Thermal bag
Encyclopedia
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 1980's.
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.
. 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 (35.6 °F) to 8 °C (46.4 °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.
Insulated shipping container
Insulated shipping containers are a type of packaging used to ship temperature sensitive products such as foods, pharmaceuticals, and chemicals. They are used as part of a cold chain to help maintain product freshness and efficacy...
. It is usually a bag made of materials that have thermal insulation
Thermal insulation
Thermal insulation is the reduction of the effects of the various processes of heat transfer between objects in thermal contact or in range of radiative influence. Heat transfer is the transfer of thermal energy between objects of differing temperature...
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
Cold chain
A cold chain is a temperature-controlled supply chain. An unbroken cold chain is an uninterrupted series of storage and distribution activities which maintain a given temperature range...
, were first introduced in Europe in the mid 1980's.
Thermal bags for use with pizza were patented in 1983 by Ingrid Kosar of Gilberts, Illinois
Gilberts, Illinois
Gilberts is a village in Kane County, Illinois, United States. The population was 1,279 at the 2000 census. The population has grown to 6,154 as of 2009 estimates...
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
Domino's Pizza
Domino's Pizza, Inc. is an international pizza delivery corporation headquartered in Ann Arbor, Michigan, United States of America. Founded in 1960, Domino's is the second-largest pizza chain in the United States and has over 9,000 corporate and franchised stores in 60 countries and all 50 U.S....
chain in 1984.
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 chainCold chain
A cold chain is a temperature-controlled supply chain. An unbroken cold chain is an uninterrupted series of storage and distribution activities which maintain a given temperature range...
. 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 (35.6 °F) to 8 °C (46.4 °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.
Materials
Thermal bags are usually manufactured with varying quantities of the following materials:- PET film (biaxially oriented)PET film (biaxially oriented)BoPET is a polyester film made from stretched polyethylene terephthalate and is used for its high tensile strength, chemical and dimensional stability, transparency, reflectivity, gas and aroma barrier properties and electrical insulation.A variety of companies manufacture boPET and other...
(Mylar, etc) - StyrofoamStyrofoamStyrofoam is a trademark of The Dow Chemical Company for closed-cell currently made for thermal insulation and craft applications. In 1941, researchers in Dow's Chemical Physics Lab found a way to make foamed polystyrene...
- FabricFabricA fabric is a textile material, short for "textile fabric".Fabric may also refer to:*Fabric , the spatial and geometric configuration of elements within a rock*Fabric , a nightclub in London, England...
- NonwovensNonwovensNonwoven fabric is a fabric-like material made from long fibres, bonded together by chemical, mechanical, heat or solvent treatment. The term is used in the textile manufacturing industry to denote fabrics, such as felt, which are neither woven nor knitted. Nonwoven materials typically lack...
- PolyethylenePolyethylenePolyethylene or polythene is the most widely used plastic, with an annual production of approximately 80 million metric tons...
- PolyurethanePolyurethaneA polyurethane is any polymer composed of a chain of organic units joined by carbamate links. Polyurethane polymers are formed through step-growth polymerization, by reacting a monomer with another monomer in the presence of a catalyst.Polyurethanes are...
- PolypropylenePolypropylenePolypropylene , also known as polypropene, is a thermoplastic polymer used in a wide variety of applications including packaging, textiles , stationery, plastic parts and reusable containers of various types, laboratory equipment, loudspeakers, automotive components, and polymer banknotes...
See also
- Food safetyFood safetyFood safety is a scientific discipline describing handling, preparation, and storage of food in ways that prevent foodborne illness. This includes a number of routines that should be followed to avoid potentially severe health hazards....
- HACCP
- Heat transferHeat transferHeat transfer is a discipline of thermal engineering that concerns the exchange of thermal energy from one physical system to another. Heat transfer is classified into various mechanisms, such as heat conduction, convection, thermal radiation, and phase-change transfer...
- Packaging
- Temperature controlTemperature controlTemperature control is a process in which change of temperature of a space is measured or otherwise detected, and the passage of heat energy into or out of the space is adjusted to achieve a desired average temperature....
- Insulated shipping containerInsulated shipping containerInsulated shipping containers are a type of packaging used to ship temperature sensitive products such as foods, pharmaceuticals, and chemicals. They are used as part of a cold chain to help maintain product freshness and efficacy...