Precooling Increases the Shelf Life of Fresh Produce

Fact #1: Fresh produce starts to decay the moment it’s picked. It is no longer able to receive nutrients from the plant.

Fact #2: Cooling (removing heat from) the produce extends the shelf life far beyond what it would be if left at ambient temperatures.

These two bits of information are important to know for maintaining high product quality and lengthening shelf life. Precooling adds value to fresh produce by increasing the shelf life.

There are several methods for precooling produce. MACS Coolers are forced-air precooling systems. Any palletized product that you can cool with room cooling or forced-air cooling, you can cool faster on a MACS Cooler. We’ve designed and engineered MACS Coolers with power and automation in mind. A single forklift operator can load a MACS Cooler in about a minute. Loads of product are cooled for several minutes before moving to the next cooling zone. This means product spends less time out in the heat, and the benefits of precooling are realized sooner.

Typical cooling tunnels are loaded with product and it can be well over an hour before the next load can begin cooling on that tunnel. MACS Coolers feed product into the cold room at a steady pace, which keeps more consistent load on the refrigeration system. For precooling applications where forced-air cooling is an option, MACS Coolers are the choice for extending the shelf life of fresh produce.

Request a quote to learn more about how MACS Coolers can help you maintain the quality of your fresh produce.