Delegation attends IARW-WFLO Annual Convention & Expo and other industry and government activities in the United States

ALEXANDRIA, VA, May 26, 2011 – Six Chinese cold chain executives attended the recent 2011 IARW-WFLO Annual Convention & Expo in New Orleans, Louisiana, USA. The convention was the first stop in a two-week educational tour of the eastern United States, customized to expose the delegation to best practices in cold chain management.

The tour was organized by the United States Department of Agriculture Foreign Agricultural Service Cochran Fellowship Program (CFP), which provides U.S.-based agricultural training opportunities for senior and mid-level specialists and administrators from public and private sectors who are concerned with agricultural trade, agribusiness development, management, policy, and marketing.

At the convention, the Cochran Fellows attended sessions that provided in-depth information on the most important trends and issues affecting the cold chain industry. The delegation had the opportunity to learn about the products and services of more than 100 cold chain companies exhibiting at the Expo. The delegation also attended the 2011 United Fresh Produce Convention to gain a better understanding of traceability, logistics and food safety solutions, and other key issues affecting grower-shipper operations.

After leaving New Orleans, the delegation traveled to Washington, DC to meet with representatives of several U.S. government agencies. In the Washington metropolitan area, the delegation had the opportunity to visit Baltimore Aircoil Company, EVAPCO, Jamison Door Company, MTC Logistics, and Mullica Hill Cold Storage, to see world-class refrigeration equipment.

The delegation then traveled to New Jersey and visited the Food Innovation Center in Bridgeton where discussions centered on the relationship between maturity and quality in produce, packinghouse operations, effects of post-harvest shelf life, and respiration rates of fruits and vegetables.

At Rutgers University, the delegation attended a presentation on applied postharvest handling and an overview of food safety issues and the cold chain. Later, they visited Halls Cold storage Facility to see meat, seafood, and poultry operations as well as state-of-the-art solar power equipment. Other topics covered in presentations to the delegation included transportation issues and the concerns of importers/exporters sending fresh produce to global markets.

The delegation’s tour was coordinated by WFLO Director of International Programs Richard Tracy. “The presentations, industry tradeshows, and cold chain companies that the Cochran Fellows were exposed to presented a tremendous opportunity to impart cold chain best practices that will allow the Chinese cold chain specialists to implement new initiatives in their own country,” said Tracy. “Plus, this presented a great opportunity to reinforce and grow the global trade relationships that are essential for the U.S. cold chain industry to prosper and thrive.”

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The World Food Logistics Organization (WFLO) is a non-profit organization dedicated to the proper handling and storage of perishable products and the development of systems and best practices for the safe, efficient, and reliable movement of food to the people of the world. Founded in 1943, WFLO delivers education and research to the industry and empowers economic development by strengthening the global cold chain. WFLO is a Core Partner of the Global Cold Chain Alliance, an umbrella organization that unites partners to be innovative leaders in the temperature-controlled products industry. For more information, visit www.wflo.org.

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