Australia exports vacuum packed (VP) meat cuts to more than 100 countries, relying on the cold chain during the air or sea voyage to get product to market. The present project followed 200 consignments to Australia’s major markets, monitoring temperatures every step of the journey and calculating shelf life remaining for the importer.

The project was developed because of two 'new' factors:

• the implementation of slow steaming to optimise fuel use, extending voyages by up to 20%
• perceived cold chain difficulties in some countries.

Of particular focus was the Chinese market for VP chilled meat cuts which, although small at the time of the study (early-2016), is predicted to become Australia’s major, if not the major, market.