News

Closing the hygiene gap in cold-chain environments

Maintaining hygiene while meeting health and safety requirements between cleans is vital yet challenging for food operators, requiring a holistic approach.

Cold-chain management refers to the “process of planning, implementing and controlling the flow and storage of perishable goods, related services and information to enhance customer value, to ensure low costs”.

Battling mould and ensuring adequate hygiene between food manufacturing cleans is critical in cold-chain environments.

High-throughput settings in food and drink manufacturing involve managing daily activities, including humidity, airflow dynamics, dwell time, and human input.

Maintaining hygiene in cold-chain environments proves challenging

Is there a hygiene gap in cold-chain environments?

“In practice, yes,” Thomas deMasi, co-founder and CEO of Coolsan, an Australian technology company focusing on refrigeration sanitation, said.

In most food environments, cleaning and sanitation are carried out at defined intervals. However, as refrigerated environments operate continuously, this presents a core problem. When doors are opened, warm air enters, condensation forms and refrigeration systems circulate air throughout the space.

“Cold temperatures slow microbial growth, but they do not stop it entirely,” said deMasi.

As a result, mould and other environmental contaminants can gradually re-establish themselves and build up between cleaning cycles, particularly in areas where moisture persists.

“The practical challenge for many facilities is maintaining stable hygienic conditions during the time between scheduled cleans,” he added.

Food safety is important for consumer purchase intent

Recurring mould growth is the most common issue in cold-chain environments. The persistent mould problem forms in predictable areas such as evaporator housings, ceiling joins, and other high-humidity zones.

From a quality perspective, this can affect product environments and create ongoing sanitation challenges. From a food safety perspective, it increases reliance on environmental monitoring programmes to ensure hygienic conditions remain under control during production.

All this matters to consumers. In 2025, the European Union (EU) found that food safety is the third most important purchasing factor among European consumers, after cost and taste. Foodborne outbreaks, while dangerous to public health, affect trust within global food systems and the credibility of the brands behind the foods. The European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) reported that more than 5,000 foodborne outbreaks occur every year in Europe and cause around 45,000 illness cases.

Concerns about hygiene management within F&B operating conditions put pressure on manufacturers. “It is rarely a failure of sanitation procedures,” said deMasi. “It is more about managing a cold environment that is constantly moving air and moisture.”

Integrating hygiene standards with environmental procedures

Robust sanitation guidance is integral to ensuring hygiene in modern production facilities. Measures include thorough handwashing, extensive equipment sterilisation and cleanliness requirements for food handling. Equally, environmental control measures such as regulating temperature, air control and pest management are vital to achieving optimal conditions for safe food production.

Control procedures that centre on hygiene and the environment are vital to preserve product integrity and minimise contamination risks. Rather than siloing hygiene and environmental measures, integrating control strategies into food manufacturing provides a holistic, comprehensive solution to overcoming the hygiene gap in cold-chain operations.

Researchers have found that combining sanitation practices with environmental benchmarks enables simultaneous tracking and control of contamination risks and production conditions.

Adopting energy efficiency measures within cold-chain environments is a focus area for researchers and manufacturers. Some operators are also exploring continuous environmental support approaches that run in the background in their production units between cleaning cycles. These are designed to help stabilise conditions in refrigerated spaces during normal operation, rather than replace sanitation procedures.

Technology and tools to bridge the hygiene gap

Scientists, technology companies and the wider food sector are investigating methods, technologies and operations to address the risk of mould in cold-chain environments.

“Most facilities address the issue through layered hygiene management,” deMasi said. Manufacturers introduce structured sanitation programmes and practice good airflow management, humidity control, routine environmental monitoring and proper maintenance of their refrigeration systems as proactive measures to offset mould formation.

Tools that provide real-time insights like Internet of Things (IoT) sensors, automated cleaning systems, artificial-intelligence (AI) driven analytics, microbial biosensors and machine vision equip manufacturers with rapid detection and enhanced traceability. Alerting manufacturers to potential errors early enables them to perform immediate corrective actions, minimise risks and ensure compliance with hygiene standards.

Real-time monitoring methods can help manufacturers meet regulatory requirements, such as the Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA) Food Traceability Rule (FTR). Publishing its final rule in February 2026, the FDA confirmed requirements for additional traceability records for certain foods, including many fresh foods.

Continuous monitoring and temperature controls can enhance consumer health protection, reduce food waste and improve product quality.

“Maintaining hygiene in cold-chain environments ultimately requires a combination of sanitation discipline, environmental management and ongoing monitoring,” said deMasi.