How to Ship Summer Sausage

Keep summer sausage refrigerated until you package it.

Safety is a paramount concern when shipping food, particularly summer sausage. The term "summer sausage" originated as a denotation of its shelf life. Prior to refrigeration, perishable items had to go through a curing and drying process to survive hot summer months -- hence the name. However, the U.S. Department of Agriculture classifies summer sausage as "semi-dry," meaning it must be kept under refrigeration at all times, even though it's subjected to effective preservation techniques. Ship only vacuum-sealed or unopened summer sausage, and always use a service that offers next-day delivery. Does this Spark an idea?

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Corrugated shipping box
Shipping foam
10 gel cooling packs
Foam packing peanuts

Instructions

- 1
  
  Choose a corrugated box with a gross weight limit of 35 pounds for shipping summer sausage. The box-maker seal displaying the weight limit is usually printed on the bottom of the box.
- 2
  
  Line the box with shipping foam and place five gel cooling packs in the center. Place the summer sausage on the gel packs.
- 3
  
  Cover the top of the summer sausage with the remaining gel cooling packs. Fill the remainder of the box with foam packing peanuts.
- 4
  
  Seal the box with shipping tape and clearly mark the shipper and recipient information on the top. Mark the top and sides of the box "Perishable -- Keep Refrigerated."