The cold chain is a shorthand reference to the cold supply chain. This refers to the way of getting products from Point A to Point B (and often Point C and D and so on) in a temperature-controlled environment. The cold chain is a vital part of many industries and, unbeknownst to us,  affects all our lives. The more you know about the cold chain, the better you will understand how products like fresh or frozen food and certain pharmaceutical drugs safely get to us.

The cold chain is frequently in the news in 2021. It is a key piece of COVID-19 vaccine distribution. Several of the approved vaccines need to be distributed and stored at extremely cold temperatures; all of them currently require some type of refrigeration. The cold chain is making it possible for us to get these vaccines from the pharmaceutical companies to all of us so that life can get back to normal.

Like many business practices and processes, the cold chain uses its own terminology. People who are intimately familiar with the cold chain use a certain short-hand way of discussing it that can be confusing to someone on the outside. To give you a better idea of what people are talking about when they discuss the cold chain, we have put together this list of 10 cold chain terms to know.

Cold Chain Management

This is an all-encompassing term used to describe facilitating the entire multi-step cold chain process. Cold chain management starts with production and preparation of products for transit and continues through the cold transportation itself. It also considers the storage and display of temperature-sensitive products.

Data loggers

Data loggers are small electronic devices that use sensors to track and store environmental data in a space. This data can include temperature, pressure, humidity, and other factors. As this Dickson article covers, data loggers are an essential tool for monitoring temperature and other environmental conditions.

Although data loggers have long been used in the cold chain, new advancements in data loggers - specifically internet-connected IoT data loggers that can be monitored by a remote cloud-based monitoring system - are helping to make the cold chain even more efficient in 2021.

Distribution Temperature     

This term refers to the specific temperature or temperature range at which a product must be held throughout the distribution process. In the cold chain, this can be simple refrigeration (around 40 degrees Fahrenheit), frozen (around 0 degrees Fahrenheit), or in a deep freeze (in the neighborhood of -22 to -58 degrees Fahrenheit). There is even a range colder than this in the cold chain. An ultra-deep freeze may be needed for some products, a temperature in the range of -76 to -112 degrees Fahrenheit.

Dry Ice

Dry ice is the industrial term for solid carbon dioxide. In the cold chain, dry ice is often used as a cooling agent for certain foods and pharmaceuticals. Dry ice sublimates (turns from a solid to a gas) at a very cold temperature, -109.2 degrees Fahrenheit. When packed with temperature-sensitive materials and products in an insulated container, dry ice can keep the product very cold for a very long time.

The temperature of dry ice is much colder than ice made from water.  Since it turns into a gas, not a liquid, it is less messy than normal ice. Dry ice is so useful in the cold chain that, in 2020 and 2021, there are concerns about a shortage of the substance due to its effectiveness in helping to transport COVID vaccines.

FDA    

The United States Food and Drug Administration is a federal agency that is part of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Founded in the early 1900s with the passage of the 1906 Pure Food and Drug Act, the FDA serves to monitor and enforce a variety of public health laws. Its main function is overseeing the food, pharmaceutical, and cosmetics industry. It is the FDA that sets many of the regulations for the cold chain and that dictates how and when the cold chain is used.

Packout          

This is the process of packing temperature-sensitive materials for transportation. It includes fitting the products into the space along with any refrigerants, protective material, or anything else that needs to be shipped along with the products.

Refrigerants   

These are any type of material used to cool temperature-sensitive products in the cold chain. This includes materials such as dry ice, ice, and different types of gels and phase-change materials (PCM). PCMs are any materials that release or absorb energy to cool or heat a space as it changes between liquid, solid, or gas states.

SOP

This stands for standard operating procedure. SOP is a step-by-step guide of how to do something required in a process or practice. It is a term used in many industries as well as in relation to the cold chain. Each type of product being transported has different requirements, and so each will have a different cold chain SOP.

Temperature-Sensitive Product

Any time the freshness, stability, safety, or effectiveness of a product is affected by time spent outside of a specific temperature range, that product is considered to be temperature-sensitive. A wide range of products fall under this category in the food, pharmaceutical, and cosmetics industries. Other industries also deal in temperature-sensitive products (aerospace, healthcare, and precision manufacturing industries) but we don't think of them in this capacity. 

Temperature (Thermal) Mapping

Temperature mapping - also called thermal mapping when temperature and humidity are mapped - is a process whereby a space is monitored over time and under many conditions to create a comprehensive map of the environmental conditions throughout the space. This process helps ensure a space is suitable for the cold chain and also tells users what will happen under adverse conditions.

Conclusion

These 10 terms should help give you a better understanding of not only the verbiage used when discussing the cold chain but also about the cold chain itself. The cold chain affects all our lives, especially in 2021, so it is definitely worth learning something more about it.