Air cargo must create supply chain standard

The Cool Chain Association chairman Stavros Evangelakakis is urging the air cargo community to tackle a disconnected and fragmented supply chain and create its own perishables supply chain standard to reduce food waste rather than waiting for other groups and agencies to do so.

The supply chain lack of accountability is contributing to the 1.3 billion metric tonnes of food being wasted. This is equal to one third of all food produced. This issue can be addressed through collaboration, transparency, data sharing, and training for perishables growers.

“A standard in perishables should be something akin to the standards in pharmaceuticals,” said Evangelakakis. “We should aim for quality, we should not wait for other agencies to come up with standards, we should look internally and act now.”