Cold chain - Wikipedia
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A cold chain is a supply chain that uses refrigeration to maintain perishable goods, such
as pharmaceuticals, produce or other goods that are temperature-sensitive.[1] Common
goods, sometimes called cool cargo,[2] distributed in cold chains include fresh
agricultural produce,[3] seafood, frozen food, photographic film, chemicals, and
pharmaceutical products.[4] The objective of a cold chain is to preserve the integrity and
quality of goods such as pharmaceutical products or perishable good from production to
consumption. [5] [6]
A well functioning, or unbroken, cold chain requires uninterrupted sequence of
refrigerated production, storage and distribution activities, along with associated
equipment and logistics, which maintain a desired low-temperature interval to keep the
safety and quality of perishable or sensitive products. Unlike other goods or merchandise,
cold chain goods are perishable and always en-route towards end use or destination.
Adequate cold storage, in particular, can be crucial to prevent food loss and waste.[7]
History
Mobile refrigeration with ice from the ice trade began with reefer ships and refrigerator
cars (iceboxes on wheels) in the mid-19th century.[8] The term cold chain was first used in
1908. The first effective cold store in the UK opened in 1882 at St Katharine Docks.[9] It
could hold 59,000 carcasses, and by 1911 cold storage capacity in London had reached
2.84 million carcasses.[9] By 1930 about a thousand refrigerated meat containers were in
use which could be switched from road to railway.[9]
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Mobile mechanical refrigeration was invented by Frederick McKinley Jones, who co-
founded Thermo King with entrepreneur Joseph A. "Joe" Numero. In 1938 Numero sold
his Cinema Supplies Inc. movie sound equipment business to RCA to form the new entity,
U.S. Thermo Control Company (later the Thermo King Corporation), in partnership with
Jones, his engineer. Jones designed a portable air-cooling unit for trucks carrying
perishable food,[10] for which they obtained a patent on 12 July 1940,[11] subsequent to a
challenge to invent a refrigerated truck over a 1937 golf game by associates of Numero's,
Werner Transportation Co. president Harry Werner, and United States Air Conditioning
Co. president Al Fineberg,[12][10][11][13]
This technology has been frequently in use since the 1950s, when it was most often used
for preserving animal-based cells or tissue. As medical breakthroughs, such as in cancer
treatment, have taken place, the demand for cold chain systems has grown. The COVID-
19 pandemic and its associated vaccinations, have caused vastly increased need.[14]
Uses
Cold chains are common in the food and
pharmaceutical industries and also in some chemical
shipments. One common temperature range for a cold
chain in pharmaceutical industries is 2 to 8 °C (36 to
46 °F), but the specific temperature (and time at
temperature) tolerances depend on the actual product
being shipped.
Cold chain being maintained using
ice box while transporting polio
vaccine
Produce
Unique to fresh produce cargoes, the cold chain requires to additionally maintain product
specific environment parameters[3] which include air quality levels (carbon dioxide,
oxygen, humidity and others).
Vaccines
The cold chain is used in the supply of vaccines to distant clinics in hot climates served
by poorly developed transport networks. Vaccines can lose their efficacy if cold chain
management fails.[15] Disruption of a cold chain due to war may produce consequences
similar to the smallpox outbreaks in the Philippines during the Spanish–American War,
during which the distributed vaccines were inert due to lack of temperature control in
transport.[16]
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For vaccines, there are different types of cold chains. There is an ultralow, or deep freeze,
cold chain for vaccines that require -70 degrees C, such as the Ebola and Pfizer–
BioNTech COVID-19 vaccines, and some animal vaccines, such as those for chickens.
Next the frozen chain requires -20 degrees C. Varicella and zoster vaccinations require
this level. Then the refrigerated chain, which requires temperatures between two and
eight degrees C. Most flu vaccinations only require refrigeration.[17]
In 2020, during the COVID-19 pandemic, vaccines being developed may need ultracold
storage and transportation temperatures as cold as −70 °C (−94 °F), requiring what has
been referred to as a "colder chain" infrastructure.[18] This creates some issues of
distribution for the Pfizer vaccine. It is estimated that only 25 to 30 countries in the world
have the infrastructure for the required ultracold cold chain.[17]
Validation
The cold chain distribution process is an extension of the
good manufacturing practice (GMP) environment that all
drugs and biological products are required to follow, and are
enforced by the various health regulatory bodies. As such, the
distribution process must be validated to ensure that there is
no negative impact to the safety, efficacy or quality of the drug
substance. The GMP environment requires that all processes
that might impact the safety, efficacy or quality of the drug
substance must be validated, including storage and
distribution of the drug substance.[18][1]
A cold chain can be managed by a quality management Slurry ice used to ship
system. Temperature data loggers and RFID tags help sensitive food products
monitor the temperature history of the truck, reefer
container, warehouse, etc. and the temperature history
of the product being shipped.[19] They also can help
determine the remaining shelf life.[20] Also,
temperature sensors may need to be National Institute
of Standards and Technology (NIST) traceable
depending on the body monitoring the cold chain.[21]
Truck with cooling system
See also
Sources
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This article incorporates text from a free content work. Licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0
(license statement/permission). Text taken from The State of Food and Agriculture 2019.
