Walk-in cold rooms (WICR) play a critical role in maintaining product quality in agricultural value chains such as dairy, meat, fish, and flowers. These sectors depend on cold storage to reduce post-harvest losses and to maintain freshness and market value. Cold rooms are vital for extending the shelf life of many perishable products to improve nutrition and economic stability in regions where agricultural production underpins livelihoods.

Deployment of cold rooms in off-grid, rural, and weak grid environments has accelerated but commercial markets for WICR in most Global South regions remain nascent. A key challenge is the limited availability of reliable information on the performance and capabilities of cold room systems. Technical specification data published by suppliers is very limited and almost always non-comparable so buyers cannot assess which might meet their specific needs.

A standardized approach to publishing technical data for WICR is required, underpinned by an agreed test method to evaluate performance. To address this need, CLASP, in collaboration with the VeraSol program and the World Bank’s ESMAP, has developed a draft WICR Quality Assurance Framework. This framework defines a performance testing process (with a field test protocol and an optional lab test),  a standardized WICR product information sheet template, and recommended standards for other aspects of WICR product and service quality. The goal is to ensure transparency of performance information for buyers and deployment of high-quality cold storage equipment that meets target market needs in the Global South. VeraSol is working with stakeholders to apply this framework as a fair and reliable evaluation process to strengthen and accelerate development of the WICR market.

Comments on the documents are welcome, please contact Chris Carlsen ccarlsen.consultant@clasp.ngo.