Thermal bag

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Example of a thermal bag
Example of a thermal bag

A thermal bag is a type of insulated shipping container. It is usually a bag made of materials that have thermal insulation properties and is used to help maintain the temperature of any contents (i.e., cold items stay cold, hot items stay hot).

Commercial thermal shopping bags carried by grocery and retail outlets, as a means to help their customers carry their temperature sensitive purchases home without breaking the cold chain, were first introduced in Europe in the mid 1980s.

Thermal bags for use with pizza were patented in 1983 by Ingrid Kosar of Gilberts, Illinois for the specific use of allowing delivered pizzas to stay hotter, longer. The first commercial application of this thermal bag was by the Domino's Pizza chain in 1984.[citation needed]

Medical use

Thermal pharmaceutical bags are designed to provide a method for pharmacists to supply their customers with a way to transport and protect their medications from extreme outside temperature changes, as well as shocks and light. They have been in use for more than 15 years in Europe by major drug companies to help preserve the cold chain. Vaccines are a good example of temperature sensitive products which need to be kept at the right temperatures from the day it is being manufactured until being injected. Most should be maintained within the recommended temperature range of 2 °C (36 °F) to 8 °C (46 °F). Vaccines are delicate biological substances that can become less effective or destroyed if they are frozen, allowed to get too hot, or exposed to direct sunlight or fluorescent light. According to the World Health Organisation, at least 7% of temperature sensitive medical products suffer significant degradation in potency in transit.[citation needed]

Materials

Thermal bags are usually manufactured with varying quantities of the following materials:

See also

References

    Bags and flexible containers
    Carried
    Worn
    Luggage
    Postal
    Containers
    Other


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