Temperature-Sensitive Cargo on Arrival: What a Check Can Show

Some goods must stay within a range of temperatures from the factory to the shelf: chilled and frozen food, certain cosmetics, adhesives, paints, products with batteries. When such a shipment reaches Uzbekistan, importers naturally want to know whether it travelled well. A receiving check can contribute facts to that question, but it is important to be clear about which facts, and about what it cannot say.

What a receiving check can observe

At the moment of arrival, an inspector can see and record:

• The container type: whether it is a refrigerated unit, whether it is running, and the set-point and the reading on its display.
• The logger: if the shipper placed a temperature data logger in the load, where it is, how it is identified, and what its printout or screen shows. Ask the supplier how it is meant to be read.
• Physical signs: frost or ice crystals, wet or sweating cartons, softened or deformed packaging, leaking contents, odours.
• Spot readings: if a calibrated thermometer is available, readings of a few cartons at the doors, with the time of each.
• Times: when the doors opened, how long the goods stayed in the open, and when they reached the cold store or the warehouse.
• The paperwork: whether the transport documents carry a temperature instruction, and whether the set-point on the display matches it.

What it cannot say

A reading taken at the door shows one carton at one moment. It does not certify that the cold chain was kept for the whole journey, it is not a laboratory test, and it does not tell you whether the goods meet health requirements. Those matters belong to the competent authorities and accredited laboratories, and the acceptable range for your goods is set by the supplier's specification and the applicable requirements. Treat our record as a factual input to that process, not a replacement for it. If an authority or laboratory asks for specific data, ask them directly, and do not assume that a receiving inspector knows their requirements.

Preparing before the container arrives

1. Ask the supplier for the set-point, the type of logger and where it is placed in the load.
2. Have the cold store or the climate-controlled room ready, and at the right temperature, before the doors open.
3. Agree who will read and photograph the display and the logger, and who receives the printout.
4. Plan the unloading so that the goods spend as little time as possible in the open air, especially on a hot day.
5. Prepare the count sheet in advance, so that counting does not delay the move to the cold store.
6. Make sure the supplier's contact can be reached by phone on the day, since the logger's printout may need their help to interpret.

A conditional example

The supplier's specification gives a set-point of minus 18 °C. At the doors the display shows the same figure. The logger printout shows a period of about five hours, mid-route, in which the readings rose to about minus 9 °C. Spot readings of three cartons at the doors are minus 17, minus 16 and minus 12 °C. The record notes each figure with its time and photograph, together with the observation that two cartons show frost on the inside of the wrapping. It does not say "the goods are spoiled" or "the goods are fine". It hands these numbers to the supplier, the laboratory and the authorities who are able to judge.

Record the good readings as faithfully as the bad ones. A record that lists only the unfavourable figures is not credible, and it should mention the carton that looked perfectly fine as well.

Limits to remember

• A display reading shows the unit's own sensor, not the goods.
• A logger can sit away from the problem area, so its curve may not represent every pallet.
• Readings change fast once the doors are open, so the time of each one matters.
• A cold carton on the outside of a pallet says little about a warm one in the middle.
• Frost or sweat on a carton may come from opening the doors rather than from the journey, so note the time.

In short

CargoChek counts the packages, checks the visible condition of the packing and records what the display and the logger show at the time of arrival. Laboratory testing, cold-chain conditions and health requirements are matters for the competent authorities, and we do not take them on.