One of the major consumers of energy in the dairy chain is refrigeration. From farm to home, products like milk and cheese require chilling to keep them as tasty and fresh as consumers expect.

Retailers are the most power hungry of all, according to research by the Food Refrigeration & Process Engineering Research Centre at Bristol University. They consume up to 4,200 gWh to chill dairy products, depending on the efficiency of their cabinets.

By contrast, milk cooling on farms uses an average of 200 gWh/year and processing uses around 250 gWh/year.

M&S is hot on efficient refrigeration

Marks and Spencer has taken on the challenge of refrigerating more efficiently across all its chiller cabinets, and this has had an impact on the environmental footprint of its dairy products.

The retailer has long had night blinds installed on chillers, where practical. This simple equipment can cut energy use by 70% when in use.

Newer equipment being rolled out across M&S’s entire 600-food store portfolio can trim 5% off the power consumption of refrigeration units and, unlike the night blinds, it is suitable for every store. Attaching a weir guard – a 10cm high perspex panel to the lower edge of the fridge keeps more cool air in for longer. Around two-thirds of stores are now equipped, with plans to roll it out to the rest.

Unit efficiency is being further, boosted by clamping down on the temperature swings inside the cabinet. And the retailer is experimenting with using CO2 as a refrigerant, which is more efficient and less damaging to the environment if it leaks.