Of all the items shipped around the world on a daily basis, food products present perhaps the most problems — and not just perishable food, either. Anything that must remain fit for human consumption after the shipping process is complete must be handled with great care and transported with its end use in mind. Equally, as any food manufacturer would agree, the appearance of the product is just as important as its quality or taste. As such, the product's condition must also be maintained in transit.

These are not easy problems to solve, but any logistics or transportation company worth their salt will be able to accommodate your requirements. In fact, one of the key ways they will do so is to choose the correct pallets to ship your items. Here's what they're looking for.

Insulation

Where necessary, your logistics company will be able to ensure that either entire pallets or individual crates are insulated appropriately. Of course, this insulation may reduce the amount of space available in any given container, so they will need to make allowances for this and have enough shipping materials on hand.

Heat-Treated Materials

Any crates or pallets that are used for international shipping must comply with various international standards. One such standard especially applicable with regards to shipping food is ISPM15, which requires wood containers to be treated adequately against insects and disease. In order to comply, wood can be treated in a wide variety of ways, but it is most often heated to a temperature of 56 degrees Celcius and maintained at this temperature for at least 30 minutes. However, pesticides are sometimes used instead. As this could affect food products being transported, your logistics company will need to ensure that they use wood pallets and crates which are heat-treated, not chemically treated.

Adequate Labelling

Because of the potential for spreading disease, food items — especially perishables — often undergo additional scrutiny at customs. In order to ensure that your shipment passes through these checks quickly and efficiently, the crates will need to be labelled correctly and clearly. The crates and pallets themselves should also be clearly stamped to show that they meet international standards.

There are a whole variety of checks and standards that international crates must meet that are entirely unrelated to their culinary contents, too. Check with your pallet delivery service to see if they have food-safe wood pallets. So long as you're aware of these specific differences, you can rest assured that your logistics company is handling the rest.

Share