Has anyone shipped frozen food?

concealer404

Strange question, huh?

But really, i'd like to know.

I'm trying to gather information on shipping something frozen, 2 day transit time max, and the item has to stay right side up. Anyone have any experiences?

Systems

I shipped some homemade ice cream to my sister through fedex. Just used dry ice, made my own cooler with rigid insulation. Worked fine. But, good luck on the container staying right side up....

gdb

I've received frozen food gifts and they were all packed in foam with dry ice, everything was still frozen solid even after 3 or 4 days.:)

TroyD

You can't legally ship dry ice....well, you can, but it has to be certified to IATA or CFR 49 Hazardous Materials regs...

Back in the day, at the Weathervane, we would overnight lobsters (live)...it's doable. Frozen though? Gel packs and overnight it.

BDT

concealer404

Well, if it stays rock solid, it doesn't REALLY matter if it's right side up or not. Me wanting it right side up is just my paranoia showing through about it not staying frozen.

Well in that case, if it's really just that easy, i may have an interesting Karma in the next week or two.

concealer404

TroyD wrote: »

You can't legally ship dry ice....well, you can, but it has to be certified to IATA or CFR 49 Hazardous Materials regs...

Back in the day, at the Weathervane, we would overnight lobsters (live)...it's doable. Frozen though? Gel packs and overnight it.

BDT

Awwww.... maaaaannn.

Everywhere online said to use dry ice, too.

I wonder how many gel packs i'd need, that could get awkward.

janmike

Use newspaper as the first line of insulation. This will help with the insulation. I have shipped frozen food and even after days it was still frozen. These were packed then with gel packs and a cooler.

gdb

You might postpone the shipping date until sometime in January....it'll be a lot colder then.:)

dkg999

We have meat and fish shipped back from trips to the northwest and Alaska. We always have one of the lockers/guide services that specialize in it. Foam coolers inside a box, the food is frozen and sometimes they use dry ice, sometimes they use special gel packs. Making sure the food is vacuum sealed also helps in the case of minor thawing. They all use FedEx express overnight or 2 day delivery.

concealer404

Hrmmm... didn't think of the vaccuum sealing. Not sure how plausible that'll be in my case though, but i'll investigate.

mmadden28

Not sure about the staying right side up thing unless your shipping it yourself....

I've ordered from Kansas City Steaks and Omaha Steaks online several times. Everytime they ship standard 2-day in a thick sturdy Styrofoam box with the boxed frozenmeat packed in Dry Ice packs.

Here's a KS video on how they package:
http://www.kansascitysteaks.com/FAQ-packagingVideo/Index.htm

Here is Omaha's info on how they ship:
http://www.omahasteaks.com/servlet/OnlineShopping?Dsp=18&RAND=BU7921

I would imagine they are using approved shipping containers for shipping with Dry Ice, so you could always order some steaks then reuse the boxes for your shipment.

mmadden28

janmike wrote: »

Use newspaper as the first line of insulation. This will help with the insulation. I have shipped frozen food and even after days it was still frozen. These were packed then with gel packs and a cooler.

One Thanksgiving, my Aunt brought a ham. She had the ham cooked somewhere else - quite far away- a few hours drive I think, anyway she had it in a box packed with newspaper- I was shocked to say the least that the ham was still hot and steaming when we opened it up. Its definitely a decent insulator.

vlam

I never ship frozen food but I've received plenty of frozen food for my fish. They usually come in styrofoam container with a bunch of ice pack. In my last purchase, the shipper didn't even use ice pack. Just pack 10lbs of beefheart tighly in a bag and use USPS next day delivery. It arrived still 90% frozen.

edbert

Depending on what it is, if you lay it out on a cookie sheet, then freeze it and package it, you don't run into everything being one big block of frozen food. If you can't vacuum seal a bag, you can always use freezer ziploc bags and then personally suck out as much air as possible until the bag is tight around the food. Just leave a corner of the bag open to do this. This also helps against freezer burn for any food that you plan on storing for longer periods. You can probably find enough gel packs so that you don't have to worry about using dry ice, but it is effective. We used it in a regular cooler to keep some stuff frozen on a two day trip back from New Mexico and when we started putting it back in the freezer it was making our hands hurt because it was so cold.

Good luck!

heiney9

I would check with whatever service you're using. Most times these things are shipped with dry ice. Depending on if you use Fed Ex or UPS there may be some additional stipulations as far as packing used, etc. Not sure you can ship dry ice through the USPS you'll have to check.

I know for certain Fed Ex will only let you ship next day if you are using dry ice for a perishable item. This can really increase the cost. Also be aware as a single citizen the rules are different for you than they might be for a large corporate company that ships frozen food all over on a daily basis. The large companies have specialized contracts with the carriers that you as an individual won;t be able to arrange.

The best place to go for info and shipping is a local Pack-n-Ship place. They will know the specific rules and regs and assure your item gets there like it should.

I know because I used to be an operations manager for the trade orgainization that supports the mail and parcel industry.

H9

P.s. before I left the industry about a year ago UPS had just updated their Tariffs and I believe (don;t quote me on this) they will no longer ship dry ice. Like I stated earlier Fed Ex still does but it has to be next day and as Doug said they may do 2 day.

heiney9

See page 13 bullet point 13 for Dry Ice shipments for UPS

http://www.ups.com/media/en/terms_service_us.pdf

Below is the Fed Ex perishable pdf.

http://www.fedex.com/us/packaging/guides/Perishables_fxcom.pdf

Everything is just a google away

H9

kawizx9r

concealer404 wrote: »

Well in that case, if it's really just that easy, i may have an interesting Karma in the next week or two.

What the hell you sending me Ben? Is this your way of cryo-treating those AQ Scarlet Vipers?

concealer404

heiney9 wrote: »

See page 13 bullet point 13 for Dry Ice shipments for UPS

http://www.ups.com/media/en/terms_service_us.pdf

Below is the Fed Ex perishiables pdf.

http://www.fedex.com/us/packaging/guides/Perishables_fxcom.pdf

Everything is just a google away

H9

Wow, thanks! I think my scatterbrain just skipped over the possibility of searching "Dry ice + UPS". Oops.

I really appreciate it.

janmike

Ok, the last time my wife went to Nova Scotia she brought me back a couple cans of frozen lobster. She packed them in newspaper and then a plastic bag. No cooler and no ice. She had to overnight in Edmonton and 30 hours later she arrived home. The cans were still 75% frozen. The newspaper thing works and just adds that additional layer.

If I told you my Mom used to wrap newspaper around my legs to keep me warm in the winter, would you believe me?

concealer404

kawizx9r wrote: »

What the hell you sending me Ben? Is this your way of cryo-treating those AQ Scarlet Vipers?

Oh yeahhh.... shoot me your address and how many pairs/what lengths you need, i'll send them to you this weekend.

And no... just trying to work out the details on a semi-periodic karma that i want to start doing.