National foreword

This British Standard is the UK implementation of ISO 23412:2020.

The UK participation in its preparation was entrusted to Technical Committee SVS/11, Transport services.

A list of organizations represented on this committee can be obtained on request to its secretary.

This publication does not purport to include all the necessary provisions of a contract. Users are responsible for its correct application.

Compliance with a British Standard cannot confer immunity from legal obligations.

This British Standard was published under the authority of the Standards Policy and Strategy Committee on 31 May 2020.

Foreword

ISO (the International Organization for Standardization) is a worldwide federation of national standards bodies (ISO member bodies). The work of preparing International Standards is normally carried out through ISO technical committees. Each member body interested in a subject for which a technical committee has been established has the right to be represented on that committee. International organizations, governmental and non-governmental, in liaison with ISO, also take part in the work. ISO collaborates closely with the International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC) on all matters of electrotechnical standardization.

The procedures used to develop this document and those intended for its further maintenance are described in the ISO/IEC Directives, Part 1. In particular, the different approval criteria needed for the different types of ISO documents should be noted. This document was drafted in accordance with the editorial rules of the ISO/IEC Directives, Part 2 (see www.iso.org/directives).

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This document was prepared by Project Committee ISO/PC 315, Indirect, temperature-controlled refrigerated delivery services — land transport of parcels with intermediate transfer.

Any feedback or questions on this document should be directed to the user’s national standards body. A complete listing of these bodies can be found at www.iso.org/members.html.

Introduction

0.1 Why develop this document?

In recent years there has been a growth in temperature-controlled refrigerated delivery services in response to the growing need to deliver temperature-sensitive goods in the form of chilled parcels and frozen parcels. Such temperature-controlled refrigerated delivery services have been modelled on typical postal and distribution services to support the development of e-commerce.

These specific types of temperature-controlled refrigerated delivery services can contribute to the ability of local food producers to expand their businesses and increase their sales channels.

Temperature-controlled refrigerated delivery services can provide an affordable option to send chilled parcels and frozen parcels without the need to add cooling materials inside them. As a result of the global trend towards more online trading for food industries, a number of countries have started to implement temperature-controlled refrigerated delivery services of this nature.

There is an expectation for further growth of refrigerated delivery services across more countries. Therefore, there is a recognised need for the refrigerated delivery services to develop industry standards and good practice in this area. However, because of the temperature sensitivity of the transported goods and the specific rules for food safety, there is a need to recognise a lack in existing food safety or refrigerated transport standards to cover the specificities of this new activity.

0.2 What are the aims of this document?

This document sets out the requirements for refrigerated delivery service providers in order to improve the quality and consistency of their refrigerated delivery services for both receiving refrigerated parcels and sending them through the refrigerated delivery service.

In addition, this document aims to be a guideline for refrigerated delivery service providers to support consumer safety through a total control of the cold chain while the refrigerated parcel is in the possession of the refrigerated delivery service provider.

The information that the refrigerated delivery service provider is required to give the delivery service user through this document (see Clause 4) could help the delivery service user to make a more informed choice when selecting a temperature-controlled refrigerated delivery service and could improve overall consumer trust in using such refrigerated delivery services.

0.3 Which service does this document target?

Refrigerated delivery service users may choose service temperature ranges from among refrigerated services offers that are suitable for their shipments. The requirements within this document focus on the service provided by, and the processes for, temperature control within the refrigerated delivery service offered. The exact temperature ranges of the refrigerated delivery service offered and the terms and conditions for the different temperature range of refrigerated transported parcels are decided by the refrigerated delivery service provider. Temperatures, terms and conditions may differ depending on the country within which the refrigerated delivery service is operating and therefore are not covered.

The scope of this document covers the carriage of individual parcels by refrigerated delivery services and the temperature of the goods can be associated with the temperature of the parcel’s environment. This document's requirements focus on the temperature control of the service, rather than the temperature of the goods themselves. Therefore, it is not necessary to open each refrigerated parcel to monitor the temperature of the goods.

Certain refrigerated delivery services might need to apply some additional requirements that fall outside of this document (these might include temperature measuring of the refrigerated parcels themselves – see also 0.4) but in such instances it is the responsibility of the refrigerated delivery service provider to find out what these are and implement them as appropriate.

0.4 How does this document affect refrigerated delivery service providers specifically providing indirect refrigerated delivery services for food?

Some products might fall under local legislation, therefore attention is drawn to the need for refrigerated delivery service providers to be aware of relevant rules and requirements (for example, food safety). It is important to note that this document covers refrigerated delivery services of refrigerated goods which are not specific, or exclusive for food products. However, in this case the absence of cross-contamination should be verified as soon as other refrigerated goods are loaded alongside food within the refrigerated delivery service provider network.

It is also acknowledged that different countries might also have different legal definitions for either refrigerated delivery services or for the transport of food in terms of transport conditions and/or the temperature or type of chilled and frozen food or food products. Precise temperatures for chilled and frozen transport have not been defined within its requirements, and, where applicable, attention has been drawn to the need to refer to any relevant legislation.

Where a refrigerated delivery service provider is specifically providing indirect refrigerated delivery services for temperature-sensitive or refrigerated food, relevant government departments, trade associations and professional bodies within the country of business can often be consulted to provide advice, guidance and particular requirements regarding the operation of indirect refrigerated delivery services for food within that particular jurisdiction. Perishable foodstuffs can be a particularly sensitive area, and it might be useful to consult a document such as the United Nations ATP publication, the Agreement on the International Carriage of Perishable Foodstuffs and on the Special Equipment to be Used for such Carriage^[⁸^], which has been developed and adopted by a number of countries, for further guidance and/or applicability for such specialist temperature-controlled refrigerated delivery services. The Codex Alimentarius (the “Food Code”), which was established by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) and the World Health Organization (WHO) might also provide relevant international standards regarding food.