Moving forward on food loss and waste reduction, In brief, 24, FAO, FAO.
References
1. ^ Jump up to: a b "The Vaccine Cold Chain" (PDF). [Link]. WHO. Retrieved
19 December 2020.
2. ^ Lou Smyrlis (19 September 2013). "CN's Claude Mongeau preaches 'eco-system
of collaboration' at Port Days" Archived 21 September 2013 at the Wayback
Machine, Canadian Transportation Logistics, Retrieved 20 September 2013
3. ^ Jump up to: a b Kohli, Pawanexh. "Fruits and Vegetables Post-Harvest Care: The
Basics" (PDF). CrossTree techno-visors. Retrieved 6 April 2009.
4. ^ Gyeszly, S. W. "Total System Approach to Predict Shelf Life of Packaged Food
Products". Food Packaging Technology. ASTM International: 46–50.
doi:10.1520/STP14842S.
5. ^ Jump up to: a b c Otter, Chris (2020). Diet for a large planet. USA: University of
Chicago Press. p. 45. ISBN 978-0-226-69710-9.
6. ^ Jump up to: a b "Frederick McKinley Jones". Minnesota Science and Technology
Hall of Fame. Minnesota High Tech Association / Science Museum of Minnesota.
Retrieved 11 February 2010.
7. ^ Jump up to: a b Smith, Jessie Carney (2012). Black Firsts: 4,000 Ground-Breaking
and Pioneering Historical Events. Visible Ink Press. p. 613. ISBN 978-1-57859-424-
5.
8. ^ Kelly, Kate (15 December 2020). "Critical to Vaccines, Cold Storage Is Wall
Street's Shiny New Thing". The New York Times. Retrieved 20 December 2020.
9. ^ Pambudi, Nugroho Agung; Sarifudin, Alfan; Gandidi, Indra Mamad; Romadhon,
Rahmat (2022). "Vaccine cold chain management and cold storage technology to
address the challenges of vaccination programs". Energy Reports. 8: 955–972.
Bibcode:2022EnRep...8..955P. doi:10.1016/[Link].2021.12.039. ISSN 2352-4847.
S2CID 245490703.
10. ^ Jump up to: a b Fischetti, Mark (19 November 2020). "The COVID Cold Chain:
How a Vaccine Will Get to You". [Link]. Scientific American.
Archived from the original on 19 December 2020. Retrieved 20 December 2020.
11. ^ Jump up to: a b Derek Lowe (31 August 2020). "Cold Chain (And Colder Chain)
Distribution". Science Translational Medicine. Retrieved 5 September 2020.
12. ^ Riva, Marco; Piergiovanni, Schiraldi, Luciano; Schiraldi, Alberto (January 2001).
"Performances of time-temperature indicators in the study of temperature exposure
of packaged fresh foods". Packaging Technology and Science. 14 (1): 1–39.
doi:10.1002/pts.521. S2CID 108566613.
13. ^ Meyers, T (June 2007). "RFID Shelf-life Monitoring Helps Resolve Disputes".
RFID Journal. Archived from the original on 30 June 2009.
14. ^ "Cold Chain Temperature Monitoring – Absolute Automation Blog".
[Link]. 27 May 2016. Archived from the original on 24 April 2018.
Retrieved 24 April 2018.
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Further reading
Brecht, Jeffrey K.; Sargent, Steven A.; Brecht, Patrick E.; Saenz, Jorge; Rodowick,
Leonard (2019). Protecting Perishable Foods During Transport by Truck and Rail.
Supersedes USDA Handbook 669 of 1995. Document HS1328 of the Horticultural
Sciences Department, Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences, University of
Florida. Retrieved 9 May 2023.
Brian Lassen, "Is livestock production prepared for an electrically paralysed world?"
J. Sci. Food Agric. 2013;93(1):2–4, Explains the vulnerability of the cold chain from
electricity dependence.
Manual on the Management, Maintenance and Use of Blood Cold Chain
Equipment, World Health Organization, 2005, ISBN 92-4-154673-5
Pawanexh Kohli, "Fruits and Vegetables Post-Harvest Care: The Basics", Explains
why the cold chain is required for fruits and vegetables.
Clive, D., Cold and Chilled Storage Technology, 1997, ISBN 0-7514-0391-1
EN 12830:1999 Temperature recorders for the transport, storage and distribution of
chilled, frozen and deep-frozen/quick-frozen food and ice cream
Ray Cowland, Developing ISTA Cold Chain Environmental Standards, 2007.
Rees, Jonathan (2013). "Chapter 1: Inventing the cold chain". Refrigeration Nation:
A History of Ice, Appliances, and Enterprise in America. Studies in Industry and
Society. Johns Hopkins University Press. pp. 11–30. ISBN 9781421411064.
Nordic Cold Chain Solutions, Manufacturer of temperature-controlled packaging,
[Link]-->
Food preservation
Authority control databases: National Germany
Japan
Vaccine safety
Categories:
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