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FoodInfo Online FSTA Reports 21 May 2008
http://www.foodsciencecentral.com/fsc/ixid15201
© IFIS Publishing 2008 - All Rights Reserved
Algorithm keeps vegetables fresh during transportation
Preserving the nutritional characteristics of fresh foods during transportation is a major problem for food distributors. In particular, the nutritional value and taste of fresh vegetables, which are highly perishable goods, are at their optimum directly after harvesting then decrease with time until spoilage.
Because of the high import of fresh vegetables in the Slovenian market mainly from Italy and Spain, rapid distribution is required to ensure high quality. Insulated containers are used for international transportation and non-insulated vehicles for final distribution of fresh vegetables. The system is aimed at providing consumers with fresh vegetables within 48 hours after harvesting.
A definition of load quality is generally used to measure the decrease in value of a load of fresh vegetables. Quality is 100% when the load can be sold entirely at the current market price and 0% when the load has lost its commercial value, which can represent significant costs to the industry. In addition, goods distribution companies attempt to reduce costs based on the number of vehicles used, total distance travelled and total travel time, which can also reduce the loss of quality.
A study by Osvald and Stirn1, presents a model to describe the loss of quality in fresh vegetables and to consider it within the overall distribution costs. An algorithm for the distribution of fresh vegetables was developed in which perishability is a critical factor. A heuristic approach, where travel times between 2 locations depended on the distance and time of day, was then used to solve the vehicle routing problem. Algorithm performance was verified using modified Solomon's problems. Using parameters typical of the Slovenian food market, different transportation schedules were obtained which resulted in a reduction in perished goods of up to 47%.
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1 Osvald, A; Stirn, LZ (2008). A vehicle routing algorithm for the distribution of fresh vegetables and similar perishable food. Journal of Food Engineering 85 (2) 285-295.
Click on the logo below to view an abstract of this paper from FSTA Direct.
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