Produce is alive. It respires, it generates heat, and it keeps doing both inside a sealed trailer. Treating it like frozen cargo with a warmer set point is the fastest way to arrive with a wilted load.
What we control beyond temperature
- Airflow. Vented crates on airflow-slotted pallets, loaded so the return air actually passes through the product rather than around it.
- Humidity. Held high enough to stop moisture loss without condensing on the leaf surface.
- Ethylene separation. Producers and responders never travel in the same chamber, regardless of how convenient the routing would be.
- Field heat. Collection is scheduled against the pre-cooling capacity at origin, not against the truck schedule.
Why the band is tight
The contracted band is 2 – 6 °C. Below 2 °C a large part of the category takes chilling injury that does not show for several days. Above 6 °C shelf life falls away fast. Four degrees is not much room, which is why the return air probe logs every five minutes and the desk sees the trace live.
