A sustainable material has made the transition from protecting food to insulated packaging for vaccines as part of a solution developed for the pharmaceutical cold chain distribution sector by Woolcool, based in Stone, Staffordshire in the UK.
The Life Guardian box for pharmaceuticals is an adaptation of the Woolcool solution for transporting temperature sensitive food products such as meat – and is a felted, recycled wool liner alternative to the conventional expanded polystyrene (EPS) and polyethylene (PE) foam transit boxes that are common in the chilled food sector.
Life Guardian’s outer box is made from a water-resistant coated, dual-wall microflute corrugated construction with a thickness of 3mm. Loose corrugated stabiliser inserts sit between the pay-load and icepacks to regulate temperature fluctuations once the case has been filled.
Logistics and handling benefits include a weight reduction in icepacks of nearly 50% compared with a similar-sized EPS case and a pallet-load capability of 80 full packs and fitments; more than four times as much as the EPS format.
Structural packaging specialist Angela Morris, who pioneered the wool lining insulated transit packaging for chilled meat and then extended it to pharmaceuticals to redress an estimated £1bn waste problem attributed to fluctuating temperatures while goods are on the move, said corrugated was the ideal partner as it could withstand the rigours of the supply chain.
The Confederation of Paper Industries’ (CPI) Director of Packaging Affairs, Andy Barnetson, says corrugated ticks all the environmental boxes while providing a more efficient and effective alternative to longer-established competition.
He said: 'The onus was on corrugated in managing the technology’s transition from the food to the pharmaceutical sector. This is exemplified by the remarkable robustness of the micro-flute outer barrier that can fulfil extreme logistical requirements under what are the most testing conditions.'
Capable of customisation to match individual requirements, Life Guardian maintains internal pack temperatures between 2°C and 8°C for up to 150 hours while exposed to extreme ambient weather conditions, offering a more thermal resistant material (0.029w/mK) compared with EPS (generally around 0.036w/mK).
