Why Transporting Dairy Products is a Serious Business

Transporting dairy products (e.g. yogurt, cheese, and butter) requires high hygiene and safety standards because of the products’ potential hazards. For example, dairy products have an optimal storage temperature of 0°C to 2 °C. Outside of that safe range enzymatic and microbial activities get accelerated.

Aside from human health concerns, inappropriate refrigeration also results in costly food waste. In the Australian economy, it’s estimated that $20 billion is the cost of food waste each year. Transport and storage practices contribute to that huge cost because inappropriate refrigeration during transport and storage can make an entire batch or consignment to be rejected.

Why transporting dairy products is a serious business

Tight temperature control is crucial here because of the hazards from consuming compromised dairy products. For example, a compromised and contaminated cheese might already have moulds, listeria, E. coli and other harmful microorganisms. Although the danger seems to be on the surface only (some people just cut off the questionable parts of the cheese and then proceed to consume the remaining portion), there might be mould threads throughout the cheese that are not yet visible.

Cheese and other dairy products are always in the watch list of potentially hazardous foods. After all, they are rich in protein and other nutrients where bacteria and fungi can thrive and reproduce. As a result, microbes and other organisms can quickly grow and produce toxins harmful to us humans.

In the cold chain several things happen that might compromise the safety and quality of dairy products. For instance, temperature levels might fluctuate inside the delivery vehicle. It gets worse because delivery times can get long and unpredictable. When yogurt and cheese are under less than ideal conditions for a long enough time, fungi and bacteria are always quick to act.

That should not be the case. Time and temperature (as well as sanitary conditions) play a huge role in safeguarding the safety and quality levels of cheese and other dairy products. As a result, it’s crucial that the delivery is timely and tight temperature control is observed. This has been our commitment here at COOLTRANS since 1997. Phone us today at +61 2 8765 0100 for your refrigerated delivery requirements (whether a single carton delivery or an 8-pallet load, a one-off consignment or a year’s contract).