Cold Chain Study Final Report

1
Cold Chain StudyFinal Report

• February, 2004

2
Study Objectives

• Objectives for the cold chain study were to
• Document mushroom cold chain performance.
• Farm to shelf time and temperature
• Display case performance
• Display temperatures
• Link cold chain performance to mushroom quality
  and category performance.
• Develop retail recommendations for improved
  mushroom cold chain performance.
• Document the extent that mushroom color/quality
  effects consumer purchase intent.
• Develop a preliminary color chart showing
  optimal mushroom color for peak performance.

3
Approach

• To accomplish the study objectives, PG initiated
  a number of research initiatives. These
  included
• Auditing of cold chain performance from the farm
  through to the retail shelf in three supermarket
  chains, each using a different distribution
  method
• Direct Store Delivery
• Shipment to stores via retailer controlled
  warehouse/trucking
• Shipment to stores via independent
  warehouse/trucking
• Auditing of display case temperatures in sample
  stores.
• Auditing of mushroom temperatures while on
  display in the retail store.
• Modeling the impact of the existing
  farm-to-consumer cold chain. This was completed
  by applying the average, best and worst case data
  from the farm to shelf study and the display case
  temperature audits to mushroom samples in a
  controlled environment.
• Surveys of consumers regarding the impact of
  color and cleanliness on purchase intent for
  whole white and sliced white mushrooms.

4
Executive Summary

• OVERALL FINDINGS
• This study identified that the mushroom cold
  chain often works well. However, there are real
  opportunities for improvement that can
  significantly improve mushroom quality, reduce
  shrink and increase consumer purchase intent and
  satisfaction.
• Across the three supermarket chains studied, cold
  chain from farm to retail shelf showed extreme
  variations in performance that are very likely to
  be negatively impacting mushroom quality and
  consumer purchases.
• Variation in farm to shelf cold chain performance
  is exacerbated by high temperatures within the
  store level refrigerated display cases.
  Temperature recorders placed within retail
  displays documented that most refrigeration units
  are set too high to maintain mushroom quality or
  prevent additional product degradation.
• Cold chain performance from the three
  participating supermarket chains was used to
  create time and temperature scenarios to model
  the impact on mushroom quality. These
  temperature scenarios reveal that even under
  average cold chain performance mushroom quality
  can already fall below the consumer acceptability
  threshold when the product is placed on the
  supermarket display. This product will certainly
  be below this threshold shortly after home
  refrigeration by the end consumer.

5
Executive Summary

• RETAIL COLD CHAIN FINDINGS
• Farm to shelf cold chain performance across the
  three participating retail organizations
  documented that extreme time and temperature
  variations exist, even within the same chain.
  While total trip length from farm to shelf
  averaged 2.7 days for the three chains, the worst
  performing stores averaged nearly 5.5 days.
• The stores utilizing Direct Store Delivery (DSD)
  generally showed the best overall time and
  temperature performance. However, variations
  among best and worst shipments across the 3
  distribution methods indicate chain practices are
  as important as the system utilized in moving
  mushrooms from farm to shelf.
• The DSD chain product experienced the lowest
  amount of time above 41 degrees, the shortest
  overall average time to shelf of 2.5 days and the
  lowest percentage of shelf life used.
• Store inventory/ordering and re-supply frequency
  play significant role in total mushroom time to
  shelf and accumulated temperatures. This study
  documents that these factors have as much impact
  as the process used to move mushrooms from farm
  to shelf.

6
Executive Summary

• CONSUMER FINDINGS
• Cleaner, whiter mushrooms are closely linked
  with consumer purchase intent. Mushroom browning,
  even in modest amounts, will cause a large
  segment of consumers to delay a planned
  supermarket purchase.
• Only 28 of consumers describe themselves as
  generally satisfied with the quality of
  mushrooms on display in the retail supermarket.
• 71 of consumers report that in the past year
  they have delayed a planned mushroom purchase due
  to concerns with the quality of mushrooms on
  display at retail stores.
• More than 70 of consumers say they sort through
  displays to find mushrooms that meet their
  quality expectations, potentially damaging the
  remaining product on the shelf.
• When consumers are asked to identify the
  mushrooms that most closely match the quality
  they typically see in the supermarket, 92 say
  they are likely to purchase mushrooms. However,
  if the quality slides only slightly lower, only
  67 of consumers now say they are likely to make
  a purchase.

