---
title: "Cold chain temperature guide: frozen to 2 to 8 °C · SSL"
description: "Transport temperature ranges by product class (deep frozen, frozen at −18 °C, chilled, 2 to 8 °C pharma, chocolate and controlled room temperature)."
url: https://safeandsecure.in/tools/cold-chain-temperature-guide/
canonical: https://safeandsecure.in/tools/cold-chain-temperature-guide/
updated: 2026-11-11
lang: en-IN
publisher: Safe & Secure Logistics Private Limited
---

Reference guide

# Cold-chain temperature guide

The temperature band your product needs in transit, and the standard that sets it.

This free guide from Safe & Secure Logistics lists the transport temperature band for each product class: deep frozen, frozen at −18 °C, chilled, 2 to 8 °C pharma, chocolate and controlled room temperature. Each band names the standard behind it, so you can brief a reefer truck correctly.

| Class | Typical range | Examples | Basis |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Deep frozen | **−25 °C or colder** | Some ice creams and seafood held colder for quality | Codex CXC 8-1976 sets −18 °C as the floor; many brands specify colder |
| Frozen | **−18 °C or colder** | Ice cream, frozen desserts, frozen vegetables, meat, fish | Codex quick-frozen code: −18 °C or colder, brief rises only in distribution |
| Chilled | **0 °C to +5 °C** | Milk, curd, paneer, fresh meat, ready meals | Follow the product’s FSSAI label and the maker’s specification |
| Pharma cold | **+2 °C to +8 °C** | Vaccines, insulin, biologics | CDSCO GDP and WHO guidance: qualified vehicles, calibrated loggers |
| Cool | **+8 °C to +15 °C** | Some fruit, cheeses, beverages | Product-specific |
| Chocolate & confectionery | **about +12 °C to +18 °C** | Chocolate, coated confectionery | Avoids bloom from heat and condensation from cold; follow the maker’s spec |
| Controlled room temperature | **+15 °C to +25 °C** | Many tablets and ambient medicines | Pharmacopoeial CRT definitions; excursions defined by the product |

Your product’s own specification always overrides a general band.

How it works

## The method, and its limits

### Four habits that protect the cold chain

1. **Pre-cool the empty reefer** to set point before loading.
2. **Load product at temperature.** The unit maintains temperature; it does not rescue it.
3. **Leave airflow paths**: do not block the return air or stack above the load line.
4. **Record it**: a logger or live telemetry turns “we think it held” into proof.

**What SSL does:** long-haul 32 ft multi-axle reefers, and a live control tower that reads temperature and GPS per truck for a leading ice-cream maker’s network. Pharmaceutical 2 to 8 °C GDP lanes are not an SSL service today. See [cold chain & reefer](https://safeandsecure.in/services/cold-chain-reefer/).

Sources

## Where the figures come from

1. [Codex Alimentarius: CXC 8-1976, Code of practice for the processing and handling of quick frozen foods](https://www.fao.org/fao-who-codexalimentarius/codex-texts/codes-of-practice/en/)
2. [CDSCO: Good Distribution Practices for pharmaceutical products (guidance)](https://cdsco.gov.in/opencms/resources/UploadCDSCOWeb/2022/Guidance_doc/GDP.pdf)
3. [WHO: Model guidance for the storage and transport of time- and temperature-sensitive pharmaceutical products (TRS 961, Annex 9)](https://www.who.int/publications/m/item/trs961-annex9-modelguidanceforstoragetransport)
4. [FSSAI: Food Safety and Standards (Licensing and Registration) Regulations](https://www.fssai.gov.in/)

Figures are general information, checked on 29 Sep 2026. Rules change; follow the source before acting.

## Frequently asked questions

**What temperature is frozen food transported at?**

At −18 °C or colder. The Codex code of practice for quick-frozen foods sets −18 °C as the product temperature to hold through distribution, with only brief, limited rises.

**What temperature should ice cream travel at?**

At −18 °C or colder, and many manufacturers specify colder. Safe & Secure Logistics runs frozen −18 °C networks for a leading ice-cream maker, with live temperature per truck.

**What is the 2 to 8 °C range?**

The refrigerated range for most vaccines and many biologics. In India, CDSCO’s Good Distribution Practices expect qualified vehicles, calibrated monitoring and written procedures for such products.

**Does Safe & Secure Logistics carry 2 to 8 °C pharma?**

Not today. SSL does not run GDP-qualified pharmaceutical lanes and says so plainly.

**Why pre-cool a reefer?**

A reefer is built to hold temperature, not to pull hot cargo down. Pre-cooling the empty box to set point before loading keeps warm air from reaching the product.

**What temperature is chocolate transported at?**

Typically in a cool band of roughly 12 to 18 °C, per the manufacturer’s specification, to avoid heat bloom and condensation.

**What is a temperature excursion?**

Any time the product or the air around it leaves its specified range. Loggers record it; the product owner decides whether the goods remain fit.

**Should the reefer be set to the product temperature?**

Yes. Set the unit to the product’s specified temperature, and load product that is already at that temperature; the reefer maintains it.

Want an exact price?

Our desk confirms your lane, vehicle and price, usually within minutes.

[Book a reefer](https://safeandsecure.in/ship/quote/?service=cold-chain-reefer&service_line=cold-chain) [All tools](https://safeandsecure.in/tools/)

---

Source: https://safeandsecure.in/tools/cold-chain-temperature-guide/ (the HTML page is the record; this markdown twin was generated from it on 2026-11-11). Publisher: Safe & Secure Logistics Private Limited, https://safeandsecure.in/. Figures and their periods: https://safeandsecure.in/facts/