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Cold Chain and Halal issues addressed at first conference in Malaysia
By Press Release
Dec 19, 2006, 14:43

The call for the establishment of a national cold chain association in Malaysia was strong at the 1st Southeast Asian Cold Chain Conference that was held last November in Penang, Malaysia.

Addressing over 100 delegates from Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand and the Philippines, Dato’ Dr. Mhd Nordin Mohd Nor, former Director General of the Veterinary Services Department of Malaysia, paid tribute to the fast food enterprises that have been instrumental in installing good standards for suppliers.

One of them, Burger King contributed directly to the success of this event with a presentation on “Requirements for logistic service suppliers within the fast food business”, which was an eye opener to many of the audience.

Still, Theo van Sambeeck of ColdChainExperts added that there are links within the cold chain that needed to be strengthened, especially as Malaysia moves towards establishing itself as a global Halal hub. Several specialists on Halal food processing and distribution expressed tremendous growth opportunities for that segment.

Dutch speaker Derk van Mackelenbergh from Eurofrigo Rotterdam also underlined this when he announced his company's intention to become the first Halal certified refrigerated warehouse in the world’s largest container port - Port of Rotterdam.

The need to work on strengthening the continuous cold chain network from producer to consumer was also emphasised by many of the 15 national and international speakers.

This will not only reduce the so-called post-harvest losses, currently estimated at 30% - 50% of the crops, but will also help to meet the demands that a growing group of consumers puts on food safety and food quality aspects of all perishable food products.

Priority should be placed on the development and acceptance of national Food Safety & Food Quality standards in combination with training and education. A national cold chain association could take the lead in this regard and would get full support from IARW/WFLO as stated by their Director Policy and Programs, Corey Rosenbusch as he presented the Global Cold Chain Alliance concept.

The conference organizers, ColdChainExperts.com had also scheduled a visit to the cold store of Integrated Cold Chain Logistics, which opened last September 15. This facility, managed by Mr. Kevin Lim, provides 2,200 m³ of temperature-controlled storage and logistics services to processors, distributors, food service providers and retailers throughout Malaysia.

The facility visit offered delegates an excellent impression of how a modern and modestly priced cold storage facility can be created, that operates in line with all international standards and with a high level of operational efficiency.

Announcements regarding the 2007 Cold Chain Conference will be made on the website of ColdChainExperts.com as options between Bangkok, Shanghai and Manila are currently being evaluated.



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