7
Executive Summary

• RETAIL PERFORMANCE SUMMARY
• Consumer preference studies conducted
  demonstrated that stores merchandising worst
  quality mushrooms could improve volume and dollar
  sales by as much as 156 for sliced mushrooms and
  35 for whole mushrooms
• The gains can be achieved through careful cold
  chain management enabling best quality
  mushrooms to be merchandised
• Improvement from worst to best case scenarios
  could generate an additional 264,316 for whole
  mushrooms and 592,384 for sliced mushrooms on a
  chain-wide basis per year
• Measured on national composite per store per week
  volume and pricing bases for a 100 store chain
  (assumes all stores in chain move from worst to
  best case)
• Per store per week dollar sales Sliced 114,
  Whole 50

8
Executive Summary

• COLD CHAIN MODELINGBulk White Mushrooms
• Whole mushrooms are more resilient than sliced
  mushrooms to variations in retail cold chain
  performance. As a result, whole mushrooms are
  much more likely to reach the retail shelf at
  quality levels acceptable to consumers.
• Using the best case cold chain scenario, whole
  white bulk mushrooms are likely to have
  acceptable quality through two days of consumer
  home refrigeration before falling below the
  threshold of acceptable quality. Using the
  average cold chain model, bulk mushroom quality
  is borderline acceptable while on display at
  retail. In the low performance model, bulk
  mushrooms are likely to quickly fall below
  minimum acceptable quality levels at the time the
  product is stocked on the retail shelf.
• Distribution channel activities are likely to
  trigger between 17-21 loss of moisture weight
  (shrink) in whole, bulk white mushrooms between
  the time the product leaves the farm and when it
  is purchased by a consumer.
• Modeling of the cold chain was developed by Dr.
  Robert Beelman and Dave Weil, Department of Food
  Science, Penn State Univerisity. It is based on
  the time and temperature data accumulated from
  the Farm to Shelf study, display temperature
  audits and product on display measurements at the
  three participating chains

9
Executive Summary

• COLD CHAIN MODELINGPackaged Whole White
  Mushrooms
• Packaged, whole mushrooms are more resilient to
  variations in retail cold chain performance than
  bulk white or sliced white mushrooms. As a
  result, packaged, white mushrooms are much more
  likely to reach the retail shelf with quality
  levels acceptable to consumers.
• Using the best case cold chain scenario,
  packaged whole white mushrooms are likely to have
  acceptable quality through five days of consumer
  refrigeration. Using the average cold chain
  scenario, packaged whole mushrooms are likely to
  have acceptable quality through two days of home
  refrigeration. In the worst case performance,
  these mushrooms will have borderline acceptable
  quality while on display at retail but quickly
  fall below this level once purchased.
• Worst case distribution channel activities are
  likely to trigger a 3 loss of moisture weight
  (shrink) before the product leaves the retail
  shelf.
• Modeling of the cold chain was developed by Dr.
  Robert Beelman and Dave Weil, Department of Food
  Science, Penn State Univerisity. It is based on
  the time and temperature data accumulated from
  the Farm to Shelf study, display temperature
  audits and product on display measurements at the
  three participating chains

10
Executive Summary

• COLD CHAIN MODELINGSliced White Mushrooms
• Sliced mushrooms are more sensitive to the
  variations in the cold chain performance.
• Only the best case cold chain scenario results
  in sliced white mushrooms with acceptable quality
  through the end of the retail shelf cycle. Using
  the average cold chain scenario, sliced white
  mushrooms are only likely to have acceptable
  quality through the beginning of the retail shelf
  cycle. In the worst case performance, these
  mushrooms will have borderline acceptable quality
  while on display at retail but fall below this
  level once purchased.
• Average weight loss of sliced mushrooms was
  significantly less than whole, packaged
  mushrooms.
• Modeling of the cold chain was developed by Dr.
  Robert Beelman and Dave Weil, Department of Food
  Science, Penn State Univerisity. It is based on
  the time and temperature data accumulated from
  the Farm to Shelf study, display temperature
  audits and product on display measurements at the
  three participating chains

11
Study Implications