The Cold Chain. One warm hour ruins a year of work.
Front
The Cold Chain
One warm hour ruins a year of work
The unbroken run of refrigeration from producer to person.
Back
A vaccine, a litre of milk, and a crate of tomatoes all need the same thing: to stay cold every hour between where they were made and where they are used. Break the chain once and the product is finished even though it still looks fine. India loses a large share of its fruit and vegetables this way, mostly before they ever reach a market.
- Vaccines are the strictest case. Most must stay between 2 and 8 degrees Celsius throughout, so clinics keep temperature loggers and every excursion is recorded.
- Amul was built on this idea. Collect milk in the village, chill it within hours, then move it. The cooperative was an argument about temperature as much as about milk.
NCCD India cold chain assessments
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