Are Fresh Ice Packs Purchased Online Safe And Environmentally Friendly?

The rapid development of fresh e-commerce platforms has allowed people to eat fresh aquatic products, fruits and vegetables, cooked food and other special delicacies without leaving home, which has also given rise to a huge demand for fresh-keeping ice bags, and its market size has increased year by year. So, what are the contents of ice packs, and are they safe for human health?

In fact, ice packs are not only filled with water, but also written in many outer packaging or sales introductions, such as "polymer compounds disguised cold storage raw materials" and "containing water-cooled gel particles". According to experts, the ice packs on the market can be divided into chemical refrigeration ice bags and physical refrigeration ice bags according to their refrigeration methods.

Chemical refrigeration ice pack is a disposable product, usually add sodium carbonate and ammonium salt, when added to water, the substance in the bag is mixed, reacts and absorbs heat, and can be cooled down "instantly" without being sent to the refrigerator for freezing, and is generally used for acute injuries such as sprains and falls during exercise. However, once this kind of ice pack is broken, there are certain risks, such as ammonium chloride is harmful to the skin and mucous membranes and liver function, and sodium nitrate is irritating to the skin and mucous membranes.

Most of our common food fresh-keeping ice bags belong to physical refrigeration ice bags. The principle is to add some chemicals to the water to reduce the freezing point and prolong the cryogenic cold storage time. At present, the main substances added on the market are sodium polyacrylate, superabsorbent resin (SAP), carboxymethyl cellulose (CMC), etc., which are safer than chemically refrigerated ice packs and can be used repeatedly.

These ice packs are generally frozen for several hours before being refrigerated and transported, and they are in a gelatinous ice state. During transportation, when the ambient temperature is higher than the temperature of the ice pack, the ice pack will liquefy, absorbing heat from the environment and cooling the inside of the box. Our fresh food can be kept cold for a long time, locking in the freshness.

Compared with dry ice, which also has a low-temperature preservation effect, physical refrigerated ice packs are not restricted by air, train and other modes of transportation, and there are many ways to purchase them, which greatly facilitates the low-temperature transportation of aquatic products, melons and fruits, and dairy products.

Consumers should not be overly concerned if such ice packs are accidentally damaged, resulting in food mixing with the ice pack filling. Because ice packs filled with sodium polyacrylate, there is usually no significant toxicity. Consumers can rinse their food in a timely manner so that there is generally no health risk after handling.