The document discusses India's production and post-harvest scenario for fruits and vegetables. It notes that agriculture contributes 16% of GDP but post-harvest losses amount to Rs. 45,000 crores annually due to lack of processing and perishability. Various low-cost cooling methods and storage structures are presented, including mobile cool chambers costing Rs. 18,000-20,000, evaporatively cooled rooms that increase shelf life, and earth tubes that use constant underground temperatures for passive heating and cooling. Case studies show farmers successfully using evaporative cooled rooms costing Rs. 75,000 for short-term on-farm storage. The document emphasizes growing processable varieties and providing low-cost cool storage to increase processing and reduce losses

1. Dr. R.T. Patil
Former Director, CIPHET, Ludhiana
Chairman & ED, Benevole for PHT,
Bhopal (ramabhau@gmail.com)
Hybrid Cool Chain for Preservation
of Fruits & Vegetables in India

2. Production & Post Harvest Scenario
•Agriculture contributes about 16% of GDP,
employees 57% workforce and sustains approx
over 70% of the population
•India produces about 265 million tons of fruits
and vegetables and ranks second in world
•Post harvest losses are 3-18% amounting to Rs.
45000 crores
•Low level of processing of fruits and vegetables
at only 2% mainly due to perishability &
unprocessable varieties.
•Food processing is employment intensive,
creates 1.8 jobs directly and 6.4 indirectly for
every Rs. 10 lakh investment

3. High Value Products from Wastes
• Pectin from fruit and vegetable peels
• Lycopene from tomato peel and oil from seeds
• Bio-colour from arhar husk and used flowers
• A low calorie sweetner (xyletol) from corn cob and
bagasse
• Beta amylase and Xylanase from cereal bran and husk
• Enzymes (protease, laccase, peroxidase and polyphenol
oxidase) from green gram husk and wheat germ
• Gelatin / Peptides from slaughter house waste
• Dietary fibres from fruit pomace
• Bio-plastics from tapioca
• Aniti oxidents and phenolic compounds from cereal
brans and pulse husks

4. Integrated Cold Chain
Primary Segments
1) Washing and cooling fresh produce,
2) Cool or cold storage (short or long term
warehousing of chilled or frozen condition),
3) Distribution (cold transport and temporary
warehousing under temperature controlled
conditions)
4) Marketing (refrigerated or freezer storage
and displays at wholesale markets, retail
markets and foodservice operations).

5. Losses in Absence of Cold Chain
Variable Global Developed
countries
Developing
countries
Refrigerated storage
capacity (m3/1000
inhabitants)
52 200 19
Food losses (all
products)
25% 10% 28%
Losses of fruits and
vegetables
35% 15% 40%
Losses of perishable
foodstuffs due to lack
of refrigeration
20% 9% 23%
Source: IIR. 2009

6. Benefits of Cooling of Horticultural
Produce
• Reduces respiration: lessens perishability
• Reduces transpiration: lessens water loss,
less shriveling
• Reduces ethylene production: slows ripening
• Increases resistance to ethylene action
• Decreases activity of micro-organisms
• Reduces browning and loss of texture, flavor
and nutrients
• Delays ripening and natural senescence

7. Effect of Cooling on Storage
Food
products
Storage potential
at optimum
cold
temperature
optimum
temperature
+ 10°C
optimum
temperature
+ 20°C
optimum
temperature
+ 30°C
Fresh green
vegetables
1 month at
0°C
2 weeks at
10°C
1 week at
20°C
Less than 2
days at 30°C
Potatoes 5 to 10
months at 4
to 12 °C
Less than 2
months at
22 °C°
Less than 1
month at 32
°C
Less than 2
weeks at 42
°C
Mangoes 2 to 3 weeks
at 13°C
1 week at
23°C
4 days at
33°C
2 days at
43°C
Apples 3 to 6
months at -
1°C
2 months at
10°C
1 month at
20°C
A few weeks
at 30°C

8. Cooling Methods & Steps
Cold chain step Small-scale Large scale
Pre-cooling systems Portable forced air
cooling systems
Vacuum cooling
Forced air cooling
Hydro-cooling
Cold Storage Walk-in cold rooms
CoolBot™ equipped
cold room
Refrigerated
warehouses
Processing-
chilling or freezing
“Direct expansion”
chilling of bulk milk
“instant” chilling of
milk
Blast freezing
IQF
Vacuum cooling of
packaged meats
Refrigerated transport USDA Porta-cooler Reefer vans
Refrigerated marine
containers
Refrigerated intermodal
containers (for road, rail
and sea shipping)

9. Cooling Methods & Steps
Cold chain step Small-scale Large scale
Pre-cooling
systems
Portable evaporative forced air
cooling systems
Slurry ice
Cold Storage Zero energy cool chambers
(ZECC)
Evaporatively cooled cool
rooms (charcoal coolers)
Underground storage (root
cellars)
Night air ventilation
High altitude storage
Radiant cooling
Solar chillers
Evaporatively cooled
warehouses
Underground storage (caves)
High altitude storage
Radiant cooling
Processing-
chilling and
freezing
None available None available
Refrigerated
transport
Evaporatively cooled insulated
transport boxes or trailers
Passive cooling (insulated
pallet covers

