The ISTA Pharma Committee develops and publishes peer-reviewed technical guidance that addresses relevant needs of the temperature-controlled packaging industry as well as provide a forum for industry members to collaborate and share best practices.
Here’s a handy set of new papers and upcoming virtual educational opportunities to meet with your peers.
| Event/White Paper | When |
White Paper: Lane Management | Available for download |
White Paper: Shipping and Distribution Risk Assessment | Available for download |
| Virtual Meeting: ISTA Pharma Committee ‘Connect’ Session on shipping and distribution risk white paper | Feb 27 @ 11:00-11:45am Eastern (Registration) |
| Virtual Meeting: ISTA Pharma Committee ‘Connect’ Session on lane management white paper | |
| Course: CC 101 | Principles of Cold Chain Packaging | Course available now |
| Conference: ISTA Forum, including TempPack and TransPack | April 22-24, 2024 in San Diego, CA (Registration) |
White papers
The objective is to introduce the concept of Lane Management, establish a definition for Lane Management, and provide an overview of the lifecycle approach to Lane Management.
ISTA PCW-02 Shipping and Distribution Risk Assessment
The ISTA Pharma Committee’s new whitepaper provides an overview for developing a shipping and distribution risk assessment process for temperature-sensitive product shipments. A risk assessment involves identifying the hazards and evaluating the risks associated with exposure to those hazards. Risks to products during shipments include several factors such as damage, lost shipments, temperature alarms, delayed shipments and more.
“We’re confident the content and examples provided in this whitepaper will help drive a standardized best practice approach for conducting shipping and distribution risk assessments,” said Bryan Cardis with Cold Chain Technologies, ISTA Pharma Committee vice chair and working group co-lead. “I’m proud of our committee’s collaborative effort to help our industry grow and innovate.”
To provide greater standardization across all existing and in-development ISTA Pharma Committee guidance documents, the committee has also published a guidance paper “ISTA PCG-00: Catalog Listing & Glossary of Terms” that serves as a centralized glossary for common industry terms. These terms were also benchmarked with other industry association publications.
Virtual meetings
- On 2/27 at 11am Eastern, the next ‘ISTA Pharma Committee ‘Connect’ Session will be focused on the ISTA PCW-02 Whitepaper, moderated by Bryan Cardis and Bill McGillian. Register here.
- A recent ISTA Pharma Committee ‘Connect’ Session focused on the ISTA PCW-01 Lane Management Whitepaper, moderated by Arminda Montero and Karen Greene. Access the recording here.
Education
The new ISTA CC 101 | Principles of Cold Chain Packaging Course is now available in ISTA’s Online Learning Platform.
The course provides a broad overview of cold chain packaging, which is used to ship products that require specific temperature ranges to maintain their quality and efficacy. Cold chain packaging is essential for many industries, such as biotechnology, pharmaceuticals, food and beverages, and industrial chemicals.
The course is designed for technicians, designers, engineers, and anyone working in research and development, sales, marketing and management who can benefit from a strong foundational understanding of the basics of cold chain packaging. CC 101 is also ideal for new employees who need to learn the fundamentals of the field.
The course covers the following topics:
- Hazards in the Distribution Environment
- Introduction to Cold Chain Packaging
- Fundamentals of Heat Transfer
- Temperature-sensitive Products
- Phase Change Materials
- Cold Chain Packaging Solutions
- Cold Chain Packaging System Testing
- Cold Chain Packaging Temperature Monitoring
- Pre-Qualified Cold Chain Solutions
- Quality Control for Cold Chain Solutions
CC 101 is delivered through ISTA's Online Learning System, which allows learners to access the course content at their own pace and convenience. The course consists of interactive modules, quizzes, videos and case studies that enhance the learning experience and provide practical examples of cold chain packaging applications. The course also counts towards the ISTA Certified Packaging Dynamics Professional (ISTA PDP) program, which is the most recognized credential in the transit packaging space.
The course is now available for registration on ISTA's website. The course fee is $395 for ISTA members and $495 for non-members. For more information and to enroll, please visit https://ista.org/cold_chain_cc.php#cc-101.
In-Person
Visit ISTA’s TempPack Forum in sunny San Diego, taking place April 22-24, 2024. For more, visit ISTA Forum Set for April in California. Early bird registration ends March 3.
