Anyone working with frozen loads knows two numbers by heart: minus eighteen and three degrees. Fewer know how the two appear in the text.
The definition is itself a requirement. Defining quick-frozen food, the Turkish Food Codex communiqué states that once the temperature has been brought to a stable value, every point of the product is at -18 °C or below, and that this condition is continuously maintained. Two phrases inside that definition are routinely skipped in the field: every point, and continuously.
The carton in the middle of a pallet and the carton on its outer face are not the same product. If the reading comes from the outer surface, it is not measuring what the definition asks for.
Where the tolerance is granted. Article 5 of the same communiqué adds this: the temperature is stabilised and maintained at -18 °C or below at every point of the product, but during the carriage and distribution stages and in retail display cabinets a possible short-term rise must not exceed 3 °C.
| Stage | Tolerance |
|---|---|
| Production and stabilisation | -18 °C or below by definition |
| Storage | no tolerance granted in the text |
| Carriage and distribution | short-term, 3 °C at most |
| Retail display cabinet | short-term, 3 °C at most |
A tolerance is a ceiling, not a target. Planning a round around -15 °C spends the allowance before the vehicle leaves, and nothing is left in hand.
What the phrase short-term excludes
The text grants the tolerance for short-term rises. A load that waits three hours on a dock and settles at -15 °C has not experienced a short-term rise; it has adopted a new working temperature. The difference reads straight off the chart in an inspection: a narrow peak and a wide plateau are not the same thing.
Knowing where the tolerance ends is the first step in planning frozen carriage without a reefer.
Two more sentences belong on the label. In addition to the use-by date, the communiqué requires the label to state the temperature and, where relevant, the equipment needed to keep the product. The label must also carry a warning, easily visible to the consumer, about refreezing after thawing. That second sentence explains why a shipment with a broken chain offers no route to rescue the goods.
The list of cryogenic contact media is closed
One more detail: the communiqué allows only air, nitrogen and carbon dioxide in direct contact with quick-frozen foods in a cryogenic environment. The list is closed.
