The art of transporting grapes has a long history in California. According to the California Table Grape Commission, William Wolfskill was the first California grape farmer to ship grapes in 1839. He planted the state’s first vineyard in what is now Los Angeles, and soon began shipping fresh grapes to Northern California by horse and buggy. This launched the California grape industry and the transport of fruit and vegetables. In 1869, an agricultural entrepreneur named R.B. Blowers shipped grapes from California to Chicago by train.
Present day, California is home to 880,000 square acres of grape vineyards, as well as, twenty-five thousand farmers who grow grapes of all kinds across the state. California also has the most wineries and makes the most wine out of all fifty states, generating $5.79 billion in grape sales in 2017. Most of the grapes that come out of California hail from the regions of Coachella and San Joaquin, where the conditions are optimal for growing the highest quality grapes. Those two regions are responsible for more than 85 different varieties of grapes, and the unique climate produces the plumpest and sweetest grapes.
With four-hundred different commodities grown within the state according to the California Department of Food and Agriculture. The majority of fruits and vegetables in the state are transported by truck. California accounts for three-tenths of the total recorded truck shipments of produce throughout the nation. Most of that will travel to large distribution centers for repackaging or storage, where they’ll then be transported to other markets for their delivery to their final destination.
Yet, as the state with the nation’s second-largest metropolitan area, California has to contend with numerous issues in freight transportation that can affect shipping produce. For example, congestion, safety, security, and land use are just some of the core challenges for the freight industry. It is especially difficult in California where nearly 223 million tons of freight ships internally in Southern California alone.
As a solution orientated company, with vast knowledge and experience within the agriculture supply chain, in this article we present an end-to-end, shipment security and condition monitoring solution for shipping grapes.
Challenges of Shipping Grapes
Shipping fresh fruits such as grapes is fast-paced and time-sensitive. The most important part of shipping produce is getting it to the consumer at peak freshness and getting it there safely. With no room for error in the shipping process, proper planning, handling, and packaging of produce is critical throughout the supply chain. There are also important temperature and humidity factors to consider, as the cold chain process for shipping grapes is especially vulnerable.
Firstly, grape shipments must be shipped in a full truckload (FTL). During the (FTL) shipment the temperature and humidity must stay consistent, and the container or refrigerated trailer should not be opened until it reaches the destination. Any breach or temperature deviation could result in profit loss for the carrier, the shipper, and any involved third parties.
It is also important to be aware of fungus and bacteria when transporting grapes. In fact, fungus is one of the most common and obvious causes of grape deterioration when in storage and being transported. A fungus called Botrytis cinerea is a common cause of wine grape and table grape deterioration. Sometimes called Botrytis bunch rot, this fungus causes grapes to rot and covers them with a grey coating.
Bacteria and fungi require a moist environment to grow, so precautions should be made to ensure that the packaging is not too moist, but not so dry that the grapes shrivel up. Crates and cartons should be well ventilated to encourage airflow, so moisture does not accumulate or stagnate. Grapes should be kept in a semi-humid environment for best results, but there is a fine line between humidity and moisture so consistent monitoring is essential.
Consequently, due to food safety violations in the past, the FDA has been working harder to regulate the transportation of fresh fruit and produce. The goal of their work is to prevent practices during transportation that create food safety risks for consumers. Some of these practices were a failure to refrigerate the food adequately, to properly clean vehicles in between shipments, and a failure to sufficiently monitor temperature and humidity. In response to food safety risks and outbreaks of illness from unsanitary transportation practices, in 2011, the FDA passed the Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA) which was fully implemented in 2017.
TydenBrooks Cold Chain Solutions
Produce shipments coming from California can vary from 1,000 to 7,000 loads per day, all at different times. A temperature of 0 degrees Celsius, or 32 degrees Fahrenheit, is recommended for storing and transporting grapes. If at any point in the process, the shipment is stored at the wrong temperature, it is likely to be rejected at the destination.
And even though grapes won’t continue to ripen after harvest, the fruit’s metabolic processes will continue. The grapes can absorb oxygen and excrete carbon dioxide after harvest. This causes starch in the grapes to turn into sugar and can make them go bad. Even if the grapes are not spoiled by the time they reach their destination, their shelf life could be severely compromised, depending on any delays the shipment experienced in transit.
Undoubtedly, it’s necessary to have detection and visual tamper-evidence of mishandling and damage throughout a produce supply chain. To operationally put this in practice, you must first implement a comprehensive supply chain program, which should include produce safety, shipment breach security, with temperature and humidity condition alerts. A standalone connected GPS device in combination with a Bluetooth enabled TydenTag that creates an expanded sensor network, is the ideal method to proactively respond to variances and breaches for produce shipments. Deploying our popular TB-HGD4 asset monitoring device, you will have up to 60 days of location, temperature, light, movement, tilt, and shock/impact reporting on our TrackSecure platform.
Combining the TB-HGD4 with our TB-E4BL logging TydenTag, you can verify and store temperature and humidity at preset intervals. When your produce shipment enters a warehouse yard and is within range of the TB-HGD4 tracker, the logged data is communicated and then transmitted for review on the platform. This improves safety and productivity for warehouse workers who are required to investigate and report the produce skids temperature readings.
If your supply chain is a closed-loop, where you are able to reuse the asset monitoring device past 60 days, our rechargeable TB-HGR4 unit is the perfect solution. Utilizing Qi wireless charging and offering 40 days of reporting at 1-hour (stationary); 15 min (in motion), it provides the same reporting of location, temperature, light, movement, tilt, and shock/impact levels from our platform coupled with the TB-E4BL logging TydenTag.
As a shipment departs from point A and point B, there are predefined time steps with a set of maximum durations by activity. This is the data that is acted upon to create added-value. With multiple variables at play and with produce being reliant on time, specific temperatures, and humidity, perishables with short shelf lives will be better protected, and avoid being wasted.
Furthermore, by integrating our TydenBrooks GPS monitoring and cargo condition devices with transportation management software (TMS), innovative companies who have adopted nimble monitoring technologies are improving brand reputation, profits, and delivering on their sustainability targets.
Leading the Way, Securing the World
By ensuring grapes and other sensitive perishables arrive safely to grocery stores at their freshest point, TydenBrooks helps make the world a safer, healthier, and more productive place for consumers and supports the sustainability goals of businesses around the globe.
To create a better tomorrow, today, contact us at 1-800-458-7325 (SEAL) or [email protected] to arrange for a connected device pilot or speak with our experts regarding an end-to-end produce solution.
