A cold chain product usually means the +2 to +8 °C range; the Turkish Medicines and Medical Devices Agency (TİTCK) looks for that range in its pharmaceutical warehouse inspections, while products stored frozen follow a separate regime. Transport is set up in five steps, each preparing the conditions for the next. A patient carrying their own medicine on a journey should describe its length and conditions to a pharmacist and get product-specific advice.
A provable five-step transport flow starts with the cold chain basics.
1. Confirm the product's condition
Take the storage range, freezing and light warnings, and whether the product is opened or prepared, from current product information. The product goes into the box already within that range. A cold shipping box cannot correct a medicine that has already sat at the wrong temperature, nor make it fit for use.
2. Prepare and place the ice packs
The TİTCK Good Distribution Practice guideline (section 10.4) requires ice packs to be placed so they never touch the product directly, a system that prevents partly frozen packs from being used by mistake, and physical separation between frozen and chilled packs. A product next to a frozen pack can drop below 0 °C, which is why WHO requires freeze-sensitive products to be protected. The box is pre-cooled, dividers stay in, and gaps are filled to the tested layout.
3. Put the logger beside the product
The logger goes where it reads the temperature the product sees, not on the lid or outside the box. Its position, device ID and clock setting are written into the shipment configuration, and the logging interval is chosen to suit the journey time. The guideline also requires temperature monitoring equipment used in transport to be calibrated at least once a year.
4. Plan the route and the waits
WHO's model guidance on storage and transport (TRS 961 Annex 9, section 6.8.3) expects a box to be tested against the ambient profile expected from departure to the recipient's cold store, and against a defined minimum and maximum load. A result from a full box does not cover one small item in the same box. On a multi-stop route every opening costs cold, and waiting time at transfer hubs is kept short. The vehicle is not left standing in the sun, and the box sits on a pallet or shelf rather than straight on the floor.
5. Close the record at handover
Delivery time, package condition and logger data are matched to the same consignment, and indicator status is recorded on arrival. If there is an excursion, the product is set aside under its required storage conditions and the quality lead decides using product-specific information. More in medicine temperature excursions.