Knowing how to ship frozen food is critical to your business if you deliver different types of food online.
Whatever food you sell and offer must arrive in perfect condition, fresh, and contamination-free. If your food arrives in poor condition, you will almost certainly lose customers and money.
Before selling and distributing food, you should know certain essential shipping requirements for frozen goods.
So today, we’ll give you a quick but thorough overview of how to ensure that your frozen meals arrive in good condition.
Challenges of Shipping Frozen Food
Many eCommerce entrepreneurs know that shipping virtually frozen or chilled food presents significant difficulties. Just a few examples are as follows:
Extreme Temperatures
Foods that are not properly packed to withstand extreme temperatures can lose quality.
Humidity
Another major threat to frozen foods is humidity, which, like heat, can cause them to spoil.
Spoilage
Again, frozen food vendors face this issue during shipping. No insulated boxes and refrigeration increases the risk of food spoiling before delivery.
Best Practices for Shipping Frozen Food
Online merchants must know how to ship frozen foods via courier without contamination.
Several strategies can be used to overcome these significant obstacles, including:
- Setting up your shipment’s delivery schedule
- Useful shipping boxes and containers
- Consult a reputable shipping company.
- Avoid sloppy packing.
- Food should be properly chilled and packed.
- Making special courier arrangements if required.
How to Package Frozen Food for Shipping
Before loading your frozen food into a truck or a shipping container, be sure it’s adequately cooled.
Here are some tips for preparing frozen and refrigerated meals:
- Ensure baked goods are securely covered and sealed to keep out heat and humidity.
- Foods that must be kept frozen until delivery should be appropriately packaged.
- It is preferable to use waterproof plastic when packaging goods that may leak.
- Seafood should be double-bagged for further weather protection.
- The excess space may be filled with ice packs, bubble wrap, packing peanuts, or craft paper to protect the goods during shipment.
- Include dry ice and frozen gel packets in your frozen food delivery. Always use dry ice in a ventilated box or container.
- Notably, couriers will only accept dry ice packed in an airtight container. Some carriers, including the USPS, will not accept dry ice for international shipments.
- One pound of gel pack is recommended for every three pounds of meat.
- Cookies and other baked products should always be wrapped in wax paper or plastic wrap and packed in boxes with packing peanuts, crumpled newspaper, or other similar materials to avoid crushing.
- Consider using insulated cold shipment boxes inside regular cardboard shipping boxes to transport frozen goods.
Whether you want to ship frozen food in containers, bags, or anything in between, ensure the packaging is appropriately cushioned to prevent excessive movement that could cause damage during transport.
How to Ship Frozen Food With USPS?
Here are some rules to follow when sending frozen food through USPS.
- The USPS does not provide specialized cooling services for packages.
- Dry ice packing is allowed.
- Containers must not leak and must not smell when used. They must NOT be airtight to allow moisture and melted ice gas to escape.
- Dry ice packing is not allowed for international shipments.
- A sturdy polystyrene box is preferable over a cheap styrofoam cooler.
- Packages containing dry ice must have DOT Class 9 miscellaneous hazardous chemical warning signs clearly labeled “Carbon Dioxide Solid, Or Dry Ice.”
- A shipper’s declaration for hazardous products must be completed in triplicate and attached to the shipment’s exterior.
- The packaging must be appropriately labeled with the product name and the dry ice net weight in pounds and kilograms.
How to Ship Frozen Food With UPS?
There are certain restrictions when delivering frozen food through UPS, but it’s usually a great choice.
- If feasible, keep delivery times under 30 hours. Next Day Air is excellent.
- Include a thin plastic liner and a plastic bag inside the box to protect the food.
- Use thick, insulated foam containers to keep food as cold as feasible.
- Dry ice for packing is allowed. Gel packs are another great option but not recommended.
- Exporting dry ice via air is restricted to 5.5 pds.
- If you are exporting dry ice internationally, IATA regulations apply.
How to Ship Frozen Food With FedEx?
FedEx, like UPS, is an excellent option for frozen food delivery. Here are some basic guidelines to follow.
- Consider utilizing FedEx Temp-Assure, a collection of temperature-control technology.
- FedEx offers insulated shipping containers.
- Shipping to the United States requires perishable products to have a minimum transit time of 24 hours longer than the delivery guarantee.
- Use insulated foam containers with little insulation.
- 1-1/2″ (4 cm) thick walls
- Prepare your outer carton for shipment with dry ice by marking and labeling it appropriately.
- To prevent foam containers from harm, place them within sturdy exterior containers.
Choosing the Best Frozen Food Shipping Containers
If you are shipping frozen products, the following packing may assist in keeping them frozen:
- Styrofoam is often used to insulate food delivery containers.
- Dry ice boxes
- Boxes constructed of cardboard with insulated box lining.
Choose a shipping container that is somewhat bigger than your products to accommodate ice packs or dry ice to keep temperatures as low as feasible during transit.
How Much Does It Cost to Ship Frozen Foods?
If you’re wondering how much it will cost to ship frozen, perishable food, the truth is that there is no fixed price.
The cost of transportation depends on the distance, time, weight, and kind of frozen food being delivered.
You should also include the cost of dry ice and packing gel, which is determined by the weight of your goods and the distance they must travel before delivery.
To deliver frozen food cheaply, you must first evaluate the materials required to ship it properly and any additional service costs your courier may levy.
A shipment weighing two to three pounds will typically cost between $30 to $150.
How to ship frozen food FAQs
Styrofoam boxes are used to transport most goods that need to be kept cold and insulated during shipping and handling. A one-pound bag of dry ice will survive for 12 to 24 hours when stored in one of these containers.
Dry ice will eventually melt but at a far slower pace. To avoid melting, handle dry ice with thick rubber gloves. Cover a dry-ice block with newspaper, towels, or a paper bag to prevent it from melting. This will further insulate the block, delaying sublimation.
