Cold Chain Management¶

Temperature control is the single most critical factor for maintaining frozen French fries quality from factory to customer.

Temperature Standards¶

Stage	Target Temp	Max Allowable Excursion
Post-production (tunnel exit)	≤ -18°C	N/A
Factory cold storage	-20°C to -25°C	None
Truck loading	≤ -18°C	-15°C (brief)
Ocean transit (reefer)	-18°C to -20°C	-15°C (short duration)
Port storage	≤ -18°C	-15°C (brief)

Cold Chain Flow¶

Factory IQF Tunnel (-35°C to -45°C)
       ↓
Factory Cold Storage (-20°C to -25°C)
       ↓
Refrigerated Truck (monitored, ≤ -18°C)
       ↓
Tianjin Port Inspection
       ↓
Reefer Container Loading (temp log activated)
       ↓
Ocean Transit (continuous data logging)
       ↓
Destination Port Storage
       ↓
Buyer's Cold Chain

Temperature Monitoring¶

Factory: Digital temp sensors in all cold storage rooms
Truck: Data logger recording at 10-minute intervals
Container: Integrated reefer data logger — continuous recording throughout transit
Port: Temp verified on handover

Quality Impact of Temperature Abuse¶

Excursion	Duration	Impact
> -15°C	>4 hours	Surface ice crystal growth
> -12°C	>2 hours	Partial thaw, texture degradation
> -5°C	>30 min	Significant moisture loss, quality compromise
Above freezing	Any	Complete quality failure

Documentation¶

Every shipment includes:

Temperature log from factory to port
Reefer container set-point certificate
Cold chain handover documentation at each stage
COA verifying product was stored correctly prior to loading

Shelf Life¶

24 months at continuous -18°C storage
Shelf life reduces proportionally with temperature excursions
Product should not be refrozen once defrosted