Investigating freezing requirements for products (-18°C to -12°C)

The project aimed to explore the likelihood of success in warming the supply chain from -18°C to (-12°C) without loss of quality or shelf life.

This project estimated that relatively large savings in energy and carbon emissions could be made throughout the whole supply chain by warming the temperature for frozen products from -18°C to -12°C. The Australian red meat industry could save $2.5m pa annum by changing the freezing temperature from -18°C to -12°C, with additional savings on storage and transportation costs. A reduction in carbon emissions of about 11% would result from warming the temperature of the entire supply chain to the importing country to -12°C.

This project has also informed the industry about the options open for cooperation with like-minded organisations to advocate for change, and draft documents that could be useful for introducing the topic to various audiences.