1 Scope

This document specifies requirements for the provision and operation of indirect, temperature-controlled refrigerated delivery services for refrigerated parcels which contain temperature-sensitive goods (including foods) in land transportation. It includes all refrigerated delivery service stages from acceptance (receipt) of a chilled or frozen parcel from the delivery service user to its delivery at the designated destination, including intermediate transfer of the refrigerated parcels between refrigerated vehicles or container and via a geographical routing system. This document also includes requirements for resources, operations and communications to delivery service users. It is intended for application by refrigerated delivery service providers.

This document does not cover requirements for:

refrigerated parcel delivery via modes of transport such as airplane, ship or train;
refrigerated parcels that are transported in ambient temperatures due to the fact that they contain their own refrigeration materials (for example, ice packs, refrigerated foam bricks, dry ice blocks) and are surrounded and enclosed by sealed thermo protective packaging that creates a separate refrigerated climate to that provided within the delivery service. However, these types of refrigerated parcels may be transported through a refrigerated delivery service;
direct refrigerated delivery services in which chilled parcels and frozen parcels are collected from the delivery service user and transported directly to a recipient without in-transit transfer;
the quality or the measurement of the temperature of the contents of the chilled parcels or frozen parcels being delivered and their pre-point of receipt state, however it does set the requirements for the refrigerated delivery service carrying them;
Medical devices and medical equipment and pharmaceuticals might be subject to specific legislation and require specific transport requirements and are therefore, excluded from the scope of this document.

NOTE Resources covered by requirements of this document include facilities, refrigerated vehicles, cold stores, and staff members. This document is not limited to covering specific sizes of vehicles, as long as the performance requirements can be met. Land transport refrigerated vehicles which are conveyed in a ship as roll-on/roll-off vehicles are covered by this document. While this document does not cover requirements directly relating to the quality or safety of the refrigerated parcels being delivered, attention is drawn to specific country legislation that might require a refrigerated delivery service provider to adhere to additional requirements outside of this document, such as monitoring the temperature of the refrigerated parcel itself, or specific requirements regarding the segregation of different types of refrigerated parcel. It is important to note that the contents of refrigerated parcels referenced within this document are not limited to edible or perishable products.

2 Normative references

3 Terms and definitions

3.2 Cold stores

3.14 Refrigerated parcels

3.18 Temperature ranges and maximum temperatures

4 Refrigerated delivery service definition and communications

4.1 Refrigerated delivery service attributes

4.2 Name of the refrigerated delivery service

4.3 Business licence for refrigerated delivery service providers

4.4 Refrigerated delivery service provider’s contact details and customer service

4.5 Service transport temperature of the refrigerated delivery service

4.6 Accepted terms and conditions for refrigerated parcels

5 Transport network

5.1 General

5.2 Geographical routing system

5.3 Demand and available resources

5.4 Operation sites

6 Information exchanged between the refrigerated delivery service provider and the delivery service user

6.1 Documented information

6.2 Information to be obtained from the delivery service user

6.3 Delivery service user confirmation

6.4 Information to be provided by the refrigerated delivery service provider

7 Refrigerated parcels

7.1 Acceptance of refrigerated parcels

7.2 Labelling, marking and visible information

7.3 Transferring refrigerated parcels into a refrigerated enclosure or cold store

7.4 Transferring refrigerated parcels between refrigerated enclosures and/ or cold stores

7.5 Temporary storage of refrigerated parcels in operation sites

7.6 Geographical sorting of refrigerated parcels

7.7 Delivery to the recipient

8 Information exchanged between the refrigerated delivery service provider and the recipient

8.1 Information to be obtained from the recipient on delivery of the refrigerated parcel

8.2 Information to be obtained from the recipient on collection by the recipient of the refrigerated parcel from an operation site

8.3 Information to be provided by the refrigerated delivery service provider on delivery of the refrigerated parcel

8.4 Information to be provided by the refrigerated delivery service provider on collection by a recipient of the refrigerated parcel from an operation site

9 Conditions for operation sites, refrigerated enclosures, cold stores and cooling materials

9.1 Operation site

9.2 Refrigerated enclosures

9.3 Cold stores

9.4 Cooling materials

9.5 Cooling material cold stores

10 Work instructions and operational manuals

10.1 General

10.2 Work instructions

10.3 Work instructions for transferring refrigerated parcels

10.4 Operational manual for refrigerated enclosure

10.5 Operational manual for the pre-cooling and pre-freezing of refrigerated enclosures

10.6 Operational manual for cold stores in operation sites

10.7 Operational manual for cooling materials

10.8 Operational manual for cooling material cold stores

11 Staffing

11.1 Training programme

11.2 Additional training

11.3 Staff members responsible for driving

12 Monitoring and improving the refrigerated delivery service

12.1 Transport network

12.2 Delays and non-deliveries within standard delivery timescales

12.3 Temperature monitoring and temperature recording of the transport network

12.4 Temperature control within the transport network

12.5 Quality controls of refrigerated delivery service operations

Bibliography

BS ISO 23412:2020

Indirect, temperature-controlled refrigerated delivery services. Land transport of parcels with intermediate transfer

Current, Under Review

Published:

31 May 2020