Morrisons is trialling an revolutionary method to save lots of vitality and cut back prices by elevating the temperature of its freezers by 3°C.
This transfer marks the primary departure by a UK grocery store from the trade normal, which has remained unchanged for almost a century.
The Bradford-based retailer will enhance freezer temperatures from -18°C to -15°C in ten shops throughout the UK, spanning from Scotland to the south of England. This geographical unfold ensures the trial evaluates varied climate patterns and provide routes earlier than any potential wider rollout.
This initiative is supported by Birds Eye, the UK’s largest frozen meals model, and is a part of the Transfer to Minus 15°C Coalition. Different coalition members embody logistics companies DP World and Blue Water, and Danish Crown, a bacon vendor.
A current report for the Cop28 local weather disaster convention by teachers on the College of Birmingham and Heriot-Watt College suggests {that a} 3°C enhance in freezer temperatures throughout international provide chains may save 8.6% of the vitality consumed within the UK and minimize carbon emissions equal to eradicating 3.8 million automobiles from the highway.
An 18-month examine by Nomad Meals, Birds Eye’s guardian firm, together with meals science and expertise organisation Campden BRI, discovered that elevating freezer temperatures from -18°C to -15°C can minimize vitality consumption by 10% to 11%, with out compromising meals security, texture, style, or dietary worth.
Morrisons, which has confronted challenges within the grocery market since a debt-fuelled takeover almost three years in the past, hopes the price financial savings from this initiative will assist hold costs down for customers and assist its purpose of attaining web zero carbon emissions from its operations by 2035.
Ruth McDonald, company providers director at Morrisons, acknowledged: “The standard temperature for the storage and transport of frozen food today looks like it is simply a convention from nearly 100 years ago. We now have vastly better freezers and modern technology and monitoring that gives us a precise picture of frozen food temperatures throughout the supply chain.”
Thomas Eskesen, chair of the Transfer to Minus 15°C Coalition, praised the initiative: “To have a large UK retailer like Morrisons on board is an important step forward.”
Stefan Descheemaeker, CEO of Nomad Meals, added: “We know from our study that increasing the temperature at which we store frozen food can significantly reduce energy consumption and carbon emissions. Establishing an end-to-end frozen industry alliance to put our findings into action will be the key to unlocking widespread change.”
**Meta Description:** Morrisons is testing elevating freezer temperatures by 3°C in a bid to save lots of vitality and cut back prices, supported by Birds Eye and the Transfer to Minus 15°C Coalition. Find out how this might affect the way forward for the frozen meals trade.
