Is it legal to ship something with (frozen) dry ice?

Factual Questions
1

I want to overnight some chicken cacciatore from the East Bay (S.F. Bay Area) to the Peninsula. I know somebody who has one of those vacuum sealers, so I thought I’d seal it into a bag, and then ship it with dry ice.

But I have a feeling that’s the kind of thing I can’t do.

If not, is there any other way to ship perishables?

Thanks.

2

Ohama Steaks does it.

Which peninsula are you referring to?

3

I’ve gotten shipments of food with dry ice in them, so there must be a way of doing it. I don’t know if there’s any special hoops you have to jump through, though.

4

Here’s the USPS page on packages that contain dry ice.

Here is the UPS page.

5

At the risk of threadshitting: Why not just drive it down there yourself?

6

Dry Ice is considered Hazardous Material and the package needs a special sticker. I guess there’s a concern about CO2 building up in enclosed spaces when in sublimes. If you’re just shipping across the Bay, wet ice may suffice.

7

Not quite “hazardous material” (assuming not a sealed container). Here are the marking instructions from the two links I posted:

[QUOTE=UPS]
(2) For non-medical, non-hazardous U.S. domestic air packages with 2.5 kg (5.5 pounds) or less of dry ice (prepared under 49 CFR):

[ul]

[li]No Hazardous Material Agreement is required[/li][li] No Hazardous Material Shipping Papers required[/li][li] Hazardous material accessorial charges will not be applied[/li][li] Process through UPS WorldShip 2008 version 10.0 (or higher) or compliant software[/li][li] Mark the outer carton with:[/li][li] The words “Dry Ice” or “Carbon Dioxide, Solid”[/li][li] A description of the non-hazardous contents (e.g. food, meat)[/li][li] The amount of the dry ice contained in the package (or a statement that there is 2.5 kg [5.5 pounds] or less in the package)[/li][li] No other paperwork is required for these packages[/li][/ul]
[/QUOTE]

No, really–if you’re mailing dry ice, just go follow the links.

8

Rhythmdvl: Wow! Thanks! Perfect.
Blakeyrat: Oh, sorry. Locals call the area below South San Francisco (i.e., San Bruno, Burlingame, etc.) “The Peninsula.” I’m not sure exactly where it stops being the Peninsula, though. Or why it’s called that. There seems to be a small spit of land involved. However, in researching this just for you :), I ran across this disturbing image of the area. lol
Senegoid: Two reasons. A) I never learned to drive, and B) it’s complicated. This is family. We were estranged for 10 years, now diplomatic relations have opened back up, but not enough to actually go over there. They sent me a panettone at Christmas. If it seems weird to send an entree in response to a panettone, well, I said it was complicated.

9

Oops, forgot – Rhythmdvl, I had actually followed your link myself and was replying but got distracted by my quest to find out about the aforementioned Peninsula. Thanks again, and does anyone know what constitutes packaging that will allow CO2 vapor to dissipate? Would cardboard covered in brown paper be OK?

10

An alternative would be to find a Peninsula restaurant which makes it and have them handle the delivery.

11

Go down and talk to the folks at the post office (or UPS). Odds are they can help.

Sounds like you’ve got the premise for a good novel. :slight_smile:

12

Having experience packing medical specimens in dry ice for transport, I recommend, inside to outside:

  • sealed plastic bag around item to be packaged
  • cardboard box between it and dry ice if freezer burn would be a bad thing
  • styrofoam cooler to contain ice, with lid loosely taped on
  • outer cardboard box taped securely - but not hermetically sealed everywhere with tons of tape (for offgassing)
  • outside of box should clearly state how many kilograms of dry ice are inside (had FedEx return a package to us the next morning, the one time our office forgot this - it was rejected at the plane)
13

The most important part of those specifications is the “permit the release of carbon dioxide gas” part. Dry ice in a sealed container is a bomb.

Here’s the Mythbusters recipe for a “dry ice bursty bomb”.
1.Take a 2-liter bottle, fill it about half-way with water.
2. Add some dry ice.
3. Screw the cap on to create an airtight seal.
4. duck behind a convenient bit of cover to avoid the plastic shrapnel.

14

Some, but not all, UPS stores can package your shipment with dry ice. It’s not free of course. For example. You might want to call around.

Considering that it’s an overnight shipment, might some gel ice packs inside an insulated container suffice?

15

quantity is important. the carrier is limited to how much they can carry in total and also they will want to keep it separate from live animals.

16

My roommate gets Omaha Steaks. The packaging I see looks like a thick styrofoam cooler with 4 inch clear tape all the way around holding it closed. I’ll look closer next time, but I don’t recall any sort of a vent.

17

The picture makes it clear that San Francisco is obviously the profile of a guy with a huge tumor on his neck, and a purple sore on his jaw that is weeping copious pus :eek:

18

The tape doesn’t form an airtight seal - it’s just enough to keep the lid from coming off. At least, that was my experience when I got one of their shipments a couple years ago.

19

Okay, how spooky is this?
[

](Disneyland explosion: Police review video, Internet for clues)
This is how one of those movies starts out, isn’t it? :eek:

(Note1: yes, I’m kidding)
(Note2: no, I have no sense of California geography beyond the profile of a guy with a huge tumor on his neck, and a purple sore on his jaw that is weeping copious pus)

20

I hear those cool boxes are the shizzle - possibly better than their contents.