Leafy greens at every meal for the navy escort fleet
What stood in the way
Escort missions are long, crews are large and supply bases are far away. Many vegetables were loaded at once and stored together, with simple packs, many handoffs and unsuited cold storage. Leafy greens lasted about 15 days and fruiting vegetables about 20.
A process built for this crop
The Navy Logistics Department’s supplies office asked the Naval Medical Research Institute to find a solution that worked with existing ship facilities. They chose Suzhou Senrui Preservation Equipment (now Synarise), which had led the national 863 project on active and intelligent food packaging. Together they built a complete process: harvest at source, processing and packing, supply to the ship, and storage and management on board.
01Harvest at source
02Process & pack
03Supply to ship
04Store on board
What changed
Spinach, bok choy and other common leafy greens stayed fresh for more than 40 days, and A-choy was still tender at about 60 days. The 5th escort fleet had “leafy greens at every meal”. Dr Hou Jianshe of the Naval Medical Research Institute verified that the effect was long-lasting and reliable.
From now on, long voyages no longer mean “no leafy greens, just radish and cabbage”.
