Everything You Need to Know About the Agreement on the Carriage of Perishable Foodstuffs (ATP)

The Agreement on the Carriage of Perishable Foodstuffs: an overview

The full name of this agreement is the “Agreement on the International Carriage of Perishable Foodstuffs and on the Special Equipment to Be Used for Such Carriage.” It is often referred to by its acronym ATP. This technical and sanitary regulation was drafted by the United Nations and signed in Geneva in 1970 by 48 countries. The ATP has been updated several times. You can find the complete ATP text on the UNECE website. 

The ATP sets out the performance and equipment requirements necessary for temperature-controlled transport, commonly referred to as refrigerated transport.

The goal of the ATP is to ensure that the cold chain and hygiene conditions are respected for transported goods, thus guaranteeing safety for the final consumer. The ATP focuses on three key points:

• Transport conditions for goods (storage temperature, packaging, and hygiene)
• Technical performance characteristics of vehicles (insulation, refrigeration unit capacity, etc.)
• Control, measurement, and equipment procedures (measuring the insulation coefficient, refrigeration unit performance, and maintaining temperatures)

There are exceptions to this rule for specific cases, such as domestic transports of less than 80 km without load interruption (meaning the refrigerated body doors are not opened between the initial loading and final delivery).

What is perishable foodstuff?

A perishable foodstuff is a product that requires controlled temperature during transportation. The ATP clearly specifies which goods fall under the “perishable foodstuffs” category. Here are the main ones and the corresponding temperatures they must be maintained at during transport:

• Meat and meat-based products (organ meats excluded): +7°C
• Butter and industrial milk: +6°C
• Poultry, rabbits and game: +4°C
• Chilled dairy products and milk in tankers: +4°C
• Organ meats: +3°C
• Fish, mollusks and crustaceans: on melting ice or at melting ice temperature
• Frozen butter: -10°C
• Frozen or deep-frozen fish, mollusks and crustaceans: -18°C
• Frozen goods: -18°C
• Ice cream: -20°C

Monitoring refrigerated transport equipment for perishable foddstuffs

Lecapitaine vehicles are equipped with bodies and refrigeration units tested in official test stations and validated by an ATP-compliant test report. Lecapitaine is authorized by the competent authorities to request ATP technical compliance certificates, initially valid for 6 years. This certificate is renewable for 3 years at 6 and 9 years following a test at an approved center. At 12 years, the vehicle must undergo testing again at an official station, extending the validity for another 6 years.

Each refrigerated vehicle in orepation must have a secure paper version of the ATP technical compliance certificate. Identifiable adhesives must also be affixed to each refrigerated box. These adhesives are codified and provide the following information:

• The vehicle category (isothermal, refrigerated and freezer)
• The insulation performance (normal or reinforced)
• The refrigeration unit’s cooling capacity: Class A (0°C), Class B (-10°C), and Class C (-20°C)
• Whether the refrigertaion unnit is autonomous or not
• THE ATP certificate’s expiration date

The ATP certificate is issued by the vehicle’s country of registration and has international validity. In France, the certificate request is manged by Datafrig information system, operated by the Cemafroid following a technical compliance analysis of the vehicle.  

At Lecapitaine, we strictly comply with ATP requirements for every refrigerated body we manufacture. We remain at your disposal for any questions you may have on this subject.