How to Send Food With Dry Ice

Dry ice is often used to ship food as well as other materials that have to stay cold during the shipping process. This ice is not ice at all; it is in fact Carbon Dioxide in a frozen state. Therefore, it can be very dangerous if not handled properly. Take care when shipping food using dry ice.

1. Purchase the amount of dry ice that you will need to properly cool your food that you will be shipping. On average if you are shipping a standard sized cooler, you will need around five pounds of dry ice to keep the contents inside cold for approximately 24 hours.


2. Place the food that you are shipping into the cooer first.


3. Put on protective gloves before handling the dry ice to protect your skin from the extremely cold temperatures of the ice.


4. Place the dry ice on top of the food that you have already placed into your cooler. Be sure that the sides and top of the food that you are shipping are covered with dry ice.


5. Place packing material on top of the dry ice to fill any open space in the cooler. You want to be sure that the dry ice is securely in place and not allowed to move around during the shipping process.


6. Wrap the cooler in shipping paper, or place into a box for shipping.


7. Write the name and address of the shipping destination on the package, along with your name and address in case of any shipping problems.


8. Visit the post office and let them know that you have a package to ship that contains dry ice. They will mark the box appropriately for you so that the mail carrier and delivery truck know of the materials inside so that they can take proper care of the package.