Lineage has showcased Fresh Solutions, helping ensure fresh fruit and vegetables are always in Season. This comprehensive suite of solutions is designed to meet the unique challenges of handling, storing, and transporting these highly perishable goods. By combining years of industry know-how, unique produce-focused services, and a global network of specialized, temperature-controlled facilities, Lineage Fresh provides seamless cold chain solutions.
Whether it’s shipping grapes from Chile, mangos from Mexico, or avocados from Peru, Lineage Fresh helps keep fruits and vegetables fresh from farm to shelf. The world of fresh fruit and vegetables can be a volatile one, dictated by erratic weather and seasonal availability. The cold chain industry helps ensure that produce sections in grocery stores and markets around the world are stocked with fruits and vegetables. A stable supply chain, expert teams, and specialized services help ensure these products arrive in top condition
Lineage’s Fresh Solution
Lineage Fresh is more than just cold storage—it’s a specially designed logistics solution built for perishable goods. Utilizing facilities with specialized temperature zones, on-demand services, and diverse temperature-controlled transportation options, Fresh helps ensure that produce is handled with the utmost care throughout its journey.
Unlike frozen or chilled goods, produce requires a much more nuanced approach to maintain its fleeting freshness. Every fruit and vegetable comes with its own set of handling requirements—from specific temperatures and humidity levels to pest control and unique time sensitivities. That’s where Lineage excels. The multi-temperature Fresh facilities are designed to meet these diverse needs, helping ensure that products are kept in the ideal conditions to maintain and extend their freshness.
Why Fresh is Different
Handling fresh produce is a world apart from frozen or even chilled services. For frozen goods, a uniform temperature approach will suffice, but with fresh, that one-size-fits-all approach just doesn’t work. Lineage’s Fresh facilities are designed to be smaller, more flexible, and able to handle a wider variety of temperatures. With multiple rooms, each tailored to specific produce needs, Lineage works to meet the varying handling needs of the different types of fruit and vegetables.
Some commodities, like blueberries and strawberries, must be processed rapidly due to their short shelf life, while others, like grapes, require fumigation and specific storage temperatures to help ensure safety and quality. The key to Fresh is the agility and speed with which the Lineage team can respond to these needs—whether it’s pre-cooling products, adjusting storage conditions on the fly, or even repacking produce for the market.
Strategic Global Network and Fresh Service Locations
One of the core strengths of Lineage’s Fresh service is access to a global network. Lineage Fresh facilities are strategically located and port-centric to help provide quick access to major global markets. Proximity to ports, major roadways, and global markets helps minimize time in transit and preserve the quality and safety of perishable goods along their journey. Each of Lineage’s five Fresh facilities was designed to meet the diverse needs of the fresh produce supply chain. They provide multi-temperature storage options, unique services, and seamless integration with Lineage’s transportation network.
Fresh facilities are also certified to meet strict regulatory requirements, such as USDA Cold Treatment and Fumigation Certification. This helps ensure that produce is handled in compliance with both international and domestic standards. Many facilities even hold Primus certifications, which are vital for ensuring the food safety and organic handling requirements of perishable goods. These industry requirements help ensure the safety and quality of the produce that reaches grocery stores.
Innovative Solutions to Preserve Freshness
Time will always be the enemy of freshness. To combat this, Lineage Fresh utilizes advanced technologies for their solutions and services to help ensure the highest quality, safety, and shelf life of perishable products.
- Fumigation: Fumigation is an essential service for certain imported products. Citrus, asparagus, and grapes must undergo pest control treatments before being cleared for U.S. distribution. At Lineage, fumigation chambers have been built directly into the facilities, eliminating the need for third-party services and helping reduce potential delays at the port. The certified fumigation process helps keep produce pest-free and ready for market.
- Precooling: Fresh produce is often subjected to fluctuating temperatures during transport, and if not cooled properly upon arrival, this can lead to spoilage or a shortened shelf life. Fresh facilities employ advanced precooling systems to rapidly bring products back to their ideal storage temperature. Precooling chambers quickly reduce the temperature of the produce, helping preserve its freshness and extend its shelf life.
- Cold Treatment: Cold treatment is another critical Lineage Fresh service for specific perishable imports. USDA regulations are strict and require many different fruits and vegetables to undergo cold treatment when imported. Cold treatment keeps fresh produce at a specific low temperature for a set period during transit. This helps prevent the spread of pests and diseases. Lineage’s certified cold treatment process keeps fruits and vegetables at the right temperatures to help extend their shelf life and streamline the inspection process.
- Value-Added Fresh Services: Lineage Fresh offers value-added services and solutions designed specifically for fresh fruits and vegetables. These services adapt to fast-changing demands and help ensure that produce is delivered in optimal condition.
- Re-stack, Re-pack & Bag: Packaging needs can change at any point in the supply chain. Lineage has the expertise and services needed to handle these changes in real time. With in-house re-stacking, re-packing, and bagging services, Lineage Fresh facilities and teams are equipped to provide on-demand packaging modification to meet the customer’s needs.
- Recondition & Restyle: Sometimes, products need to be altered or repackaged, or adjusted to meet market demands or adapt to quality control issues. Lineage’s reconditioning and restyling services provide the flexibility to modify presentation or packaging as needed. Whether a customer needs to combine green and red grapes into a single clamshell or adjust the packaging of mandarins from bulk to small net bags, Lineage Fresh can help.
- Stay Fresh with Lineage: Lineage Fresh is all about providing end-to-end solutions that keep fresh produce in peak condition, no matter where it’s coming from or where it’s going. With an unparalleled global network, cutting-edge technology, value-added services and seamless integration to the Lineage transportation network, they’re equipped to handle even the most demanding supply chain challenges.