In the interest of full disclosure, I should say that I saw the kudos recently at midday on a weekday (when many, including myself, should have been working), on a cable TV show (“Modern Marvels,” not a giant in TV ratings), on a cable TV network (the History Channel, Channel 621 where I live … way up there in the cable channel numbers), and it was an episode dating back to 2006 (talk about reruns of reruns).

But even though the “Modern Marvels” episode on supermarkets was seven years old (and a few folks quoted are long gone from their positions), the point is that cold storage was accorded attention for the first third of the hour-long show before moving to customer conveniences and enticements. From the episode we learn that one-third of the energy for refrigeration in the United States is used by supermarkets, that frozen food should be kept at -15°F, that food transportation vehicles have 4,000 Btu, that milk and cheese need very precise cooling temperatures to stay safe, etc.

That’s pretty familiar territory to those who work in the refrigeration sector, especially those who deal with supermarket refrigeration. But it was good that a program designed for a general audience gave so much attention to the importance of the technology.

And, frankly, what service contractors and technicians are able to do when it comes to cooling and freezing is truly a modern marvel.

Publication date: 6/24/2013