The Live Animals & Perishables Board of the International Air Transport Association (IATA) voted last week to ammend the orientation of the Time & Temperature Sensitive Handling Label following concerns by the US Department of Transportation (USDOT) and the International Civil Aviation Administration (ICAO) that the label may possibly be confused with Dangerous Goods labeling.

The label color, graphics, and verbiage will remain the same. However, the orientation of the label (a four inch square applied to the outermost transportation package "on point") "should be rotated 45 degrees so that it appears as a square and not a diamond," declared David Brennan, Head of Cargo Safety & Standards at IATA. "The concern is that confusion may arise as a result of the label orientation which could delay a time and temperature sensitive shipment, or lead to the package being opened, or that a dangerous goods inspector will interpret the label as dangerous goods, when in fact it is not, which could possibly lead to a fine." 

IATA went on to say that any original labels printed "on point" can still be used until inventories are exhausted, provided they are applied "on square."

REVISED IATA

TIME & TEMPERATURE SENSITIVE HANDLING LABEL

The Time & Temperature Sensitive Handling Label usage is specific to the healthcare industry. It was first introduced in Chapter 17 of the 9th Edition of the IATA Perishable Cargo Regulations (effective July 1, 2009), as an optional label to be used in conjunction with a Quality Management System between the shipper, freight forwarder, airline carrier and others in the distribution chain.

The label has been used on a voluntary basis by several shippers since July of this year and while no reports of confusion with dangerous goods has been reported, the LAPB voted to change the orientation before the label becomes a requirement on July 1, 2010.

In addition, IATA has defined the specifications and the Pantone color scheme for those wishing to reproduce the label for their operations.

You can link to IATA's specifications for the Time & Temperature Sensitive Label and the Perishable Cargo Regulations 9th Edition Chapter 17 Addendum here.