FOOD STANDARDS A HOT TOPIC FOR COLD STORAGE

2007-09-03  From Shanghai Daily

MANY of Shanghai's refrigerated warehouse facilities are inefficient and do not meet food safety requirements, industry officials said yesterday at an international symposium.

Shanghai plans to upgrade and rebuild the refrigerated warehouses along the Huangpu River to meet the needs of the World Expo in 2010, they said.

"Shanghai is facing tough challenges in its refrigerated warehousing industry," said Liu Longchang, secretary general of Shanghai Association of Refrigerated Warehouses.

"The thriving development of supermarkets and local people's rising awareness of food safety have pushed the refrigeration industry to upgrade technology, facilities and management."

Two-thirds of Shanghai's refrigerated warehouses were built 20 or 30 years ago. They are lagging in technology and in need of maintenance or reconstruction to meet standardss, he said.

Most companies in the industry only own the warehouses, rather than operating an entire refrigerated logistics service which offers greater value-added services and higher compliance with food safety standards, Liu added.

"Previously, the industry was dominated by state-owned companies. However, they can not meet the rising demand," said Liu. "We hope private and foreign investors can help upgrade the technology and management in the industry.

Foreign investors have started to enter Shanghai's refrigerated logistics industry and such companies are taking the lead in the sector.