COLD CHAIN
The application of cold is one of the most important and oldest food preservation systems known. This is due to the fact that cold prevents processes such as protein metabolic alteration and other reactions from degrading food. This is why it is vitally important to respect the cold chain .
And is that Food Security is a right and is recognized in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, specifically in article 25 «Everyone has the right to an adequate standard of living that ensures, as well as his family, health and well-being, and especially food… » It is also recognized in article 51 of the Spanish Constitution «The public authorities shall guarantee the defense of consumers and users, protecting, through effective procedures, safety, health and their legitimate economic interests». In this way, the health and well-being of consumers is guaranteed, as well as their right to be informed of the processes to which the product is subjected throughout the process until it reaches their hands. The sanctions or files to which those companies that are not guaranteeing compliance with food safety regulations are also regulated are regulated .
In addition to all this there is the Codex Alimentarius that compiles a series of food standards, practical codes and guidelines that are recommended to follow all countries under the protection of the World Health Organization (WHO) and the United Nations Organization for the Agriculture and Food (FAO). Using this code is intended to give guidance dietary guidance at international level to protect the health of users. It establishes a series of requirements and standards that food must meet to ensure that the product has a healthy, unadulterated and well labeled state. It also intends to facilitate world food trade.
But in addition to all these public institutions and international organizations that, thanks to these norms, decrees and laws guarantee food security, it is also necessary that, in the private sector, companies in the productive, industrial, commercial and distributing sectors have a commitment to preserve good security and achieve maximum guarantees so that the products have an optimal state at the moment they reach their final consumer.
The cold chain is a fairly complex process in which different factors intervene.
In the food industry, it is defined as the temperature controlled supply chain of any product that requires a temperature control for distribution and sale. It must be respected in all its stages: production, transport, storage, sale and end user. This allows to extend the shelf life of food and avoid diseases and indigestion caused by them. Otherwise there is a degradation of the properties, as well as a proliferation of pathogenic microorganisms .
A determining factor that must be taken into account is that if the cold chain breaks in any of its phases, the product must be discarded , since if we cool it again or freeze it the damage will already be done and we could expose a high risk to the final consumers. In addition to changes and deterioration in the texture , the taste or smell of the products could also affect their nutritional properties . The most dangerous part of breaking the cold chain process is exposure to food poisoning due to the intake of bacteria that grow in the products themselves. If the cold chain is broken , even for a short period of time the bacterial nuclei can be reactivated, causing when the food is re-frozen, it is already full of bacteria and toxins that can cause food poisoning.
In addition, maintaining the cold chain correctly participates actively in the search for sustainability and care for the environment. Seeking food security that allows us to prevent the poor condition of the product not only directly affects final consumers, but also an important choice at a sustainable level, avoiding the generation of waste and waste.
The temperature reduction entails the consequent decrease in microorganisms. The cold slows their metabolism until it stops in the freezing phase. But if a frozen food is thawed, the temperature rises and therefore the environment is more favorable for the growth of bacteria. If after the first defrosting it defrosts again, the number of microorganisms will be greater and therefore it is easier for the food to spoil and can cause food poisoning.
In order for microorganisms to develop in food products they have to be under favorable temperature and humidity conditions. In the event that they develop or expand many of them can cause toxins that, if consumed, can cause diseases of various kinds. For this, the microorganism has to reach the food or multiply through it due to a break in the cold chain or be at an incorrect temperature in any of the stages listed above.
There are 4 factors that determine how quickly microorganisms develop:
· Temperature
· Weather
· Humidity
· Nutritional composition
Due to all these factors, the importance of good health and avoiding diseases such as Salmonella (corresponds to more than 65% food toxicity) and many others caused by microorganisms that reproduce if the cold chain breaks. It is vitally important to have an optimized, prepared and of the highest possible quality equipment and an exhaustive preventive and predictive maintenance that allows us to fully control the cold chain and at the same time allows us to anticipate possible machinery failures in order to maintain all foods in a state of conservation and optimal marketing.
THE INVENTION
The present invention is a solution to maintain the cold chain , easy for users who want it, because they can buy their refillable and frozen isothermal bowl , in the supermarket in the frozen or bazaar section and those who wish can enter 1.5 liters of water and to reach a lower temperature -20ºC add 250 ml of pharmacy alcohol.
The bag is converted into a portable isothermal refrigerator with an included cold accumulator that reaches -20ºC, guaranteeing the cold chain between 8 and 12 hours.
You simply have to fold or roll the bag into its freezer until it reaches -20ºC, when you are going to make your purchases , pick up the freezer bag and you are guaranteed the cold of your purchases between 3 to + 8 hours ...
