An Inside Look at Food Service in Antarctica

That’s a good thing, because Senty is quick to point out that “much like back in the States, many of our food safety focuses lie within our teams’ ability to consistently follow established processes.”

No Weekly Trips to Grocery Store

Senty orders all the food, which is basically done once a year for the McMurdo and South Pole stations. “Starting in March and April, we put out a notice for bids on our annual supply,” he relates. “We procured our food through Sysco in 2015 and SSA (Systems of America) in 2016. Stay tuned for the 2017 vendor.” (The order is out to bid as we go to press.)

Whomever is awarded the bid does the food packing at their own facility and then delivers it to a USAP-contracted ship in Port Hueneme, Cal.

“We send two Antarctic Support Contract personnel to check the order at the supplier’s facility and ensure we are receiving the correct products and correct amounts,” Senty says. “We also have a U.S. Army Food Safety Officer (FSO) check the products for wholesomeness and minimum shelf life requirements before they are crated for shipping.”

In mid-January, a U.S. Coast Guard icebreaker will break up the ice at McMurdo station, so both the annual fuel tanker and container ship can deliver the food, equipment, and other materials needed for the next year’s program.

“The ship’s trip from California to Antarctica typically takes about 30 days,” Senty mentions, noting that it takes three days to off load all the cargo being delivered to McMurdo.

Senty explains that three data loggers (temperature monitoring devices) are placed in each freezer container before the food is loaded in California. “The ship’s crew will maintain power to the shipping containers to ensure they remain frozen,” he says. “The data loggers will tell us whether there were any failures. In the unfortunate event any of our food was exposed to unsafe temperatures in transit, the food is turned over to the on-site waste department.”

The 2016 shipment included more than 800 crates of food weighing 800 pounds per crate. “We ordered 640,000 pounds of frozen food, plus ‘do not freeze’ food and food that can be frozen, close to one million pounds total,” Senty relates. “The food order that arrived in January 2017 was approximately 20 percent smaller.”

Fresh produce from Australia and New Zealand, called freshies by USAP participants, are flown in seasonally from New Zealand, as weather and airplane space and weight permit.

“Although there are regular flights from New Zealand to McMurdo Station throughout the operating season, there won’t always be space or weight to add fresh produce and other food stuffs,” Senty says. “For example, we may go six to eight weeks without a local delivery or we could get anywhere from 3,000 to 12,000 pounds a week, depending on the size of the airplane.”

Passengers, science needs, parts to fix equipment, etc. all take priority over food, Senty emphasizes. “And so they should, not that my chefs will always agree with that statement,” he quips. “We have ample food on station in our warehouses and supporting science is the reason we are here.”

Senty says hardy fruits and vegetables tend to hold up fine, however softer items are susceptible to the temperature fluctuations that occur during transport or the time it can take to transport them from the port to each station. “That makes any of those softer fruits and veggies a highly valued food item that has a positive impact on morale when they’re available,” Senty points out, adding that fresh strawberries have a particularly tough time surviving in Antarctica.