Temperature-controlled freight out of Türkiye covers a wide range: fresh produce and citrus, processed and frozen food, dairy, confectionery with heat sensitivity, pharmaceuticals, and chemicals with defined storage limits. What these have in common is that a temperature excursion does not damage the goods visibly — it destroys their compliance, which is worse, because the shipment arrives looking fine and is rejected anyway.
Cold chain work is therefore less about refrigeration equipment than about eliminating the gaps between controlled environments. Almost every failure we investigate happened at a handover, not during the line haul.
Where cold chains actually break
At loading
Goods loaded warm cannot be brought down to temperature by a trailer unit in transit — reefers maintain temperature, they do not pull it down. Pre-cooling is the shipper's responsibility.
At cross-dock
Transfers between vehicles or into a hub are the highest-risk minutes of the whole journey. Door-open time is what matters.
At the border
A stationary vehicle with the engine off is a stationary reefer. Extended clearance delays are a temperature risk, not just a schedule risk.
At delivery
A consignee without a chilled reception area undoes the entire chain in the last ten minutes.
Equipment and temperature bands
| Cargo | Typical band | Equipment |
|---|---|---|
| Frozen food | −18 °C and below | Deep-freeze reefer, continuous recording |
| Chilled food, dairy | 0 to +4 °C | Chilled reefer, recording |
| Fresh produce | +2 to +12 °C, product-specific | Reefer, sometimes with ventilation control |
| Pharmaceuticals | +2 to +8 °C, or +15 to +25 °C | Validated reefer or qualified passive packaging |
| Confectionery, cosmetics | Below +25 °C | Temperature-protected rather than actively chilled |
Documentation and compliance
For food consignments the transport of perishable goods is governed internationally by the ATP agreement, which sets requirements for insulated and refrigerated vehicles. Beyond the vehicle itself, EU-bound food shipments require health certification and, depending on the product, must be presented at a designated border control post. Plant products need phytosanitary certification.
These have their own lead times and cannot be arranged after arrival — a refused consignment at a border control post is not recoverable by producing the certificate later. We establish which requirements apply at enquiry stage; see customs clearance and the customs guide.
One customs point specific to this cargo: agricultural products fall outside the Türkiye–EU customs union. An A.TR achieves nothing on a fresh produce shipment — EUR.1 or an origin declaration is required. Since a large share of temperature-controlled freight is agricultural, this is the most common documentary error on cold chain lanes.
Temperature records
Every controlled shipment travels with continuous recording, and the record is part of the delivery documentation rather than something produced on request. This matters commercially: where a consignee rejects goods on temperature grounds, the record is the only evidence either party has. Without it, the dispute is unresolvable and the loss falls where it lands.
We also record set point separately from measured temperature. A trailer running at the correct set point with a measured excursion tells a different story from one set incorrectly, and the distinction determines who is responsible.
Mode considerations
By road, reefer trailers give continuous control door to door and are the default for European destinations. By sea, reefer containers need power throughout, which means confirming supply at the port and on board rather than assuming it. By air, the critical exposure is ramp and handling time rather than flight time, which is why we agree handling arrangements before booking.
Related services
- Warehousing — separate temperature-controlled storage with recording
- Last mile delivery — where the chain most often breaks
- Greece, Italy, Netherlands — the main food lanes
- Shipping rates — reefer capacity prices differently from dry freight
Frequently asked questions
Can you bring warm goods down to temperature in transit?
No, and this is the most important thing to understand about reefer transport. A refrigeration unit maintains the temperature of already-conditioned cargo; it is not designed to pull down a warm load, and attempting it produces an uneven result at best. Pre-cooling to the required temperature before loading is the shipper's responsibility, and we record the temperature at loading for exactly this reason.
Where do cold chains usually fail?
At handovers, almost never during the line haul. The highest-risk moments are loading, any cross-dock transfer, extended stationary periods at borders with the unit off, and delivery to a consignee without a chilled reception area. We plan around those points specifically, since the equipment itself is rarely the weak link.
Do I get temperature records?
Yes, continuous recording travels with every controlled shipment and the record forms part of the delivery documentation. We log the set point separately from the measured temperature, because a unit running correctly with an excursion tells a different story from one set incorrectly — and that distinction determines responsibility if a consignee rejects the goods.
Does the A.TR certificate cover fresh produce?
No. Agricultural products fall outside the Türkiye–EU customs union, so an A.TR provides no duty relief on fresh produce — EUR.1 or an origin declaration is required instead. Because so much temperature-controlled freight is agricultural, this is the single most frequent documentary error we see on cold chain lanes.
What extra certification do food shipments need?
EU-bound food consignments require health certification and, depending on the product, must be presented at a designated border control post; plant products need phytosanitary certification. These have their own lead times and cannot be arranged retrospectively — a consignment refused at a border control post is not saved by producing the certificate afterwards. We establish the requirements before loading.