Products That Need Cold Chain: Shipping Temperatures by Product
A vaccine, a case of strawberries and a container of shrimp all ship "cold," but not the same kind of cold. The first is damaged if it freezes. The second lasts only a few days even near 0 °C. The third can't rise above -18 °C at any point in the trip.
This guide answers one question, product by product: what temperature does it ship at? It sorts the products in our cold chain and frozen catalog by family, with the equipment each one needs and what goes wrong when the temperature is missed.
These ranges are common industry references. The range that rules is the one on the manufacturer's spec sheet or in your buyer's specification.
The four levels of cold
| Level | Typical range | How it's held |
|---|---|---|
| Cool, controlled | Around 10 to 15 °C | Truck or reefer with a high set point |
| Refrigerated | 2 to 8 °C for pharma; near 0 °C for many fresh goods | Refrigerated truck, reefer container or validated passive packaging |
| Frozen | -18 °C or colder | Refrigerated truck or reefer in frozen mode |
| Ultra-cold and cryogenic | Around -70 °C with dry ice; below -150 °C with liquid nitrogen | Validated packaging with dry ice, or a cryogenic shipper |
The line between the first two levels and the last two is the freezing point. Crossing it in either direction is usually irreversible: a refrigerated product that freezes is damaged, and a frozen product that thaws isn't saved by freezing it again.
For how the service works end to end, see our cold chain logistics page.
Reference table: product, range, equipment and risk
| Product | Typical shipping range | Equipment | Main risk |
|---|---|---|---|
| Traditional vaccines, insulin and biologics | 2 to 8 °C | Validated passive packaging and a data logger | Accidental freezing or heat |
| Ultra-cold (mRNA) vaccines | Around -70 °C | Validated packaging with dry ice | Dry ice running out |
| Reagents and diagnostic tests | Per spec sheet: 2 to 8 °C, around -20 °C or -70 °C | Passive packaging with gel packs or dry ice | One excursion voids the kit |
| Plasma and blood products | Frozen, -18 °C or colder | Dry ice or a unit in frozen mode | Partial thawing |
| Whole blood | Refrigerated, never frozen; set by the responsible institution | Medical-grade cooler | Freezing or heat |
| Stem cells and genetic material | Cryogenic, below -150 °C | Cryogenic shipper with liquid nitrogen | Nitrogen running out |
| Frozen meat, poultry, fish and seafood | -18 °C or colder | Reefer container or refrigerated truck | Thawing and refreezing |
| Fresh fish | Near 0 °C, on ice | Insulated box with ice or gel packs; air freight | Hours lost on the ramp |
| Berries | Near 0 °C | Pre-cooling, air freight or refrigerated truck | Mold and softening |
| Avocados | Around 5 to 7 °C | Reefer, often with controlled atmosphere | Early ripening or chilling injury |
| Mangoes and other tropical fruit | Around 10 to 13 °C | Reefer with a high set point | Chilling injury if overcooled |
| Fresh dairy | Around 2 to 6 °C | Refrigerated truck | Shortened shelf life |
| Cut flowers | 0 to 4 °C, depending on the species | Pre-cooling and air freight | Fewer days of vase life |
| Ice cream | -18 °C or colder, with no swings | Reefer or truck in frozen mode | Ice crystals and damaged texture |
| Frozen vegetables, fries and ready meals | A constant -18 °C | Reefer or truck in frozen mode | Frost and product fused into blocks |
| Fine chocolate | Cool, below 16 °C and at low humidity | Reefer or controlled unit | Melting or bloom |
Pharma and biologics
Most cold-chain medicines ship at 2 to 8 °C: traditional vaccines, insulin, biologics, oncology drugs, serums and antidotes. The most common mistake isn't heat, it's too much cold: a vial resting against a gel pack straight out of the freezer can freeze inside a box that reads 5 °C.
Ultra-cold vaccines, such as mRNA products, are stored at -70 °C and ship in validated packaging with dry ice.
What goes wrong: a single temperature excursion can be enough for the batch to be rejected. That's why every shipment carries a data logger and packaging qualified for the real length of the transit.
Many lab reagents are also dangerous goods. Our guide to shipping paints and chemical reagents covers that side.
Blood, samples and biological material
Three kinds of cold live here. Clinical samples ship refrigerated or frozen on dry ice, depending on the test. Plasma and blood products ship frozen. Stem cells and genetic material are cryopreserved with liquid nitrogen, which boils at -196 °C, in cryogenic shippers that hold the cargo below -150 °C.
Whole blood and human organs for transplant are controlled material. They ship refrigerated and never frozen, in medical-grade coolers, only on behalf of the authorized holder, with the permits the authorities require, with specialized operators and in coordination with the responsible institution, which sets the range and the timing.
