{"57817":{"#nid":"57817","#data":{"type":"news","title":"Integrated Food Chain Center (IFC) Launches At Georgia Tech","body":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003ELong neglected as a significant area of supply chain\nanalysis and exploration, the efficient transport of agricultural and food\nproducts is now receiving a high-profile platform for research and development at\nGeorgia Tech.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n\u003Cp\u003EIn May, the Georgia Tech Integrated Food Chain Center (IFC)\nlaunched as an international research hub focused on designing, analyzing and\nimproving the food chain for cold and perishable products.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n\u003Cp\u003EThe center \u2013 established by Georgia Tech\u2019s Supply Chain\n\u0026amp; Logistics Institute and Memphis-based Sterling Solutions LLC \u2013 is\nenvisioned as collaboration between academia, government and industry.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n\u003Cp\u003EThe goal: assure that growers, processors, retailers and\nlogistics providers can deliver quality perishables via greater efficiency\nthroughout the supply chain.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\n\u201cSupply chain research to date has focused very little on food chains compared\nto the extensive efforts spent on supply chains for other products,\u201d said IFC\nExecutive Director Don Ratliff, noting the lack of attention the cold chain has\npreviously received. \u201cBecause food is both perishable and is consumed by people,\nthere are fundamentally different integration issues and challenges to be\nresolved to keep the food safe and control waste.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n\u003Cp\u003EThe time, though, is ripe.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n\u003Cp\u003EConsumer interest in food safety and practices has never\nbeen stronger. Retailers and wholesalers desire the same assurances, along with\nconsistent product safety and quality management systems that maximize sales\nwhile minimizing waste.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n\u003Cp\u003EWith the U.S. being the biggest importer and exporter of\nperishable food goods, it was vital to focus energies on the complex system of cold\nchain shipping and receiving that currently exists and refine it for an\nevolving society and economy.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n\u003Cp\u003ESpecifically, there are three current trends that will force\nmore attention on and resources to integrating food chains:\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n\u003Cul\u003E\u003Cli\u003EPending food safety legislation will likely\nrequire time limits be placed on product tracing, which can only be satisfied\nthrough automation and integration. This will also require cooperation among\nthe food chain entities, along with standardizing data requirements. New\ntechnologies, processes and infrastructures will be necessary to reduce the\ncosts that accompany these regulations.\u003C\/li\u003E\u003C\/ul\u003E\n\n\u003Cul\u003E\u003Cli\u003EImproved product quality monitoring will help\npredict the post-harvest life and the end of shelf life of food products. New\ntypes of data will need to be captured regarding product status and performance\nalong with the advent of variable transfer times, temperatures and the\nopportunity to enhance product transfers.\u003C\/li\u003E\u003C\/ul\u003E\n\n\u003Cul\u003E\u003Cli\u003EImproved analytics are needed to better address\nthe increase in food chain complexity. Today\u2019s food chains offer more\nperishable products, additional participants as well as complex transportation\nlogistics plus additional processes, technology and security. This requires new\npredictive models to best assess inventories and the need for replenishment\nthroughout the chain.\u003C\/li\u003E\u003C\/ul\u003E\n\n\u003Cp\u003E\u201cThere\u2019s not much visibility back up the food chain, even in\nthe best of circumstances,\u201d said IFC Director of Research John Bartholdi. \u201cWhat\nwe are really focusing on is knowing the history of food and when we receive\nit. If we can have much better estimations of shelf life, then we can move the\nproduct more efficiently through the supply chain here.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n\u003Cp\u003ELess waste, more efficient replenishment and better product\nquality is the end result.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n\u003Cp\u003EGeorgia Tech\u2019s IFC will be housed in the Supply Chain \u0026amp; Logistics\nInstitute at the Stewart School of Industrial and Systems Engineering.\u0026nbsp; For more information, visit\u0026nbsp;http:\/\/ifc.scl.gatech.edu.\u003C\/p\u003E","summary":null,"format":"limited_html"}],"field_subtitle":"","field_summary":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EThe\u0026nbsp;Georgia Tech Integrated Food Chain Center (IFC) has launched\nas an international research hub focused on designing, analyzing and improving\nthe food chain for cold and perishable products.\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"field_summary_sentence":[{"value":"An international research hub focused on improving the food chain for cold and perishable products."}],"uid":"15436","created_gmt":"2010-06-04 14:26:39","changed_gmt":"2016-10-08 03:06:39","author":"Automator","boilerplate_text":"","field_publication":"","field_article_url":"","dateline":{"date":"2010-06-04T00:00:00-04:00","iso_date":"2010-06-04T00:00:00-04:00","tz":"America\/New_York"},"extras":[],"related_links":[{"url":"http:\/\/ifc.scl.gatech.edu\/","title":"Georgia Tech Integrated Food Chain Center"}],"groups":[{"id":"1183","name":"Home"}],"categories":[{"id":"129","name":"Institute and Campus"},{"id":"145","name":"Engineering"}],"keywords":[{"id":"479","name":"Green Buzz"},{"id":"9732","name":"Integrated Food Chain Center; supply chain and logistics"},{"id":"9731","name":"ISyE; IFC"}],"core_research_areas":[],"news_room_topics":[],"event_categories":[],"invited_audience":[],"affiliations":[],"classification":[],"areas_of_expertise":[],"news_and_recent_appearances":[],"phone":[],"contact":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EDon Fernandez\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022mailto:don.fernandez@comm.gatech.edu\u0022\u003Edon.fernandez@comm.gatech.edu\u003C\/a\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E404-894-6016\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"email":["don.fernandez@comm.gatech.edu"],"slides":[],"orientation":[],"userdata":""}}}