AABP Executive Director Dr. Fred Gingrich is joined by Dr. Emmanuel Rollin, clinical associate professor of dairy production medicine at the University of Georgia. Rollin is a former Amstutz Scholarship winner and currently serves as the chair of the AABP Amstutz Scholarship Committee. Today we are discussing a paper published in The Bovine Practitioner, titled “Maintenance of the last step of the cold chain: on-farm refrigerator storage and performance.” The primary objective of the study was to evaluate the performance of refrigerators in an on-farm setting to determine the temperature ranges observed using a data logging device. Rollin discusses the types of refrigerators that are commonly seen on farms and some of the different features of those refrigerators. The recommended temperature interval (RTI) for most biologics used in cattle is 36-46 degrees F.  The study was conducted for 6 months with temperatures measured every 10 minutes resulting in over 1 million data points. Results demonstrated that household refrigerators were outside the RTI 37% of the time, commercials refrigerators 2% of the time, and mini-refrigerators 27% of the time. They also evaluated the mean daily temperature ranges (MDTR) in the refrigerator (low to high daily temperature range) and found MDTR from 1 – 14o F with type of refrigerator and ambient temperature in the room impacting MDTR ranges. Rollin discusses that the study does not indicate if the biologic products stored outside of the RTI had diminished efficacy, however monitoring refrigerators can be a part of risk management for disease mitigation strategies. Veterinarians can play a role in ensuring that the cold chain for biologicals are maintained to decrease the risk to herd health when implementing vaccine protocols, including monitoring inventory, temperature data logging, refrigerator location and maintenance. 

The In Temp data logger used in this study can be found at this link. 

 Fallness, C. A., Rollin, E., Heins, B. D., & Berghaus, R. D. (2022). Maintenance of the last step of the cold chain: on-farm refrigerator storage and performance. The Bovine Practitioner, 56(2), 62–69. https://doi.org/10.21423/bovine-vol56no2p62-69