ISOC Holdings Inc., parent firm of Orca Cold Chain Solutions, has earmarked P10 million to fund scholarships and programs aligned with the government’s national food safety program mandated under the Food Safety Act.
Michael Cosiquien, ISOC chairman and founder, announced the plan following the inauguration recently by Orca of the country’s first ever fully-automated cold storage facility in Bagumbayan, Taguig City.
“The amount we will set aside will fund programs that would allow the industry to grow in terms of both technology and talent pool for cold chain, food safety and supply chain management. We want to help modernize the industry and create more knowledge on the benefits of cold chain logistics in improving the lives of all stakeholders from small to large scale farmers, fisherfolks and livestock and poultry growers,” Cosiquien said.
He said cold chain is vital for food safety and security and most countries consider it as part of infrastructure which also includes temperature-controlled supply chain and storage system.
These allow produce to be safely transported and stored while maintaining quality and freshness.
The Bagumbayan facility has a capacity of 20,000 pallets and features a high bay storage racking structure that is equipped with an automated storage and retrieval system and a warehouse management system.
Both technologies allow increased efficiency in the storage and retrieval of pallets in the facility while ensuring minimal human interaction in order to limit pilferage, contamination and spoilage.
Orca’s P3-billion Taguig facility was awarded by the Board of Investments with a pioneer status and registered it under the Preferred Activities—Infrastructure and Logistics of the Investment Promotion Plan.
The project is vying for a Leadership in Energy and Environment Design certification.
Orca also provides cold chain logistics services in its 6,000-pallet cold storage in Alabang.
It is currently developing another 15,000-pallet facility in Caloocan.