What goes wrong: time. These shipments almost always fly, on short windows. See our air freight service.
Meat, fish and seafood
For frozen product there's one rule: -18 °C or colder from the plant to destination. It applies to beef, pork, poultry, shrimp, salmon, tuna and bait. Sashimi-grade tuna is the exception on the low side: it typically ships ultra-frozen, at around -60 °C, in special equipment.
For fresh product the margin is narrow. Vacuum-packed meat typically ships between 0 and 4 °C. Fresh fish ships near 0 °C, the temperature of melting ice.
What goes wrong: with frozen cargo, partial thawing at a transshipment or a border crossing. Once it refreezes it looks intact, but it arrives with frost and damaged texture. With fresh cargo, every warm hour shortens shelf life. These products also need animal-health certificates.
Fruit and vegetables
This family has the widest spread of ranges, because the product is still alive after harvest: it breathes, ripens and gives off heat.
- Near 0 °C: berries, leafy greens, fresh herbs, mushrooms and apples.
- Around 5 to 7 °C: avocados, to slow ripening on export routes.
- Around 10 to 13 °C: mangoes and other tropical fruit. Citrus also ships warmer than apples, depending on the variety.
The risk cuts both ways. Heat speeds up ripening and mold. Too much cold causes chilling injury in tropical produce: spots and decay that show up days later. That's why products with different ranges don't share a unit.
What lasts weeks, such as avocados, citrus and apples, moves in reefer containers by ocean freight, often with controlled atmosphere. What lasts days, like berries, flies.
Dairy and eggs
Pasteurized milk, yogurt and liquid probiotics ship refrigerated, typically between 2 and 6 °C. Fresh cheeses ship in that same cold; aged cheeses tolerate a little more, but need humidity control. Pasteurized liquid egg and cold-pressed juices, which skip heat pasteurization, need constant cold: 3 °C for the juices.
What goes wrong: fresh dairy gives no warning. An afternoon on a warm dock doesn't show on the box, but it shortens shelf life.
Flowers and live plants
Cut flowers are chilled to keep them dormant. Roses and tulips ship at 0 to 4 °C, depending on the species, almost always by air and pre-cooled before the box is closed. Cuttings, bulbs and live plants need a milder cold; the grower sets the range.
What goes wrong: every hour out of range takes days off vase life. They also cross borders with a phytosanitary certificate.
Processed frozen foods
Ready meals, pizzas, IQF vegetables and fruit, pre-fried potatoes, dough, pulps and ice cream share one set point: a constant -18 °C from the plant to the shelf. Ice cream is the most delicate: any swing forms ice crystals and changes the texture.
What goes wrong: short, repeated breaks. Doors left open during loading, a truck that wasn't pre-cooled, a reefer unplugged at a transshipment.
Specialty items: chocolate, film and cosmetics
Not everything that needs cold needs a lot of it. Fine chocolate melts or loses its shine above 16 °C, and it doesn't tolerate humidity either: if it comes out of excessive cold, water condenses and leaves a whitish film. It ships cool and dry. Chocolates are among the real cargo in our track record.
Photographic and X-ray film degrade with heat and ship cool or refrigerated, per the manufacturer. Preservative-free cosmetics ship at 2 to 8 °C, just like a medicine.
What equipment each range needs
- Refrigerated truck. Holds chilled or frozen cargo on the road. It doesn't cool warm product: the cargo must be loaded at temperature. See ground transportation.
- Reefer container. The same principle for ocean transits of weeks.
- Validated passive packaging. Insulated boxes with gel packs, qualified for a range and a number of hours. It's the usual choice for pharma by air.
- Dry ice. It sublimates at -78.5 °C and holds frozen and ultra-cold cargo. In air transport it's declared as dangerous goods UN1845. Work out the amount with our dry ice calculator (in Spanish).
- Liquid nitrogen. For cryopreserved material, in cryogenic shippers.
- Data loggers. On every range. They are the evidence that the product stayed in range.
How Kold Gold handles it
We start from the spec sheet: range, tolerance and shelf life. From there we define the mode of transport, equipment, packaging, refrigerant and a contingency plan for every crossing and transshipment. We coordinate air, ocean and ground with customs clearance.
We operate in the world's busiest international ports and at every customs office in Mexico. We speak your language: multilingual agents.
Browse the 51 products in cold chain and frozen or the full cargo catalog. To get a quote, open our freight quote tool with your product's temperature range at hand. Message us on WhatsApp or call +52 55 8897 4255 (Mexico) or +1 (619) 359-6567 (United States). You can also write to direccion@kold.gold.