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Sensing from farm to fork to optimize agri-food supply chains
Optimising cold chains of fruits and vegetables across all unit operations is of key importance to maintain fresh food quality and to reduce food losses.
**Description and objectives**
Optimising cold chains of fruits and vegetables across all unit operations is of key importance to maintain fresh food quality and to reduce food losses. Temperature and the gas composition in the air (H2O, O2, CO2, C2H4) are affecting decay and food quality, so need to be controlled during precooling, refrigerated transport and cold storage. By optimizing these environmental parameters, shelf life can be maximised. Currently extensive monitoring is performed of the environmental conditions in food supply chains (air temperature and humidity). However, often, such sensing only covers a part of the cold chain and not the entire journey from farm to fork. Taking into account the entire journey is essential to quantify how the fresh-food quality evolves, and what the final quality and shelf life is that the retailers, and thus the consumer, receive. The key objective is to better use this sensor data to identify when and where quality loss occurs, and how commercial cold chains can be improved. This project is performed in collaboration with a Swiss retailer.
The tasks include:
-Organize and perform sensing in commercial cold chains of 2 vegetables and 1 fruit for air temperature and humidity, and quantify final food quality upon arrival and corresponding food losses.
-Process measured sensor data in commercial cold chains, analyse data for variability, and reformat data in databases.
-Analyse the data with statistical techniques to identify critical problem locations in the cold chain.
-Propose solutions to improve the shelf life and reduce food losses and test these solutions in the field by full-scale trails.
The work will be performed at the facilities of Empa (St. Gallen). Regular visits to the facilities of the Swiss retailer company are likely to be required. The MSc or internship is offered for 6 months.
**Required skills**
The ideal candidate has knowledge in:
- Hygrothermal measurements
- Convective heat and mass transfer
- Food cold chain
**Other benefits and/or compensation**
For MSc students:
• Lump sum remuneration for students outside of Switzerland (max. CHF 750.-/month = approx. value CHF 25.-/day) depends on place of residence and expenses such as travel expenses, food expenses, technical literature etc.
• Accommodation could be provided by Empa, if required, for a part of the project or the entire project.
For interns:
• A lump sum remuneration of 2000 CHF/month (accommodation is at the students expense).
**Remark**
Further background information on our research and contact details can be found on our website (https://www.empa.ch/web/det).
**Description and objectives** Optimising cold chains of fruits and vegetables across all unit operations is of key importance to maintain fresh food quality and to reduce food losses. Temperature and the gas composition in the air (H2O, O2, CO2, C2H4) are affecting decay and food quality, so need to be controlled during precooling, refrigerated transport and cold storage. By optimizing these environmental parameters, shelf life can be maximised. Currently extensive monitoring is performed of the environmental conditions in food supply chains (air temperature and humidity). However, often, such sensing only covers a part of the cold chain and not the entire journey from farm to fork. Taking into account the entire journey is essential to quantify how the fresh-food quality evolves, and what the final quality and shelf life is that the retailers, and thus the consumer, receive. The key objective is to better use this sensor data to identify when and where quality loss occurs, and how commercial cold chains can be improved. This project is performed in collaboration with a Swiss retailer.
The tasks include:
-Organize and perform sensing in commercial cold chains of 2 vegetables and 1 fruit for air temperature and humidity, and quantify final food quality upon arrival and corresponding food losses.
-Process measured sensor data in commercial cold chains, analyse data for variability, and reformat data in databases.
-Analyse the data with statistical techniques to identify critical problem locations in the cold chain.
-Propose solutions to improve the shelf life and reduce food losses and test these solutions in the field by full-scale trails.
The work will be performed at the facilities of Empa (St. Gallen). Regular visits to the facilities of the Swiss retailer company are likely to be required. The MSc or internship is offered for 6 months.
**Required skills** The ideal candidate has knowledge in: - Hygrothermal measurements - Convective heat and mass transfer - Food cold chain
**Other benefits and/or compensation** For MSc students: • Lump sum remuneration for students outside of Switzerland (max. CHF 750.-/month = approx. value CHF 25.-/day) depends on place of residence and expenses such as travel expenses, food expenses, technical literature etc. • Accommodation could be provided by Empa, if required, for a part of the project or the entire project. For interns: • A lump sum remuneration of 2000 CHF/month (accommodation is at the students expense).
**Remark** Further background information on our research and contact details can be found on our website (https://www.empa.ch/web/det).
Not specified
If you want to apply, please send your CV, grades and motivation letter to thijs.defraeye@empa.ch
If you want to apply, please send your CV, grades and motivation letter to thijs.defraeye@empa.ch