Are you looking to ship perishable goods for your business? If the answer is yes, then you need to know a few things first.
Shipping perishable items have always been difficult especially shipping parcel to Australia. Not only do you have to find suitable containers, but, you have to ensure they arrive quickly. This helps to ensure the goods are safe to eat and are not harmful to the consumer.
Failure to do this could have devastating consequences.
But fortunately, there are now great ways to transport perishable goods. Keep reading and we’ll share the best ways you can ship your items so they arrive safely.
First Be Clear on How to Keep the Food Safe
For certain food items such as ice cream and popsicles, it’s clear that they need to be frozen. But, do you know exactly what temperature they need to be stored at?
When shipping items, you need to know the exact temperature they have to be kept at. This helps keep them in good condition and more importantly, safe to consume.
If you get this wrong, or cannot achieve the right temperature inside the package, it may become a health and safety issue. This could then result in legal action being taken against you.
How to Ship Refrigerated Items?
It’s highly recommended to use gel coolants over wet ice to ship refrigerated goods.
Gel coolants can be wrapped around the product and placed inside cool containers, ensuring they stay cold and are less likely to move. Whereas wet ice can cause a lot of problems especially if there’s a leak in the package.
So, to transport refrigerated goods we recommended following these steps:
- Buy an insulated container large enough to store the product(s) and gel coolants
- Place a 2 mil plastic liner inside
- Carefully place your product into the middle of the container
Surround it with gel coolants that have been chilled/frozen according to the manufacturer’s instructions. If you can, surround the sides and top of the product. - Close the linear bag
- Fix the lid back onto the container
- Place it inside a suitable corrugated cardboard box with perishable written on it.
How to Ship Frozen Goods?
It’s recommended to use dry ice when shipping frozen foods. Dry ice is carbon dioxide in solid form. The advantage of it is it doesn’t thaw into a liquid, but gas.
To ship the perishable goods, follow the same steps for refrigerated items shown above but use dry ice blocks instead of gel coolants. Plus, you need to ensure that you don’t seal the liner bag. This is because the carbon dioxide gas needs to be able to vent.
Remember not to use dry ice when shipping live animals such as lobsters. It’s also hazardous for air travel and must fully comply with air carrier regulations.
How to Transport Perishable Items Safely?
We hope this guide on shipping perishable items has been useful to you.
As you can see, there are certain steps you need to take perishable Items to ensure the goods arrive safely. If you ever have any doubts about transporting items, contact the courier company for advice.
Finally, check out our blog for other business advice.
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