Ensuring accurate and consistent temperatures during the shipment of temperature-sensitive animal health products poses a significant challenge. When temperature fluctuations occur during shipping, the effectiveness of these products can diminish, rendering them less safe or even ineffective for animals. Delays in transit, packaging failures or unexpected environmental conditions can all lead to temperature breaches.
The range of animal health products is vast and includes vaccines, antibiotics, hormones and feed additives. Each product has unique storage and shipping requirements and requires a tailored approach to packaging and shipping.
Here are some tips for cold chain shipping animal health products.
The Importance of Cold Chain Shipping for Animal Health Products
Animal health products are sensitive and require strict temperature control to maintain efficacy and safety throughout storage and transport. Veterinary medicines, in particular, often face unique challenges. Many veterinary vaccines and treatments are derived from biological materials that are particularly sensitive to temperature fluctuations.
According to the American Animal Hospital Association, refrigerated veterinary vaccines should be stored between 35.6 and 46.4 degrees Fahrenheit (2 and 8 degrees Celsius). Some vaccines, like freeze-dried and liquid single-dose vaccines, need to remain refrigerated until the time of administration.
The Impact of Temperature Fluctuations
To ensure the integrity of animal health products, it is important to preserve them throughout the shipping process — whether from the manufacturer to a veterinary clinic, farm or distribution center. Some negative effects of temperature fluctuations on these products include:
- Reduced efficacy: Inappropriate temperature exposure can alter active ingredients, rendering vaccines and medications ineffective. High temperatures cause chemical reactions that break down active compounds, while freezing temperatures may separate or crystallize these products.
- Higher contamination risk: Some biological samples need to be refrigerated. If they’re not stored correctly and at the right temperatures, bacterial growth may develop.
- Financial losses: Compromised products lead to wastage, resulting in significant losses for veterinarians and suppliers.
Common Challenges in Animal Health Cold Chain Logistics
Cold chain logistics face numerous challenges, including:
- Delays in transit: Shipping delays are a common issue. Traffic, weather and customs can add to these delays and can lead to temperature deviations.
- Packaging failures: Packaging helps maintain temperatures during transit. However, inadequate insulation can result in temperature changes, especially during loading and unloading. Loose or missing seals and physical damage to the packaging can also allow outside air to enter.
- Contamination risks: Inadequate temperature control can lead to microbial growth and cross-contamination, further jeopardizing the safety of animal health products.
- Human error: Improper handling or failure to follow proper procedures can cause issues during shipping.
- Infrastructure limitations: Limited access to refrigerated trucks can make maintaining the right temperatures more challenging.
Best Practices in the Animal Health Supply Chain
Several approaches help ensure the integrity and efficacy of animal health products during storage and transportation.
1. Proper Packaging
The following insulated shipping solutions are designed to keep a consistent temperature range:
- Polystyrene foam boxes: This material is lightweight, great for insulation and ideal for long trips.
- Insulated cardboard boxes: Cardboard boxes are eco-friendly and can be equipped with thermal liners to help maintain temperature.
- Thermal bags or gel packs: These smaller packaging solutions are effective for smaller shipments or last-mile deliveries.
Supplementing packaging with gel packs for shipping offers many advantages:
- Cost-effectiveness: Gel packs cost less than electric-powered temperature control devices.
- Safety: Gel packs are nontoxic and safer to handle than dry ice.
- Sustainability: Some gel packs are compostable and recyclable.
To make the most of packaging solutions, minimize empty space within a package to improve thermal performance by reducing air circulation. You can also place a buffer between refrigerants and temperature-sensitive products to prevent the product from becoming too cold. It’s also important to label packages with temperature requirements and handling instructions to ensure proper care during transit.
2. Monitoring and Temperature Tracking
Live temperature tracking devices and data loggers can help ensure temperature-sensitive items remain within their required temperature ranges. Examples of temperature monitoring devices include:
- Digital loggers: These devices record and monitor temperature changes during transit. They can be configured to log data at specific intervals and provide a detailed history of temperature conditions.
- Thermal indicators: These are simple labels that visually indicate whether a shipment has remained within its ideal temperature range by changing color. They are often used for quick checks during handling.
- Temperature sensor GPS tracking: This technology provides ongoing temperature tracking for shipments and provides alerts for temperature breaches, allowing for immediate corrective action.
3. Preventive Measures
Inspecting containers for integrity issues can help minimize contamination risks. It’s also a good idea to implement strict sanitation protocols for staff and transport vehicles. If you’re using monitoring devices, ensure they are functioning correctly and calibrated before shipping. This includes checking battery levels and confirming that data loggers are set to the appropriate logging intervals.
Tips for Animal Health Cold Chain Success
Here are some additional tips to consider for shipping animal health products:
- Collaborate with trusted logistics partners: Choose logistics partners with a proven track record of handling temperature-sensitive products. Ensure they comply with industry best practices and have experience in the animal health sector.
- Establish clear communication: Develop clear communication protocols with your logistics partners. Share specific handling instructions for temperature-sensitive products, and ensure all parties understand the necessity of maintaining temperature control.
- Account for possible delays: Anticipate potential delays in transit and understand their implications on product integrity. Factor in additional time for shipping to minimize the risk of temperature excursions.
- Prepare contingency plans: Develop contingency plans to address potential risks. These plans could include alternative shipping routes, backup refrigeration options or emergency contacts for quick decision-making.
- Get insured: Consider investing in insurance policies that cover spoilage due to temperature excursions, even if the product remains technically safe. Insurance policies can provide financial protection against unexpected losses.
- Foster a culture of safety and compliance: Train staff on the specific requirements for handling temperature-sensitive products. Foster a culture of safety and compliance, encourage open communication about potential issues, and empower employees to take action if they notice any temperature deviations or packaging concerns.
- Supplement packaging with gel packs: Gel packs can help protect pharmaceuticals, including animal vaccines and other products.
Ship Animal Health Products With Gel Packs From Pelton Shepherd
Gel packs are a refrigerant used in packaging to keep temperature-sensitive products, like animal health products, at the appropriate temperature range. They can help protect refrigerated or frozen products, making them a flexible solution.
Pelton Shepherd Industries is trusted when temperature matters. We give you peace of mind with high-quality, cost-effective cold packaging solutions. Our gel pack options are available in various sizes, shapes and eutectic points to meet precise temperature control needs for life science products. If you have different sizing needs, we can customize our gel packs to your specifications.
Contact our team for tailored solutions to your shipping gel pack needs.
