The plus to minus 15º Centigrade…

“Our members are working to build the body of evidence that regulators will need to see to change rules and guidelines to allow products to be moved and stored at -15°C,” said Mary Pollard, interim director of The Move to -15º Coalition. “We know that changing regulations takes time. Right now, there is a complex mix of regulations and guidelines around temperature setpoints, some of which haven’t been reviewed or reassessed for years. We’re working on mapping out the current state of those global setpoints to look at what is needed to create a global shift.”

“The ultimate goal is changing the standards set by Codex Alimentarius, the collection of internationally recognized guidelines published by the UN’s Food and Agriculture Organization, as that’s where many countries’ own rules stem from. We know that’s a multi-year process, so we also plan to identify opportunities to increase setpoints to -15°C within the guidelines currently in place, and to run trials where local regulations allow it. We’re also looking at creating improved understanding and trust between members to bring cost and carbon savings in the nearer term.”

The coalition’s goals are challenging; altering an industry standard that’s been in place since Clarence Birdseye invented the quick freezing method a century ago. Most frozen food worldwide is transported and stored at -18°C, equivalent to 0ºF.

The Payoff for -15ºC

But the payoff is significant. The Move to -15ºC reports raising the temperature of frozen foods by three degrees can slash carbon emissions and greenhouses gases ultimately helping achieve the sector’s shared net zero ambition by 2050. The coalition reports as 2-3 percent more energy is required for every degree below zero that food is stored. In addition, supporters say the three-degree increase would:

• cut carbon emissions by the equivalent of taking 3.8 million cars off the road 

• save identified approximately 25 terawatt-hours per year – equivalent to 8.6 percent of the UK’s annual energy consumption

• bring participants energy savings of between 5 percent and 12 percent 

• maintain food safety and/or quality 

Nomad Foods, Europe’s leading frozen food manufacturer and steward of the Birds Eye brand, in partnership with research firm Campden BRI earlier this year issued preliminary results of an 18 month study which showed a three degree increase can decrease freezer energy consumption by up to 11 percent.

The pilot, which included nine frozen products, focused on eight key areas across 13 individual tests – microbiological, sensory. texture analysis, oxidative rancidity, drip loss, and nutrition.

The research has yet to be peer reviewed, however, Nomad Foods said it is working on gettiing it published“Any shift in this space requires industry-wide collaboration, including testing of full breadth of products in category, not just the areas we have in our portfolio. There’s also testing to be done along the end-to-end supply chain to incorporate movement of goods,” said Oliver Thomas, Nomad Foods’ Senior Corporate Affairs Manager. “From a regulatory point of view, this is a focus of the work being done in Move to -15 ºC coalition now, identifying what markets might be more open to testing in this space and then which bodies from a local/global point of view need to be engaged with.”

Pollard said science shows the increase has no impact on food safety.

“The research so far shows that microorganisms are inactivate below -12°C, so we know that -15°C still builds in a safety margin,” she said. “There’s also an interesting test consumers can do for themselves – does their freezer at home allow them to set it to -15°C (or 5ºF) or does it have to be colder?”

Support for -15C

There is no lack of support for the effort. Membership includes DP World, J.B. Hunt, A.P. Moller – Maersk, Global Cold Chain Alliance, Kuehne + Nagel International, Lineage, MSC, Emirates, and SeaCube among others.

Worldwide communications firm Edelman helped kick off The Move to -15ºC a year ago at the 28th session of the United Nation’s Conference of the Parties (COP28) in Dubai. COP29 is scheduled for mid-November 2024 in Azerbaijan and the stakes are still high. There is no letup in the push to net zero by 2050 and cold chain companies are compelled to find solutions.

Shane Brennan, Senior Vice President Global Communications, Global Cold Chain Alliance, said The Move to -15ºC is pivoting from the introductory phase into acceptance, approval, and implementation. He said one big ancillary benefit of the conversation is discovering added efficiency and discipline within the temperature-controlled logistics arena.

“In the end a ‘move to -15C’ would only truly happen on a global scale once Codex is amended. That does not mean that there isn’t lots of progress and change within countries on key trading routes to drive efficiency and innovate in robust and transparent temperature management,” Brennan said.

“What we are learning from the collaboration is that there is so much to gain in resource efficiency from simply understanding end to end product journeys better and what we find is that in many cases the gains could be achieved by moving from say -22ºC up to -18ºC which would have similar relative impacts with far fewer regulatory uncertainties,” he said. “We are learning that there are lots of points in the chain where the logistics company or the customer is requiring - or even just operating out of habit - at a frozen temp that is well below -18ºC and so moving to -18ºC will have a similar benefit in reduced emissions as moving to a temp that may cause regulatory concerns in some jurisdictions.”

Knowledge Sharing

Pollard said there has been a flurry of “knowledge sharing” across every vertical on not only regarding temperature set points but creatively reducing emissions. She said she expects other retailers to follow UK grocery chain Morrison’s which in August implemented a pilot program shifting to -15ºC in 10 stores. Morrison’s declined to comment on the program.

“We’ve reached the point where members are spreading the word to their suppliers or customers, because they see the positive impact that the initiative could have for the environment, and for companies own net zero goals. What’s particularly satisfying is seeing the representation we now have right across the global cold chain, from producers, to shippers, to ports, to storage, to road freight, to retailers,” Pollard said.

“The (research) shows that there is a substantial prize to be won if we can work towards this change… Industry is under more pressure than ever before to decarbonize, especially as we move towards net-zero 2050,” she said. “…This is a rare example of an initiative that should both save costs and reduce emissions with no new technology or investment required.”