Experimental Investigation of Heat-generating Cheese Pallets During an International Export Cold Chain
Abstract: This study presents an industrial experiment conducted with a dairy partner to investigate the temperature evolution of heat-generating soft cheeses within pallets during export cold chain. In the production factory, four homogeneous pallets of soft cheese were instrumented with temperature probes placed at three levels (bottom, medium, and top). Temperature was monitored over a 13 days export cold chain from France to Northern Europe. The objective was to evaluate the influence of air ventilation and pallet wrapping film on product temperature. The results clearly highlight the effect of ventilation: pallets placed in a well-ventilated area showed temperatures approximately 3{\textdegree}C lower than those in less ventilated zones. The study also underlines the importance of maintaining good ventilation of pallets before loading them into refrigerated transport vehicles. However, the effect of wrapping film remains unclear and does not allow definitive conclusions. This field study provides practical recommendations for better conditioning of heat-generating products in the cold chain.