Portugal will have one of the largest tunnels in Europe for Thermodynamics Tests for Food Transport Vehicles

ON July 19, ISQ inaugurated a tunnel for testing food transport vehicles at its Castelo Branco facility. This asset is of the utmost importance in the context of food security in the country and in the transport of goods abroad and, as such, important for the competitiveness of the Portuguese economy. For these high performance tests, ISQ has created a specific Laboratory for thermodynamic tests (LABET) in Castelo Branco, being an accredited entity to carry out ATP tests and certifications, ensuring the preservation of the quality of food products (frozen or deep-frozen) during their transport. "Obtaining an ATP Certificate (agreement on the international transport of perishable food and special equipment used for such transport) is mandatory for specialized equipment such as cold rooms mounted on vehicles that carry out national and international transport of perishable food products under certain temperature conditions and therefore we invest in this new state-of-the-art infrastructure" , says Pedro Matias, President of ISQ. Due to the growing demand in the market, given that more and more national transport carriers are interested in this type of transport and want to do so in the best conditions, "ISQ has decided to build a new test tunnel capable of testing two TIR semi-trailers at the same time, which will allow us to double our responsiveness", adds Pedro Matias. In essence, it is a giant compartment where two TIR trucks can be put in place at the same time and carry out all the necessary tests for several days to ensure that food travels in regulatory and safe conditions. "We have to ensure that if a particular product has to travel at a stabilized temperature of for example -5 degrees this happens all the way, be 40 degrees of heat in alentejo or -30 cold in the Pyrenees". In Castelo Branco THE ISQ does many tests for major international builders, such as Carrier and Thermo king, working for countries such as South Korea, Germany, France, Spain, Italy, Northern Ireland or even China, through own software that developed for these trials. "This is an area of the greatest importance for the country's competitiveness and ISQ has already invested more than 3 Million Euros in this area and has a highly experienced and qualified technical team," said the PRESIDENT of ISQ. On the other hand, ISQ has developed an innovative software application that allows authorities, by simply reading a QR-Code, which is printed on the International Certificate, to immediately detect whether the certificate is true or false, through any smartphone. "There may always be fake or counterfeit certificates on the market and this App allows any Authority (GNR, PSP, ASAE…) know in seconds if you are facing a true certificate. What we want is to ensure food safety and that they arrive in conditions for final consumers." "The big national carriers want to be completely legalized and comply with all the rules and this new infrastructure comes to meet that. On the other hand, the police authorities are also increasingly attentive to these issues and strongly monitor this type of transport", concludes Pedro Matias. —————————————————————————————————————————————– What is THE ATP Certification: This Certification is based on several legal mechanisms, namely the need to carry out specific tests as to the quality of insulation of the isothermal box as well as the cold equipment that cools it. For the performance of these tests it is necessary to have a heat chamber with dimensions to contain inside a vehicle, which can be a semi-trailer, while ensuring the requirements of temperature stability and cold and heating powers, which allow it to comply with the testing parameters imposed by the UNITED NATIONS ATP.