A major upgrade to facilities at a South Holland farm aims to keep salad leaves fresher from field to fork.
The current salad storage and dispatch facilities at Norfolk House Farm, Gedney Marsh, need to be changed to keep up with technology.
An application by JE Piccaver and Co (Jepco) sees the total replacement of the current area with and uninterrupted ‘cold chain’.
“Maintaining a strong position in the fresh-food industry depends on supplying customers with a high-quality product and preserving that quality for as long as possible on supermarket shelves.
“Since any fruit or vegetable will immediately begin to degrade when picked, it is crucial that the crop is swiftly processed and stored in a suitable environment to preserve its quality until consumption,” says a document accompanying the application to South Holland District Council.
The cold chain provides an uninterrupted storage and distribution within a specified temperature range designed to extend and protect shelf life.
The 741-acre (300 hectare) farm primarily grows green salad leaves in open fields.
The current infrastructure has three separate chill-store areas linked by a covered loading and unloading area.
But the elevations are open with the connecting area exposed to ambient temperatures.
The plastic trays filled with harvested leaves are currently unloaded and stacked externally beneath a covered canopy.
“The current site operation does not satisfy the requirements of cold-chain maintenance and management. Unloading, checking and weighing are undertaken in ambient conditions, delaying the required cooling process and jeopardising product freshness,” says the planning document.
The proposed upgrade would see a dedicated chilled intake and a separate temperature-controlled dispatch area.
Harvested crops will be unloaded directly into the intake area and will remain in a temperature-controlled environment until it reaches its destination.
The new work will see a new intake building, dispatch area, store, tray returns/wash store, refrigeration plant rooms, truck hardstanding access roadway.
“The proposed development represents a minor and contained increase to the existing operational infrastructure at Norfolk House Farm. It is located within the established built complex,” it concludes.
