Twenty years of cold chain

Tongxing's presence at the Meat Products Association wasn't due to anyone's influence; it was a position Tongxing had earned itself. Although Zeng Zhaoda had done a lot of internal coordination work, without Tongxing's recent assertive stance, his words wouldn't have carried weight.

Two days later, for the first time ever, Bao Xiaoyang represented Sanhe at the meeting. People in the industry knew more or less about Sanhe's internal affairs, and some of the more astonishing rumors were quite detailed. This young man's ambition to rise to power should not be underestimated.

After shaking hands and introducing themselves, Hu Shutong noticed that all the major companies in Qingyan's meat industry were present at this meeting. In addition to Sanhe, there were owners of cold storage facilities with a capacity of 10,000 tons that mainly provide rental services, business owners that specialize in processing for farms, and business owners who do not have physical cold storage facilities but have multiple fleets of vehicles dedicated to delivery.

Most people in the entire Qingyan meat market circle were seeing Hu Shutong for the first time. This leader of Tongxing was more composed than his age suggested. He sat there calmly, and no other emotions could be seen in his eyes. It was just a business meeting among industry colleagues.

What prompted this meeting was undoubtedly the recent lean meat powder scandal, which has been the subject of much controversy. Although it did not occur in Qingyan, with Pingchengshan as a precedent, any egregious incident in the meat industry will particularly strike a nerve with people.

Whether during his studies or after graduation, the question of "what can I do" has always been with Hu Shutong, and in his view, the significance of this industry association is the same. And no matter what you do, you need to put in real, concrete, and consistent effort to have any hope of seeing any results.

Looking around, Tongxing stands out as the most unique among the group. It's no exaggeration to say that if you were to connect everyone present into a system, it would be a larger version of Tongxing. On the phone, Zeng Zhaoda used the word "stretch head," and Hu Shutong was naturally well-prepared.

"Everyone, especially in times like these, I believe the industry cannot remain silent. Although the incident did not originate in Qingyan, we need to let the public see the actions of the industry. We need to instill confidence—both in the public and in our own confidence—so that the matter does not escalate in Qingyan."

Zeng Zhaoda nodded and spoke first, "I completely agree with President Hu's idea, but I'm wondering how our operation should specifically proceed?"

Hu Shutong didn't say much. Instead, he took out a thick stack of papers from his bag, three pages bound together, and then came to the crowd one by one.

"This is my draft of the Qingyan Meat Products Industry Self-Discipline Declaration. Please take a look, and feel free to raise any objections."

Upon first hearing this "declaration of industry self-discipline," many people couldn't help but frown. Everyone knows that such a thing has no real binding force, but if it did have substantial binding force, no one would agree with it. This applies not only to this meeting but to countless other things in life.

For businesses, self-discipline has always been a major issue. They can earn more in one way or another, so why should I spend more money in another way? Once this comparison is made, self-discipline becomes meaningless.

However, as people read on, their brows furrowed even more, because from beginning to end, Hu Shutong's draft declaration did not mention anything more akin to a declaration, such as "avoiding vicious competition" or "strengthening industry cooperation."

In the first part of the declaration, Hu Shutong addressed the most pressing issues, outlining the industry's internal regulatory process for ractopamine. Going forward, agreements with livestock farms will include clauses for termination and substantial compensation if any farmer is found using ractopamine feed. Furthermore, all companies will be required to supplement their ractopamine testing kits to test any new batches of meat products.

Looking further down, the frown deepened, because it was time to spend money.

It's not about "vigorously promoting radio frequency identification," but rather a commitment to the public to "complete the transformation of enterprise temperature control before New Year's Day 07." From cold storage to refrigerated truck transportation and then to the market terminal, the temperature control of enterprises will be fully recorded, providing the public with a reliable cold chain!

Hu Shutong's initial intention was less about creating a self-discipline declaration and more about "how to work together to improve the cold chain." These meat product scandals could actually be fundamentally solved by standardizing every step from procurement, testing, warehousing, processing, to distribution. Spoilage is the most common food problem, and the mission of the cold chain is to prevent it.

Industry self-regulation declarations are nothing new; many industries often take similar actions after certain incidents. But this one completely changes people's perception of such declarations.

That's not all. Further on, there are more places to spend money, making people secretly grimac. Spending money like this is something only a normal person could do.

Hu Shutong proposed that all members of the Meat Products Association jointly contribute one million yuan annually to support the training of cold chain professionals in universities, specialized safety and skills training for industry practitioners, and subsidies for industry technology research and development.

While drafting this proposal, Hu Shutong paused at the funding stage, worried that requiring everyone to contribute money in one document might lead to objections. But at that moment, he felt he had made the absolutely right decision!

Talent shortage is one of the many problems plaguing the cold chain industry, but unfortunately not everyone in the industry pays attention to this. Taking this opportunity to truly bring it to the forefront, and with a gathering of big bosses, no one will openly deny it because of a few tens of thousands of dollars a year.

This long-term project is arguably the most important issue for Hu Shutong.

Bao Xiaoyang was the first to raise his hand in approval, offering no objection to the declaration. Soon, one by one, hands slowly rose in agreement.

Zeng Zhaoda was shocked by such a declaration. Before meeting Hu Shutong, he understood that it was all just empty talk, but circumstances always forced him to do so. In many of his exchanges with Hu Shutong, his questions always revolved around "how to make it a reality".

Today, he has truly broadened his horizons.

This is what it truly means to have something to say!

……

I've loved cold chain logistics for twenty years.