10. Storage Life in ZECC
Fruit/Vegetables Months Storage Life (days)
Ambient
conditions
Cool Chamber
Bitter gourd May-June 2 6
Carrot Feb.-March 5 12
Cauliflower Feb.-March 7 12
Cucumber May-June 3 8
Green chilies May-June 3 6
Kinnow January-March 8 60
Ladies finger May-June 1 6
Mango July 8 15
Peas Feb.-March 5 10
Plum June 4 10
Spinach Feb.-March 3 8

11. Equiments/
Gadgets
for Cool Chain

12. Mobile Cool Chamber
• The insulated box was
designed such that it could
hold 8 plastic crates of size
540x360x295 mm in two
layer of four each
• Capacity of storage was
100 kg of fruits with 80%
filling of each plastic crates
• Costs around Rs. 18,000-
20,000/-
Low cost unit saves the fruits from exposure to
sunlight and preserves the quality.

13. Refrigerated transport
• Further a refrigeration unit is
mounted on top for cooling the
solution of ethylene glycol and
salt stored in the jacket of
insulated box.
• This solution is cooled to
subzero temperature by
running the refrigeration unit
by plugging to power source
for 8-10 hours before use.
• The refrigerated transport
vehicle can lower the product
temperature up to 5 °C.
• The wattage of compressor is
0.65 kW.

14. Ventilated Rail Transport
• Ventilated rail cars have been
developed by NHB where the
slotted holes were provided on
front bottom, front and rear ends
to accommodate vertical forced
air and natural convection due to
holes at the bottom.
• At least 15% of total floor area
was perforated and labyrinths
provided for the protection from
rain where ever essential.
• The design provides 5% area at
the bottom and 10% area on the
top at both from and rear ends.
• The rail trasnports the material as
fresh over very long distances

15. Evaporatively Cooled Room for Storage of
Fruits and Vegetables
Compared on the basis of 10%
physiological loss in weight (PLW) the
shelf life inside the room was 34 days
for early kinnow, 23 days for late
kinnow, 11 days for cauliflower and 4
days for spinach as compared to 21,
11, 5 and 2 days respectively in an
ordinary room at the same time.
The cost of the chamber is Rs. 75000 and capacity is 2 tonnes.
•An evaporatively cooled (EC) room (3x3x3m. size) was developed
for on-farm storage of fruits and vegetables.
•The summer temperature inside the EC room was 5-8C lower than
that inside the ordinary room and winter temperature was 5-8 C
higher than that inside the ordinary room.

16. CIPHET Evaporative Cooled Storage Structure
• Storage of fruits and vegetables
• Evaporatively Cooled Structure (ECS)
maintains a moderate low temperature
and sufficiently high relative humidity for
short term storage of fresh fruits and
vegetables.
• Advantages
 Low level consumption of
electricity
 Less initial investment
 Negligible maintenance cost
• Features
– Special design of roof, orientation
– Uses wetted pad as cooling medium
– 20oC below the outside temperature
– An ECS of about 5 -7 tonne storage
capacity may cost about Rs. 1.5 –
1.8 lakh.

17. Earth Tubes for Cooling
• Earth tubes is a passive heating and cooling
technique that uses the constant 50 degree F
temperature of the earth to pre-heat incoming air in
the winter and pre-cool incoming air in the summer by
passing the air through tubes buried under the earth.
• This is an ancient technique used for thousands of
years.
• It is best suited for climates that have extreme
weather conditions...extreme heat and cold.
• Use of this system reduces the energy demands for
cooling and heating the structure and creates better
and healthier indoor air environments than
conventional systems.
Contd...

18. Earth Tubes for Cooling
• The system provides 67% of the energy required to
heat and cool the required (i.e. 800cfm) exchanged
air.
• The tube Length should be max 80 ft as the majority
of the heat transfer occurs in first 80-100ft of tube.
• The tube be placed at 6-8 ft below the surface of the
earth with slope of the tube at a 2% grade.
• The material of tubes matters little, as long as they are
not insulated because the thickness of the material
absorbing the heat is actually the tube plus the ground
around the tube.
• Avoid draining any roofs or ground areas into the area
of the earth tubes.

19. Examples

20. Evaporative Cooled Room
Surinder Singh
Vill Jalalabad, Moga Punjab
Profession: Vegetable Farmer
Cold Room used for on-farm
short term storage of fruits
and vegetables
Cost of structure: Rs 75,000

21. Growing Processable Varieties and Providing
Low Cost Cool Storage are essential for
increasing level of processing and reducing the
post harvest losses.
The GDP growth in Agriculture is three times
more effective to reduce the poverty compared
to GDP growth from other sources