From Foam Eskys to Thermo Pallet Covers, how to stop summer heat breaking your cold chain
Summer in Australia is tough on more than just people. When it's 40°C outside, the back of a delivery van can climb well past 50°C. A pallet left on a loading dock for 20 minutes can lose a whole day's worth of cooling. If you move fresh produce, seafood, meat, dairy, pharmaceuticals or flowers, hot weather is when the cold chain usually breaks. The good news: the right packaging and a few smart habits prevent most temperature failures.
Why Hot Weather Breaks the Cold Chain
Heat gets into packaging three ways. Conduction is contact with warm surfaces like truck floors and dock plates. Convection is warm air moving around the load. Radiation is direct sun on the pallet. Most failures don't happen in the cool room or the refrigerated truck. They happen in the gaps: loading, unloading, cross-docking and last-mile delivery.
Food Standards Australia New Zealand requires chilled food to be kept at 5°C or below, and many medicines must stay between 2°C and 8°C. There isn't much room for error, and summer leaves even less.
Start With Insulation That Fits the Job
Your first line of defence is an insulated container. TigerPak's Foam Eskys are a proven, cost-effective choice for seafood, meat and produce. They're lightweight, moisture resistant and hold temperature well over long trips.
If you need something more presentable, Insulated Thermal Cartons look and handle like a standard shipping carton but have a thermal lining that slows heat transfer. They suit e-commerce food boxes, meal kits and pharmacy deliveries.
For goods packed in standard cartons, Foil Backed Bubble Wrap adds a reflective barrier that bounces radiant heat away, while the air bubbles slow conduction. It's a simple upgrade that makes a real difference on short-haul runs.
Add the Right Coolant
Insulation slows heat down, but it doesn't create cold. That's the job of Gel Ice Packs. Unlike loose ice, they don't melt into a soggy mess, they're reusable, and they hold a steady temperature for longer. To get the most from them:
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Pre-condition properly. Freeze packs for frozen goods and chill them for 2°C to 8°C goods, so you don't accidentally freeze sensitive products.
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Place packs on top. Cold air sinks.
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Fill empty space. Air gaps warm up fast, so a tight pack holds temperature longer.
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Plan for the worst. Match the number of packs to the transit time and the hottest part of the route, not the average.
Protect the Whole Pallet
When you ship in bulk, protecting individual cartons isn't enough. Thermo Pallet Covers wrap the whole load in an insulating, reflective shell. They're ideal for pallets that might sit on a hot dock or travel in non-refrigerated freight. Pair them with Pallet Top Covers and quality Stretch Film to keep the load tight, stable and sealed against warm air. If loads will sit in direct sun, UV Resistant Machine Film helps the wrap keep its strength instead of breaking down in the heat.
Don't Forget Tape and Labels
Heat and condensation can make cheap tape lift, leaving cartons open and letting cold air escape. Choose a tape rated for temperature extremes. TigerPak's packaging and industrial tape range has options that hold up in both cool rooms and hot warehouses.
Clear marking matters too. Printed Warning Tape and labels that say "Keep Refrigerated" or "Perishable" tell every handler along the route that this load can't wait in the sun.
Hot Weather Habits That Make a Difference
Good packaging works best with good processes behind it:
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Pre-cool everything. Chill the product, cartons and vehicle before loading.
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Stage smart. Keep goods in the cool room until the truck is ready, and load from the shaded side where you can.
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Ship early. Dispatch in the early morning, and avoid Friday dispatches that could sit in a depot over the weekend.
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Monitor. Put temperature loggers or indicators on high-value or sensitive loads so you know exactly what happened in transit.
The Cost of Getting It Wrong
One failed delivery can mean thousands of dollars in spoiled stock, plus rejected loads, unhappy customers and possible compliance issues. Next to that, the right cold chain packaging is one of the easiest wins in your supply chain.
Talk to TigerPak
From Foam Eskys and Gel Ice Packs to Insulated Thermal Cartons and Thermo Pallet Covers, TigerPak has everything you need to keep goods at the right temperature, even in the height of an Australian summer. Talk to our team today and we'll help you build a cold chain packaging setup that suits your products, your routes and your budget.