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Refrigerated Freight & Cold Chain · Otay Mesa Border

Cold Storage Transport for Perishables Crossing at Otay Mesa

Temperature-controlled trucking and cold storage for produce, seafood, and other perishables moving across the San Diego border. We hold the cold chain, coordinate the FDA and USDA reviews, and clear the entry so your load does not sit warming on the dock.

What it is

What cold storage transport at the border actually involves

Cold storage transport is refrigerated (reefer) trucking paired with temperature-controlled warehousing, run so that your product never leaves its required temperature range from the Mexican shipper to the U.S. delivery point. For perishables crossing at Otay Mesa, that means pre-cooled reefer trailers, monitored set points, and a place to hold product under refrigeration if the entry needs a review before it is released.

The border is where cold chains break. Most produce and food imports trigger FDA oversight, and produce and plant material can draw a USDA APHIS inspection, so a load can be pulled for exam while the clock and the refrigeration keep running. If the paperwork is not filed clean and the cold storage is not lined up, an exam turns into spoilage, a rejected lot, and a claim. Getting the entry and the temperature right is the difference between a delivered load and a written-off one.

What’s included

  • Pre-cooled refrigerated (reefer) trailers with set points matched to your commodity, from frozen through fresh-produce ranges
  • Temperature-controlled cold storage at the crossing to hold product under refrigeration during exams, transloads, or delivery scheduling
  • Continuous temperature monitoring and reefer set-point verification so a claim can be backed by a record, not a guess
  • Prior Notice filing to FDA for food shipments and coordination of any FDA hold or exam
  • USDA APHIS coordination for produce and plant products subject to inspection at Otay Mesa
  • Customs entry filed in ACE so clearance and the reefer move stay on the same timeline
  • Cross-dock and transload from Mexican-side reefer to U.S. carrier without a break in the cold chain
  • Bilingual coordination with your Tijuana shipper and driver so temperature and pickup instructions do not get lost
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How it works

How we handle it

Pre-clear before the truck loads

We review your commodity, temperature spec, and documents ahead of the crossing. Prior Notice goes to FDA, the HTS classification is set, and the entry is staged in ACE so nothing waits on paperwork at the line.

Cross with the cold chain intact

Product moves in a pre-cooled reefer at the verified set point. We track the entry through CBP and stay ahead of any FDA or USDA APHIS review before it becomes a delay on a loaded trailer.

Hold under refrigeration if needed

If the load is pulled for exam or delivery is not ready, it goes into temperature-controlled storage instead of sitting on a hot dock. The cold chain and the temperature record continue without a gap.

Release and deliver

Once CBP releases and any agency hold clears, product moves to your U.S. destination at temperature, with the monitoring record available if a receiver or claim ever questions it.

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Questions, answered

Cold Storage Transport FAQ

What temperature ranges can you handle for cross-border loads?

We run reefer equipment across the full perishable range, from deep-frozen product to fresh-produce set points that only need to hold a few degrees above freezing. The right set point is matched to your specific commodity before the truck loads, and it is verified rather than assumed, because produce, seafood, and frozen goods each fail differently when the temperature drifts.

What happens to my refrigerated load if it gets held for an FDA or USDA exam?

That is exactly the scenario cold storage transport is built for. If FDA pulls the food entry or USDA APHIS orders an inspection, the product goes into temperature-controlled storage at the crossing instead of warming on a trailer or a dock. The cold chain and the temperature record keep running, so a routine exam does not turn into a spoiled or rejected lot. We work the hold with the agency to get it released as fast as the review allows.

Do you file the FDA Prior Notice, or is that on us?

We file it. Food shipments into the U.S. require Prior Notice to FDA before the goods arrive, and we submit it as part of the entry so the crossing and the filing stay on one timeline. You send us the commodity and shipper details ahead of the load; we handle the filing and flag anything that could trigger a hold before the truck is at the line.

Do you provide the cold storage yourself, or just the trucking?

Both are coordinated as one service so there is no handoff gap where the cold chain can break. You get refrigerated transport across the border and temperature-controlled storage at the crossing under a single point of contact, which matters most during an exam or when a delivery appointment slips and the product needs somewhere cold to wait.

Can you keep the cold chain intact when transloading from a Mexican carrier to a U.S. truck?

Yes. We cross-dock reefer to reefer under refrigeration so product is not sitting in ambient air during the transfer. Set points are verified on both sides and the transload is timed to the entry release, so the switch from your Tijuana-side carrier to the U.S. delivery truck does not become the weak link that ruins the load.

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