Cold Chain Logistics: ANSI Seeks Feedback on a Proposed Technical Committee

The American National Standards Institute (ANSI), the U.S. member body to International Organization for Standardization (ISO), requests feedback on a proposed new ISO technical committee (TC) on cold chain logistics. ANSI requests stakeholder input by October 16, 2020.

A cold chain involves the transportation of temperature sensitive products along a supply chain. The process contributes to safe and efficient delivery of goods, from foods to pharmaceuticals. The new TC aims to establish widely applicable standards for the whole cold chain logistics system, from handling to storage.

JISC, the Japanese member of ISO, submitted the proposal for the new TC. The scope of the work will include, but is not limited to the following:

• terms and conditions for carriage/storage service of refrigerated goods, physical handling of refrigerated goods (acceptance, loading, transshipment, storage, sorting, transportation and delivery),
• maintenance and control methods of temperature-controlled facilities, quality control methods throughout the cold chain (e.g. temperature monitoring and control, prevention of damage, loss and delay),
• hygiene management during carriage/storage service to prevent contamination of goods,
• facilitation of logistical efficiency
• manpower management, staff education and training, safety management for staff and workplaces,
• safety and reliability of carriage/storage services, and
• information management and data processing such as customer management and cargo/parcel tracking, as well as terminology.
  
  

All interested U.S. parties are invited to review more details in the proposal, which features related existing work and relevant affected stakeholders.

Submit comments to Steven Cornish, ANSI senior director of international policy and strategy, at [email protected], by close of business on October 16, 2020. Based on the input received from U.S. stakeholders, a recommended ANSI position and any comments will be developed and presented to the ANSI ISO Council (AIC) for approval before the ISO voting deadline of November 24, 2020.

ANSI has published an explanatory information document outlining the process used to develop U.S. positions on issues and activities under consideration by ISO and IEC.