo
sentido
