New Delhi, April 24, 2015: Cold storage expert Sabharwal Food Industries Pvt Ltd has teamed up with Danfoss India, a leading provider of climate and energy solutions, to set up the first Green cold storage model at Roshan Frozen and Cold Storage (Group Company), facilitating high-quality food safety and minimal food loss from farm to consumer. This multi-commodity cold storage is yet another initiative towards bridging the demand supply gap in the cold chain industry that has led to major food loss over the last decade abetting food inflation.

The model cold storage facility, a first of its kind, is designed to European standards, has palletised storing capability and is equipped with Material Handling keeping in mind the hygiene norms to minimise human intervention. In addition to ensuring superior food quality, this model cold chain facility is also the most cost effective and energy efficient solution in the market catering to some of India's renowned and established companies in the food retail, processed food and frozen food market like HUL, Nestle, Mother Dairy, etc.

Growth in the organized retail and food service industry coupled with rising export demand for processed and frozen food have contributed towards the interest in reviving this sector. Increasing demand for improved food quality, freshness, better hygiene standards, temperature controlled delivery, and year-round availability is crucial for the food industry.

India's cold chain industry is still evolving, scattered and operating below capacity. As per ASSOCHAM reports, the Indian cold chain market is highly fragmented with more than 5000 cold storages in the whole value system. The report also indicates that temperature controlled warehouse cold chain market is expected to reach INR 624 bn by 2017 with an approximate capacity of 46.6 MT. However, most equipment in use is out dated and single commodity based contributing to the below capacity utilization of the stores.

Multi commodity cold stores especially in areas closer to consumption centres will be able to cater to different fruits and vegetables depending on the supply and demand and reduce food loss. These losses cost India both in terms of food inflation and lower export volumes. For example, while 11% of world's total vegetables production is accounted by India, our share in global vegetable trade is only 1.7%. However, this scenario stands to improve with government's efforts in reviving this sector by encouraging increased investments by providing the sector with Infrastructure status and allowing 100 per cent FDI through the automatic route. Increasing collaboration with the private sector and backed by NABARDs fund infusion, modernization of existing facilities is underway and establishment of new ventures via private and government partnerships are being considered.

With a Capacity of 5000 MT, the model cold storage at Sabharwal is compliant with FSSAI/food safety norms. At this state of the art facility, six vehicles can be docked at a time at the entries to the cold storage chambers. Delivery from the vehicle to the storage rooms is a sealed process, controlling the entire area and temperature to avoid food loss. Most of the functions are mechanical to ensure food safety unlike in a conventional cold room where workers are involved in the movement of the stocks. The entry is swipe card controlled to minimize human contact with the food products thereby improving the hygiene quotient in handling food. Equipped with tracking and traceability function Sabharwal Food Industries Pvt Ltd is capable of operating the cold store all-round the year with varying loads allowing customers to stock and cater to demand as required.

The well-being of the workers and the environment has a high priority for Mr Anil K Sabharwal, Director Sabharwal Food Industries Pvt Ltd. In practice this means no uncontrolled refrigerant emissions and for that very reason maximum welded connections are used to couple the piping to all kind of valves and similar components. "We have been a Danfoss customer since 1996, and this facility we see today is a result of the efficient technology and people behind it. Danfoss has offered and installed their best in class controls, valves, VFDs (Variable Frequency Drives) and system manager allowing us a seamless operation experience and we expect energy savings of 15-25%. However, being a new project we are expecting full utilization of capacity in 6 to 9 months by when the detailed results will be known."

A key enabler in the sustainable farm-to-fork process Danfoss plays a crucial role in saving energy and operational costs in the refrigeration, food processing and retail and dairy sectors across packaging, processing and transport. To cite an example, the Danfoss technology, which finds application in the Indian Dairy sector with respect to refrigeration, processing and storage helps the industry save almost 34% on milk chilling costs.

Addressing the gathering at the inaugural function, Mr Ravichandran Purushothaman, President, Danfoss India and Chairman of CII National Task Force for Cold Chain Management, added: "Energy consumption for cold stores is highly influenced by the design criteria of the refrigerating system. Studies have revealed that 60-70% of the total consumed electricity in cold stores is used for the refrigeration plant. We have closely worked with customers in India and have engineered innovative solution which helps companies like Sabharwal Food Industries Pvt Ltd cut down their opex by 20% with efficient energy efficient solutions. This has not just direct benefit to cold storage owners but also helps farmers to maintain right storage conditions and reduces weight losses for produces thereby increasing their pricing realisation."

Customised solutions by Danfoss ranging from variable frequency drives to industrial refrigeration applications like Valves and electronic controllers such as liquid level controllers, defrost controller, pulse modules, and extension modules among others have been instrumental in realising this green cold room.

Being the Indian subsidiary of a global trendsetter in the Climate and Energy space, Danfoss India, too aims to lower the negative impact of energy consumption on the environment and believes that energy efficiency as an alternate fuel can help achieve the desired levels of sustainability across industries.

"Danfoss applications, globally, have helped the food retail industry lower their opex considerably and furthered profitability. In India, while energy costs are not as high due to the differentiated energy policies capital costs are among the highest. So while it's encouraging to see the governments thrust towards making India a global sourcing hub, it is important to acknowledge the subsequent rise in urbanisation levels with the demographic shift from rural to urban putting tremendous pressure on the State to provide for food and energy. In light of this never ending cycle, it is important for concerted efforts to be made by the private sector in collaboration with the government to ensure that the Country reaches a certain level of self-sufficiency with respect to its own energy requirements," concluded Noel Ryan, President, Danfoss Commercial Compressors.