The cold chain

In every other property cold storage is quality. Here it is part of two compliance positions and one safety one.

Refrigeration is a control, not a preference

For a live product, cold is what holds the fermentation rate down, which is what keeps the alcohol under 0.5 percent and the pressure inside what the bottle can take.

For an unpasteurized juice, cold is what holds the microbial population down over the short shelf life.

And the acidified foods rule excludes foods stored, distributed and retailed under refrigeration, all three, so for some products the cold chain is the basis of a regulatory position rather than an adjunct to it.

Which means a break in the chain is not a quality event. It can be a compliance one.

Where it breaks

Between filling and the chiller, if bottles sit warm on a bench.

In transit, in an unrefrigerated van, which is the commonest break and the least visible.

At the retailer's back door, waiting to be put out.

On a shelf that is stocked from a warm stockroom.

And at the customer, who carries it home in a bag on a warm day and leaves it in a cupboard.

The last one is outside your control and inside your responsibility, which is what the label is for.

What it costs

Cold storage, refrigerated transport or a cold-pack shipping solution, and a shorter distribution radius.

It also closes channels: a retailer without chilled space cannot stock you, and a mail-order model has to solve the transit temperature or accept the risk.

Which is the strongest commercial argument for stabilizing the product, and the reason the decision about pasteurizing is really a decision about distribution.

Labeling it

"Keep refrigerated" is the minimum, prominent rather than in small print.

For a live product, say why: keeping it cold keeps it as intended, and warmth makes it more carbonated. A customer who understands the reason follows the instruction.

And date it honestly against the chain you can actually hold, rather than against the best case.

References