Twenty years of cold chain

The exposure of the Pingchengshan rotten meat incident has aroused public outrage and triggered a huge public opinion storm in Qingyan City. The Qingyan meat market is experiencing an unprecedented winter. In addition to the deep hatred for Pingchengshan, everyone is worried: who can guarantee that there won't be another Pingchengshan?

Meat products from Pingchengshan Cold Storage on the market have been fully recalled and destroyed. In addition, a comprehensive traceability system has been launched for meat products that have flowed out of the city.

When meat products have problems, cold storage facilities are crucial, as this distribution center is the central hub. Therefore, health supervision and law enforcement departments immediately began to investigate cold storage facilities throughout the city.

Besides the reckless actions of unscrupulous merchants, inadequate supervision and management of cold storage facilities is also a significant contributing factor to this incident. In summary, the current state of cold storage facilities in Qingyan City is deeply entrenched in problems, and the path to rectification is not optimistic.

In terms of management, many commercial cold storage facilities are rented out by area, and the customers have complete control over the purchase and stacking of goods. The cold storage's rules and the company's rules are mixed up, and neither side follows them. Over time, they become mere decorations.

This has also raised issues regarding various daily operating costs. Businesses believe that the daily operating costs of cold storage are included in the rent, while cold storage owners feel that further investment will not increase the rent, so why incur additional expenses? As a result, many cold storage facilities lack protective equipment such as personal protective clothing, oxygen respirators, and full-body showers.

There's also the issue of talent. Some private cold storage owners are short-sighted and unwilling to spend money and time training their own technicians. They've chosen the easiest and quickest path: poaching operators from other companies. These operators have a high turnover rate, which is extremely common in the industry. Once you've worked in this field for a few years, you'll find yourself surrounded by acquaintances.

These operators actually have very limited professional skills; they make a living primarily through years of experience. Much of the turnover is due to encountering difficult problems.

Faced with so many problems, Qingyan Cold Storage cannot yet consider issues such as a single structure or high-low distribution.

It was 3 a.m. in an office at Qingning University.

A large cup of strong tea sat on the table. A man sat at the table near the window, his hand pressed against his nose as he gazed at the campus, where only a few lights were scattered. His face was etched with deep sorrow, not a fleeting moment of emotion, but a lingering, chaotic, and unseen state of mind, fully revealed in the quiet of the night.

This person was not tall, but he was exceptionally strong, with dark skin, and wore glasses with thick frames.

This person is Zeng Zhaoda, a 98 undergraduate graduate of the Cold Chain Transportation major in the School of Food Engineering at Qingning University. The class of 98 was the first class of Cold Chain Transportation at Qingning University. After graduating with his bachelor's degree, he continued his studies at Qingning University for a master's degree. Because of his outstanding abilities in various aspects of his professional field, and because Qingning University was extremely short of faculty in his major, Zeng Zhaoda was exceptionally allowed to stay at Qingning University to teach after graduating with his master's degree.

Zeng Zhaoda is a prominent figure in the College of Food Science and Technology. He is an innovator in the collaboration between the College of Food Science and Technology and enterprises at Qinghai University. He pioneered the "Winter and Summer Internship Program," which takes students to food processing and storage enterprises and low-temperature food production enterprises in various cities of Qinghai Province. This allows students majoring in cold chain logistics to receive first-hand practical experience as early as their first year of university, which also brings many benefits to their employment.

Zeng Zhaoda is also a well-known figure in the cold chain industry in Qingyan City. He is also the president of the Qingyan City Refrigeration Association. He has brought together experts from major universities and industry professionals to form a highly professional team. He is young and promising.

Based on information from relevant departments and a visit to Qingdao University, Zeng Zhaoda has just completed an analysis report on the Qingyan Cold Storage. He will report to the health department in three days and explain his solutions.

The Pingchengshan incident kept Zeng Zhaoda up at night. Ever since the incident broke out and the rectification report was issued, he had been in a gloomy mood. His plan was very detailed, and his analysis of the current situation of the cold storage in Qingyan City was thorough.

However, he was not satisfied with the solution.

These past few days have also made him start to think about what is truly feasible. The answer to the complex issue of the renovation of cold storage facilities in Qingyan City should not be broad terms such as "improving cold chain facilities," "strengthening industry management," or "emphasizing talent cultivation."

These are generic answers, and in this particular moment, they seem somewhat like mere attempts to get by. Given the deeply entrenched and persistent problems with cold storage facilities in Qingyan City, such empty talk is inappropriate.

Zeng Zhaoda pondered repeatedly about how to improve cold chain facilities, how to strengthen industry management, and how to focus on talent cultivation. He had some ideas, but he was unsure about how to implement them. Moreover, once the scope of the issue broadened, there were too many uncertainties, which made him hesitant to act rashly.

With a long sigh, Zeng Zhaoda closed the report, but his eyes caught sight of another proposal. Upon reading it, his mood plummeted to rock bottom. It read "Articles of Association of Qingning Meat Industry Association (Draft)".

This was something that had been planned for nearly a year. According to Zeng Zhaoda's idea, the meat industry association and the refrigeration society would join forces to identify problems in enterprises regarding cold storage construction, operational safety, and energy consumption, and provide relevant departments with suggestions on regulatory measures.

However, before the charter could be published, the Pingcheng Mountain incident thrust the industry into the spotlight. At this juncture, not only the general public but even industry peers within the province harbored distrust towards the meat industry in Qingyan City, leaving the association with no choice but to postpone its plans.

Zeng Zhaoda slept on the table until dawn. Early in the morning, the secretary of the Refrigeration Society called, sounding somewhat helpless. Although they had made an appointment, the time was only in the morning. Apparently, the big boss was very busy, and if they went later, they would have to wait in line.

The car arrived at Qingdao University, and the secretary repeatedly apologized for the early start of the morning. However, Zeng Zhaoda remained cheerful and unperturbed. As they drove, the secretary grew curious; usually, on journeys to companies, this chairman was far from displaying this demeanor.

"President, is this big boss someone you know?"

"No, I've only heard about it."

That's really not like you.

"This time I'm not visiting a company; I'm here to discuss technical issues."

"Technology? You must be joking. In this industry, when it comes to technology, who can rival you? Besides, how much more technically advanced can a business really be?"

"That's not necessarily true; he graduated from the University of Minnesota."

"Mingda?" The secretary fell silent.

"He's from the Class of '97 at the University of Minnesota. For the refrigeration engineering major, he's one of the few senior students there."

……

I've loved cold chain logistics for twenty years.