A cold chain is a temperature-controlled supply chain comprising refrigerated production, storage and distribution facilities supported by equipment that can constantly maintain the required low-temperature range. The cold chain deals with perishable, temperature-sensitive goods (also called cool cargo) such as fresh produce, meat, dairy, seafood, chemicals, pharmaceuticals, flowers, wine, etc.
For many years, cold chain logistics has been an essential part of transporting perishable food and supplies from one place to another. The technology and process of Cold chain logistics allow for the safe transport of temperature-sensitive goods and products along the supply chain. It relies heavily on science to evaluate and accommodate for the link between temperature and perishability. Temperature-sensitive goods must be shipped along supply chains just like any other product, and there’s a lot of science and technology that goes into retaining freshness while moving these items.
The cold chain refers to managing the temperature of perishable products in order to maintain quality and safety from the point of origin through the distribution chain to the final consumer.
As many countries of the world have become more developed and living standards have improved, people are more aware of the need for fresh, quality products. As the consequence of this, there is high demand for temperature-sensitive products to be transported over long distances safely from the point of origin through the distribution chain to the final consumer.
Normally, a specific low-temperature range has to be maintained to ensure the quality and integrity of perishable goods, i.e., some groups of products have to be refrigerated, some must be frozen, while yet others require extreme conditions (so-called ultralow chain or deep freeze). Failure to maintain the right temperature leads to product spoilage and, ultimately, financial losses.
Cold chain logistics is a set of activities aimed at handling and transporting such items securely from the manufacturer or supplier to consumer.
Without doubt, the longer the journey between the original supplier and end consumer and the more transportation modes involved, the more difficult it is to maintain the necessary temperature. For example, in the case of international shipping, freight sometimes goes through multiple storage facilities or distribution centers and has to be reloaded several times. Unless items are permanently kept in a sealed refrigerated container, all these activities increase the risks of temperature fluctuations.
Within the cold chain logistics process, the packaging, storage, and shipping stages cause the greatest complications.
Ensuring optimal temperature starts with selecting the proper type of packaging, container, and refrigerating method: depends on multiple factors, such as
For every type of temperature-sensitive shipment, different packaging is used. For example, vaccines are transported in small insulated boxes, while 53 foot reefers with inbuilt refrigerating units are used to haul foodstuff.
Warehousing is a complex system that involves numerous processes from storage itself to consolidation/de-consolidation to loading/unloading. Within cold chains, specialized warehouse facilities also often offer such focused services as blast freezing, pre-cooling, frozen receiving, ripening, inspection checks, and more.
At this stage, it’s important to design appropriate facilities with optimal climate control (both for storage and loading areas) as well as implement certain practices when handling perishable goods.
Transporting cool cargo requires specialized equipment known as reefers or freezers. Those are special refrigerated trucks, railcars, cargo ships, and aircraft. Often, not only temperature but also humidity must be controlled, so such equipment has to be capable of that as well.
There’s one more process that’s hard to put in a stage sequence but that’s still crucial in any supply chain. Tracking shipments while en route is always important, but in the case of cold chain, monitoring cargo environmental conditions is essential to ensure efficiency. Shippers, carriers, and consignees alike want to have access to monitoring data for quality assurance and performance assessment.
Cold chain pharmaceutical products, including modern biologic therapeutics such as monoclonal antibodies and vaccines, cellular and gene therapies, certain types of insulin, and some cancer treatments, require a reliable infrastructure for maintaining a precise temperature range when transporting from the manufacturer to the patient.
Pharmaceutical cold chain management requires the conscientious use of specialized machinery and equipment for creating and maintaining low temperatures. The components of the pharmaceutical supply that must be kept cold need uninterrupted low temperatures, from production to patient. These temperatures must be monitored and tracked at regular intervals to verify that the cold chain has remained unbroken.
For pharmaceuticals that only require freezing or near freezing temperatures, the cargo holds of refrigerated trucks or ships can be used to transport materials. A refrigeration unit works using the same principles as a home refrigerator or air conditioner: it keeps the cargo area at freezing or near freezing temperatures. Dry ice, or frozen carbon dioxide, may be used to keep temperatures low when traveling between controlled environments.
However, some parts of the global medical supply chain actually require cryogenic freezing, defined as temperatures below negative 150° Celsius or negative 238° Fahrenheit. Current technology can only maintain these temperatures in specialized vessels that use liquid nitrogen or other liquified gases to maintain these extremely low temperatures. Because these specialized vessels maintain low temperatures by allowing the liquid nitrogen to boil off over time, they must be configured in a way that allows the gases to escape safely as they boil off.
The cold chain ensures that perishable products are safe and of high quality at the point of consumption. Failing to keep product at the correct temperatures can result in textural degradation, discoloring, bruising, and microbial growth. Moreover, a quality product leads to a satisfied customer, greater demand, and overall protection of public health. Cold chain providers also contribute a great deal to the economy and workforce. The infographic to the right provides more information.
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