Product Code Database
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. Common goods, sometimes called cool cargo,Lou Smyrlis (19 September 2013). "CN's Claude Mongeau preaches 'eco-system of collaboration' at Port Days" , Canadian Transportation Logistics, Retrieved 20 September 2013 distributed in cold chains include fresh agricultural produce, seafood, frozen food, photographic film, chemicals, and pharmaceutical products. 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. https://www.who.int/docs/default-source/searo/india/publications/immunization-handbook-107-198-part2.pdf
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 Decomposition and always en-route towards end use or destination. Adequate cold storage, in particular, can be crucial to prevent food loss and waste.
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, for which they obtained a patent on 12 July 1940, 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, Eight Black American Inventors by Robert C. Hayden Addison-Wesley, 1972; pp. 46- 50.
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.
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 Tozinameran 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.
In 2020, during the COVID-19 pandemic, vaccines being developed may need ULT freezer and transportation temperatures as cold as , requiring what has been referred to as a "colder chain" infrastructure. 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.
A cold chain can be managed by a quality management system. Temperature data loggers and RFID tags help monitor the temperature history of the truck, reefer container, warehouse, etc. and the temperature history of the product being shipped. They also can help determine the remaining shelf life. Also, temperature sensors may need to be National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) traceable depending on the body monitoring the cold chain.
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