Fear of disruption to the food supply chain through and after the Brexit process has led to a rush for warehouse space, with demand for suitable cold storage facilities already at their peak, according to Hanwell Solutions.
With space at a premium, manufacturers choosing to store goods in emergency warehousing must now deal with the challenge of keeping their stock in the right conditions, as well as the threat of the uncertain British climate, it said.
Weather impact
“We’re now in a cycle where our weather system is heating up and cooling down and this will have an effect on goods stored even in an ambient temperature warehouse,” said Hanwell UK commercial director Marcus Stacey-Bradbury.
“Going from, say, 19°C down to -1°C or -2°C in a day means you are cycling through temperatures that can contribute to the degrading of products, even tinned foods.
“Then, there are the cheese manufacturers. They store their product in a cool environment like a fridge or freezer. Temperatures in cool ambient areas need monitoring to make sure you are not getting large spikes of temperature in a short space of time.”
