Do you ever ship stuff that’s supposed to be refrigerated, only to get complaints from the buyers that it was warm when it arrived at their doorstep? This can be hard to deal with, but there is something you can get in order to make sure that the perishable goods stay cool during the shipping process.
This is cold packaging. Essentially, cold packaging is a variety of techniques and materials that are used for maintaining lower temperatures, in order to preserve the integrity of the frozen goods.
There are many factors that play into this, so it’s important to ensure that the items are cold throughout the whole shipping process.
In our world, the cold packaging demand has started to increase by a lot. With people wanting a chance to get food and products that are right there on the doorstep, it can be important to look at.
Meal kits, fresh produce, even medicines and biological samples require some cold packaging that’s reliable, and good for you to use.
But, to make sure that the packaging remains cold is a huge challenge for them to do.
Cold packaging isn’t just the insulation that’s needed, and refrigerants, you should also look at planning, ensuring that it’s careful, various materials that are specialized, and coordination that’s efficient.
Here, we’ll go over when to use cold packaging, as they’re good options for businesses. But the right options play a major part in the overall wellness of the packaging at hand.
When to Use It
Cold packaging is vital for perishables, such as frozen, fresh foods, pharmaceuticals, and other items that are temperature-sensitive.
They’re susceptible to various spoilage, and overall degradation if they’re not particularly stored or transported within the correct temperature ranges.
For the most part, they need to stay between 32 and 29 degrees Fahrenheit, as this will prevent the bacteria from getting in there and spoiling the food.
But frozen foods can only get up to about 11 degrees before they start to get spoiled and melted, so it requires more needs and other protection too.
The fluctuations do affect the stability of your product, and the overall shelf life. By reducing this lifespan, it can impact the fluctuations that happen during various stages of the journey of the product.
Cold packaging lowers the risk that comes with shipping various temperature-sensitive items. It also confirms the overall integrity, and the effectiveness of this temperature-sensitive item, especially as it’s preserved throughout the various parts of the supply chain.
Cold Packaging types
Now that you know when to use it, here are some of the most common types.
First, we’ve got cooler kits, which is an insulated bag and container, used to keep the items nice and cold during the transit process. They’re filled with ice, or gel packs, and overall maintain a lowered temperature within this container.
Cooler kits are used for medicines and foods that are super perishable.
Cold bricks are larger ones. They’re literally bricks used to insulate the items, keeping them ice cold.
Typically made from materials that are nontoxic, they’re made to stay much longer than a normal ice pack.
Cold bricks are used to help with situations where maintaining consistently cold temperatures is very important.
Finally, we’ve got cold temperature tape, which seals the items that are cold. The tape is made for lower temperatures, so it’s perfect for shipping long distances.
Cold temperature packaging is vital, and to keep items safe, you’ve got to use this tape whenever you can to preserve this overall freshness as well.