By Karen E. Thuermer, AJOTTechnological advancements are making the shipment of perishables easier and safer. A great deal of effort is involved moving perishable meats and poultry around the globe. With business opportunities skyrocketing, shippers are leaning more and more on technological advancements that spin magic into tomorrow’s next meal. Take for instance the high standards and demands of cruise line passengers and the on board chefs that prepare masterpiece meals. When seafaring travelers on board ships operated by P & O Cruises sit down to their steak or Chicken Cordon Blue, they expect it to be succulent. Few give much thought to the logistics involved in bringing them their meal. Yet cruise lines like P & O Cruises take great pride in the fact that its culinary experience is one of the many reasons passengers are attracted to selecting its cruise line for sailings to the Caribbean, Mediterranean, Baltic Sea, Fjords, Atlantic Isles and beyond. Cruise lines jump through multiple hoops to live up to passenger expectations. As a result, guests on board are treated 24-hours-a-day to a fresh and diverse selection of menus across a choice of restaurants and dining locations. Providing these meals goes beyond serving passengers such feasts, especially during peak holiday seasons for Caribbean Island cruises. All perishables must be maintained at a specified temperature. Fresh fruits, vegetables, berries and herbs, for example, must be maintained at +2 to 8 degrees Celsius. Meats and poultry have higher standards, and when transported by air from the United Kingdom to the docks in Barbados, for example, must be shipped in temperature-controlled air transportation containers. During the holiday season, P & O Cruises, working in partnership with its logistics provider, Southampton Freight Services, leases up to 40 Envirotainer® RKN containers per month to ensure that the quality of its food is never compromised and complies with strict Food & Safety regulations. Envirotainer® is known as the pioneer and leader in developing active temperature-controlled air transportation solutions. Since the mid-eighties, the Stockholm, Sweden-based company has been developing its temperature-sensitive containers to meet growing transportation needs. They have become widely used around the world. Since the 90s, the company’s temperature control containers have helped secure the value of temperature-sensitive products and has experienced phenomenal growth. Although a key ingredient, the containers are regarded as only a part of the solution. Equally important is the robust infrastructure Envirotainer® has built to enable worldwide distribution of temperature-sensitive goods. In P & O Cruises case, a typical shipment of food products will be collected from P & O Crusies’ suppliers in the United Kingdom. One Day One of the shipment, these will be loaded directly into pre-cooled Envirotainer® containers arranged by Southampton Freight Services. The containers will then be transported to the airport for exporting to its destination. On Day Two, the flight will depart from London Gatwick Airport in the morning and arrive to Grantley Adams International Airport in Bridgetown, Barbados later that afternoon, local time. On Day Three, the containers will be transported from the airport in Bridgetown to the seaport and positioned alongside the cruise liner for loading onto the ship. Key to the procedure is that no special packaging is required for transportation. Food products are kept in the original crates and boxes they were collected in at the start of the supply chain. Throughout this delivery cycle, Envirotainer® containers successfully maintained their temperature requirements. “With the solution that Envirotainer® provides, offering the capability to maintain a set temperature for up to three days, P & O Cruises has been able to enhance their product delivery and reduce wastage,” says Mark Wilson, logistics manager for P & O Cruises. Land side technology