Usps Food Shipping (Can You Ship It, Price, Steps + More)
The USPS is an industry giant and is known for its ability to ship more unusual items.
Are You able to Ship Food with USPS by 2022
USPS in 2022 has changed its regulations depending on whether food is to be shipped. If you’re sending items such as potato chips or other pre-packaged food, it can be shipped without any extra steps. Perishable items may require additional packaging or labeling.
Does USPS Ship Refrigerated or Frozen Food?
USPS will allow perishable items like refrigerated or frozen foods to be shipped. But, the shipping company must ensure the food does NOT spoil during transport.
Refrigerated and chilled perishable foods items tend to be more costly because they require faster shipping and the use cool tools such dry ice which, according to the USPS handbook, is considered a hazardous material.
Important to know that USPS doesn’t use coolers or refrigerators for shipping food. If you plan on sending perishables that will need to keep cold, then you need to consider the additional weight of cooling products that may be included with the shipment.
What USPS Shipping Services Can You Use to Ship Food
The USPS shipping services you should use when shipping food depends largely on whether or not you’re shipping perishable items, such as produce, meat and similar foods.
For non-perishable items such as chips, beefjerky, and other snacks you can use almost every USPS shipping option.
If you are shipping perishable food items, however, you are much more limited depending on what you’re shipping.
It is important to make certain perishable items are shipped safely.
Dry ice is used to cool food packages. It can be only used for 5 pounds or less of perishable goods.
Keeping this in mind, the best way to ship perishable items is through Priority Mail Express, which guarantees next-day delivery for most urban areas and 2-day delivery for more rural areas.
Priority Mail, First Class and Express Mail are options. But these options will only work for packages that weigh 5 lbs or less. These items must be shipped onto airplanes.
Keep in mind that the faster you can get your perishable food items to their location, the less likely it is for them to spoil in transit, so it’s always best to go with the fastest shipping option available.
Shipping Food with the USPS: How Much Do You Charge?
USPS calculates shipping costs by taking into account the dimensions and distance of each package.
As the prices of shipping food are so varied depending on their type and quantity, it is sometimes difficult to figure the exact cost.
However, you can do some calculations before bringing the package to USPS, in order to get a good idea of the price.
Priority Mail Express, Priority Mail Express, or Priority Mail Express are your top options for a food package that weighs in at 5 lb and requires 5 lbs more dry ice.
For Priority Mail Express, if you’re shipping this package from Texas to Florida, it would cost about $102 and deliver within 24 hours.
You can send this package via Priority Mail to Texas from Florida for $35. Your package will be delivered in 2-3 days.
Keep in mind, however, that the weight and dimensions of your package can vary, as well as the distance, which could impact the price.
How do you ship food to the USPS
Shipping perishable food items can be tricky with USPS, especially since perishable food itself is a restricted item and the dry ice used to cool it is a hazardous item.
The USPS has several regulations and rules that you need to follow in order ship perishable food.
A sturdy container must be leak-proof. It should also have insulation to keep the contents cool and avoid odors or spills while in transit.
The best choice is to use thick polystyrene boxes. They are strong enough to prevent burst and leaks, but also lock in smells and moisture.
Then, you can place perishable goods in the shipping container.
Your perishables should be packed in lightweight material such as bubble wrap. After that, dry ice can be placed on top or around perishables.
Make sure you use quality packaging tape. You must leave some space for condensate and dry ice gas to escape when sealing the package.
Once your package is sealed, you must label everything appropriately.
Perishable foods and dry ice being restricted products, it is necessary to include a declaration for dangerous goods and a label indicating what food you are shipping and how much dry ice.
You’ll also need a Class 9 DOT warning label for the dry ice to warn postal workers that your package needs to be handled with extra care.
To read more about dry ice and the different shipping regulations USPS has in place, you can visit this site to make sure you’re doing everything correctly.
You can also visit this page of the USPS website if you want to learn more about the intricacies and regulations around shipping perishable items with USPS.
For more information about USPS shipping services you can see our posts regarding whether USPS delivers door to door or if USPS delivers Sundays and USPS booking shipping.
USPS will allow food to ship, but you can choose from different shipping options depending on whether your food is perishable.
You can ship perishable items by dry ice. However, Priority Mail is only allowed if 5 lbs of dry Ice or less.
.Usps Food Shipping (Can You Ship It, Price, Steps + More)
