Ensuring The Safe Transportation Of Critical Milk For Twin Infants

By Linda Kim, General Manager, Marken Korea

As a professional working in the Pharmaceutical Research and Development industry, Mrs. Tan was also a mother of twins. She found herself in search of a safe and secure means to transport expressed breast milk across Asian borders to her infants back home. Milk for the twins had to remain at a solid frozen state, in specific-sized containers, and the entire shipment was extremely time sensitive due to the short shelf life of expressed milk.

Malaysian and Korean airlines have strict standards and quantity limits on whether dry ice can be shipped on commercial jets, particularly across borders. The printed airline guidelines are also detailed and specific regarding the amount of dry ice that can be transported on a commercial jet by an individual or company. Mrs. Tan needed to transport more than 20 packs of milk, each containing 150 ml. The milk would also be transported for more than 12 hours from hotel departure in Korea back to her home in Malaysia. Frozen expressed milk should be kept frozen at all times, and can be stored up to 6 months. However, once thawed, it has to be used within 24 hours. Therefore, the challenge is to keep the milk frozen throughout the journey.

Because of these challenges and the fact that the mother was an individual, not a corporation, Marken was the only logistics company who would work with her to find a solution. Marken’s BIO SYSTEM II offered the perfect blend of options for all of these challenges — the exclusive Marken packaging ensures at least 72 hours of frozen temperature maintenance with only a small quantity of dry ice needed. In addition, Marken’s extensive knowledge of customs regulations, airline guidelines, and shipping logistics helped Mrs. Tan to transport her expressed milk from Seoul to Kuala Lumpur.