Maintenance of the last step of the cold chain: on-farm refrigerator storage and performance

Abstract

Failure of the cold chain and thermal damage to refrigerated vaccines can result in losses for cattle owners and safety issues for cattle. The primary objectives of this study were to quantify characteristics of refrigerator operating temperatures on re­gional dairy and veterinary operations, including the percent­age of time that refrigerators spent outside the recommended temperature interval (RTI) of 36°F to 46°F (2°C to 8°C) for vac­cine storage, the mean daily temperature range (MDTR), and identify variables associated with those characteristics.