HACCP accreditation opens new markets for fruit exports

FOLLOWING GLOBAL trends toward food safety, PE Cold Storage will be HACCP accredited before the next citrus season. “I am sure that we will have the accreditation in time for the next season,” says PE Cold Storage’s Len Cowley. The HACCP accreditation will complement the fruit sterilisation (Steri) conditioning service offered by the company for markets like Taiwan. The volume of fruit exports through the harbour is continuing to grow, with a steady switch to containerisation. “We are seeing a change in the ratio of containers to breakbulk exports of citrus, in particular,” he says. The facility handles citrus from the surrounding areas, table grapes from Upington, as well as avocados and mangos from Mpumalanga. Containers give the exporter greater control of the condition of the fruit until it reaches its destination, according to Cowley. PE Cold Storage has geared up to meet the changing demand by adding four dock levellers and can now stuff up to 50 containers a day. Last year the plant was upgraded to ensure freezer storage at -24 degrees celsius providing freezer room capacity for calamari exports during the citrus off-season. Len Cowley of PE Cold Storage. . . change in the ratio of containers to breakbulk exports. Advertisers’ Index a.hartrodt 11 Bidfreight Port Operations 7 Cargo Info Africa 6 CFR Freight 2 Coega 5 Cross Country Containers 17 Exel 1 Express Air Services 17 Foreshore 16 Forex Intermodal 12 Hellmann Worldwide Logistics IBC Ibhayi Freight Services 18 Kodiak Shipping 12 Kuehne + Nagel 13 Macro Millennium Solutions 12 Maersk Sealand 3 Mediterranean Shipping Company 10 Mitchell Packers 12 MSC Logistics 8 National Ports Authority - E. L OBC Nelson Mandela Bay Logistics Park 6 PE Cold Storage 19 SACD Freight 9 Safcor Panalpina 19 Safmarine IFC ShipShape Software 4 United Maritime Logistics 4 Universal Logistic Management 18 ZA Trans 4