Shipping food can be hard work. Many individuals do so around the holidays, shipping easy dry food. However, the lessons learned during this kind of shipping are not applicable to those situations in which one wants to ship something more substantial. Shipping frozen food is actually more a difficult process than some might realize, and it does take careful preparation. You must not only buy the right materials for the shipping process, but you must also invest in the right container. Even after this is done, you will be racing against the clock to make sure that your precious cargo does not thaw out before it can be delivered.
Prep Work
Shipping frozen food requires a bit more thought than throwing a frozen pizza in the mailbox and hoping for the best. If you actually want to ship something that is frozen, you are going to have to do a bit of prep work. The most important preparation note is that you must use dry ice to pack frozen food. It is the only thing that can guarantee that your food stays frozen for any length of time, and it will not turn your container into a soggy mess. Since you are using dry ice, you will also have to invest in plastic wrap for your food. After all, you want to make sure that your food will not come into contact with the ice.
Packing
Packing is a fairly important part of the process. You want a urethane container that is at least two inches thick for the best results, though some rely on duct tape and Styrofoam coolers to do the job. As a rule, you will use about five to ten pounds of dry ice for every day you need the food to stay frozen. Always make sure to pack the food and ice tightly, and fill in any extra space with wrap or plastic peanuts. Empty space in the container can cause your dry ice to warm, thus defeating the purpose of using the substance.
Shipping
Speed is the key for shipping frozen food. You should always pay extra for overnight shipping, as even a great packing job is not likely to last for more than two days. This can be quite expensive, and it is usually best to go through a private shipper rather than the post office. Costs vary by region and by weight, and every extra ounce is likely to cost you a bit more money.
If you absolutely have to ship frozen food, it can be done. It is an expensive process, though, and there are many mistakes that can be made along the way. If you use the right materials and pack correctly, though, you can get the food shipped out quickly. It should be thawed out upon arrival, and you should always ask for some kind of return receipt. After all, you want to make sure that no one decided to have a snack when they were out delivering your parcel.
