Rocky Mountain Testing Solutions is a certified ISTA test lab as well as an Amazon Packaging Support and Supplier Network (APASS) lab supporting ISTA 6 Amazon testing. Rocky Mountain Testing Solutions is recommended by Walmart Marketplace as a third-party provider to perform ISTA 7D “Temperature Test for Transport Packaging” and ISTA 7E “Standard for Thermal Transport Packaging Used in Parcel Delivery System Shipment”. Cold chain-perishable testing is required by Walmart for all sellers to become an approved seller through Walmart Marketplace.
Testing Procedures For ISTA Tests
Test Procedure ISTA 7D evaluates the effects of external temperature exposures on temperature-controlled transport packages made of any materials. The test is designed to measure the ability of a temperature sensitive package to protect the product when exposed to temperature conditions that are normally encountered during summer and winter shipments.
Test Procedure ISTA 7E is a set of standard profiles based on “real world” temperature measurements that evaluates the effects of external temperature exposures on individual package products shipped through parcel shipping environment. The summer and winter profiles can be used to qualify insulated shipping containers.
Some of the industries that require ISTA 7D or ISTA 7E cold chain testing of perishable items to evaluate the thermal performance of their packaging system include food product suppliers, pharmaceutical and medical suppliers.
To perform ISTA 7D or ISTA 7E testing simply involves assembling one or more of your packages as they would be packaged for shipment to the customer. Typical pack-out includes placing preconditioned gel-packs, dry ice or phase change material (PCM) panels in your packages, along with refrigerated or frozen product(s). Thermocouples, or other temperature measurement devices, are then installed inside or around the product(s) and the package is sealed. The temperature measurement device allows for the temperature at the location of the perishable product to be measured and recorded over time.
These pictures illustrate a typical pack-out configuration of a food product that is shipped with frozen gel packs.
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Testing Standards Associated With Cold Chain Testing
The following test standards are associated with Cold chain package testing and include both package qualification and distribution testing.
ASTM D4169
ASTM D6653
ASTM D7386
ASTM D4332
ASTM D3103
IEC 60068-2
ISTA 7D
ISTA 7E
ISO 2233
Validating More Than Just The Products Value
RMTS is always careful to ensure that your package testing services will be conducted according to the exact requirements specified. When your test is completed, you will receive a detailed report regarding logical layout, conclusions, and recommendations. Contact us if you are ready to test now or if you need assistance in developing a cold chain package test specification.