Identification of issues in the cold chain of Indian frozen food
M. M. L. Arora, Rupesh Kumar, Totakura Bangar Raju
Abstract
Owing to various challenges present in the entire frozen food cold chain, a necessity arises to study the cold chain of frozen food in India. The exploratory study encompasses of an exhaustive review of existing literature and attempts to explicate the issues influencing the frozen food cold chain in India along with strategies suggested for tackling those issues. A conceptual model depicting the relation between the issues and cold chain performance has been proposed. The study found that cold chain infrastructure, traceability, sustainability, awareness and handling practices, safety and quality, responsiveness, and integration are the issues existing in the cold chain for frozen food products. Tackling the identified issues and challenges will benefit various stakeholders of the cold chain like the farmers, logistics service providers, cold storage service providers, packaging units, government, and processing units to know present status and issues for enhanced cold chain management of frozen food products.