BY TOBY GOOLEY, CONTRIBUTING EDITOR
AIR FREIGHT

Shipping
perishable
products by air?
Here are five
steps shippers
can take to help
ensure proper
temperatures
throughout
the journey.

LONG AGO, FRESH PRODUCE, MEATS, and seafood were available only during certain seasons and within a comparatively short distance of where they were grown and harvested. Then came advances in packaging, refrigeration, and transportation, which allowed, for example, railroads to carry oysters from the Chesapeake Bay to St. Louis, and trucks to deliver vegetables from California’s Central Valley to Minneapolis at certain times of the year. Today, consumers expect to buy their favorite fresh products—fresh blueberries, lobsters, roses, and much more—all year ’round.

For perishables with a short shelf life, shipping by air—by far the fastest mode of transportation—has become the preferred way to go. And it may be tempting to think that an aircraft’s flight time is all shippers need to worry about when it comes to ensuring freshness. But maintaining the proper temperature throughout the shipment’s journey, from pickup at origin to delivery at the destination, is the real key to ensuring freshness and quality. Here are five steps shippers can take to help their perishable products maintain temperature integrity and reach consumers in peak condition.