Food products are one of the most “lively” categories of goods, especially in UK, a country of good food and high-quality culinary products.
There are many parents who, having children and grandchildren who live far from home, usually ship food products (especially home-made): preserves, jams, typical local products that you can consume while remembering the flavors and smells of childhood and of those countries from which we had to start to build a better future.
Not to mention the typical Christmas products that many send to relatives and friends worldwide during this period. So, let’s immediately see how to ship food products and how to prepare the package for transport in the best way.
Today, you can easily ship fresh food with services like Britwrap refrigerated shipping.
How to pack food and prepare a parcel
If you plan to ship food products by courier (which you can find on Britwrap), we give you some tips to prepare the package in the best possible way with the correct protective packaging.
- The first thing to do is get yourself a box (one suitable for shipping) that you think can contain all the products, making sure it’s not too big.
- Wrap the food in newspaper or plastic wrap to protect it from damage.
- If you have to ship cured meats and/or cheeses, ensure they are vacuum-packed and can also travel at room temperature.
- As for canned foods or liquids in tins (such as oil), provide for more resistant protective packaging: put them all in a smaller box and pack each piece in a plastic bag to avoid damaging the rest of the goods in case liquid should leak. Insert some polystyrene sheets in the box to prevent them from moving and being injured.
- Use the same process for glass bottles; these too must be packaged individually (also wrap each bottle with corrugated cardboard) and put in a well-sealed and well-packed box.
- Seal the package with tape; write “FRAGILE” on all sides, especially if glass containers are inside.
How to prepare a package of fresh food
If, on the other hand, you have to ship fresh or frozen (therefore perishable) products, things get a little more complicated. But don’t worry: with the right precautions, it will be child’s play!
Follow these simple steps:
- Get a polystyrene container with a lid between 4 and 6 cm thick;
- Place the various products in special plastic or vacuum-packed food containers in the case of fresh meats, cold cuts and cheeses;
- Place them in the polystyrene container, wrap them and cover them with dry ice or cooling pack;
- Fill all empty spaces inside the package with packing material or newspaper to avoid movement of the product during transport;
- Close the container with the appropriate lid and insert it inside cardboard for shipping;
- Seal the box with adhesive tape and write “FRESH” on all sides of the package.
However, the shipment of food products does not take place only for personal reasons; think, for example, of the handling and import-export of food for commercial and promotional purposes.
But how should this type of transport take place? What standards must be observed? Let’s see what things to know before making a food shipment.
How food is transported
Almost all couriers and transport companies transport food; when we talk about the shipment of foodstuffs, it is important to make two main distinctions: non-perishable and perishable foods (the latter category should then be made a distinction between fresh and frozen, but we will talk about it later).
Ship perishable food products
Let’s briefly see how the transport of perishable food takes place.
This type of shipment must occur with isothermal vehicles equipped with a cold production device; this allows, with an average external temperature of +30°C, to lower the temperature inside the cold room, keeping it constantly stable. There are three types of isothermal vehicles:
- Those of CLASS A is equipped with a cooling system that allows you to choose a temperature between +12°C and 0°C;
- Those of CLASS B, which can reach a temperature between +12°C and –10°C;
- and finally, those of CLASS C reaches a temperature between +12°C and –20°C.
When carrying out transports that fall into one of these categories, carriers must constantly keep the temperature under control.
It is, therefore, impossible to rely on traditional couriers to ship fresh or frozen food products. However, suppose your company has to move this type of goods. In that case, you will need a specialized transport company with all the appropriate means that prepare refrigerated containers and all the certifications issued by the competent authorities.
Ship non-perishable food items
On the other hand, shipments of non-perishable food and beverages are carried out by almost all couriers and transport companies.
Non-perishable foodstuffs (that is, which can be kept at room temperature) include all those foods with a low water content that can be kept for a long time, even in not entirely favorable environments. Most toasted or dried foods such as pasta, pepper, spices, rice, coffee, cocoa, and tea fall into this category. Among the non-perishable foods, there are also freeze-dried ones, canned goods, preserves in preserving liquid (that liquid in which food is immersed that has a preservative function, such as brine, oil, vinegar); some foods preserved in salt also fall into this category.
Even if the vehicle that is used to ship non-perishable food products does not require any specific devices for maintaining the refrigerated temperature, the materials used for the insulation of the container must, in any case, ensure and guarantee a temperature such as to preserve the conservation of the products. This is the case even if the vehicle does not require any particular devices for maintaining the refrigerated temperature. Therefore, having sufficient thermal insulation is essential in order to limit one’s exposure to excessively high temperatures and heat sources, both of which are frequently discouraged on the packaging of a variety of products, particularly beverages.
Transport companies are therefore required to comply with the requirements for conserving each type of food. They must also clean the loading compartments and subject them to regular maintenance.
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