The Tribune

THE Bahamas Agriculture and Marine Science Institute (BAMSI) is aiming to reduce food spoilage and waste by 40 percent through its hiring of a refrigerated transport container.

Trevor MacKenzie, BAMSI’s marketing manager and head of its distribution centre, said the effects of the refrigeration container will be felt by consumers almost immediately.

“Tomatoes that are handled properly in the post-harvest environment, you get extra shelf life out of them. The Bahamian consumer will probably get two to three weeks in the fridge and still have a firm product,” he said. “Had it been in the heat it would have softened within days instead of weeks.”

The refrigerated transport container is designed to overhaul BAMSI’s post-harvesting marketing protocols, adding value and a longer shelf life for its fresh produce.

McKallan Stubbs, BAMSI’s farm administrator, said the use of the chilling system - a 40-foot refrigeration container with temperature control that can be transported from the field directly to the boat for shipping to New Providence - is part of the Institute’s efforts to introduce industry best practices to its operations.

“Whenever you are dealing with produce, everything is about preparation, refrigerate properly, handle properly, chilling properly,” Mr Stubbs said, adding: “This should save BAMSI a lot of money and improve the quality of produce that hits the market.”

BAMSI, which operates a research and tutorial farm in North Andros, ships produce on a weekly basis to New Providence and other islands. It has has committed to a new business model that will increase efficiencies, streamline operations, reduce wastage and generate growth.

The new transport system is expected to increase food security and reduce food imports. Mr Stubbs said: “What happened before is we would harvest the produce, and it would sit in the sun till it was packaged for transport.

“It would be placed in coolers for transport to the boat. Once it got to the boat it might sit at the dock for a moment before being loaded in the refrigeration section. Once in Nassau, it was offloaded and back in the sun/heat again until it reached our distribution centre. This happened regardless of the weather, in sunshine or rain, so by the time it arrived at the DC there was a lot of damage, spoilage.

“In terms of loss, this refrigeration system could save up to 30 to 40 percent, and in some cases even higher. This is BAMSI’s effort to introduce best practices and improve internal operations. Whenever you are dealing with produce everything is about preparation. Produce needs to be refrigerated properly, handled properly and chilled at the right temperature, and all of that requires pre-planning and preparedness.”

BAMSI is expected to introduce a second refrigeration system to ensure that all necessary produce can be placed in a chilling facility and transported at the appropriate temperature.