With the summer heat, it’s more important than ever to pay attention to how we transport and store fresh food. If you want to enjoy natural products like Caña Nature’s guacamoles, gazpachos, or salmorejos at their best, maintaining the cold chain is key to preserving their flavor, texture, and food safety.

Raquel Cabrera, Head of Quality, Food Safety, and Environment at Caña Nature, shares some simple and effective tips to keep the cold chain intact during your shopping and travel.

1. Do the Cold Shopping Last

A common mistake when shopping is starting with refrigerated or frozen items. In summer, this can mean they spend more than 30–40 minutes out of refrigeration, breaking the cold chain and affecting their safety, texture, or taste.

The solution? Plan your route through the supermarket so you collect cold products just before checking out. This is especially important for foods like dairy, meat, fish, guacamole, or fresh gazpacho like those from Caña Nature, which require constant refrigeration.

Also, if you’re shopping during the hottest hours, bring an empty cooler bag from home to store your cold items as soon as you pick them up.

2. Use Cooler Bags or Portable Coolers

Whenever possible, transport your cold products in insulated bags or portable coolers.

This is particularly important if your journey home takes more than 30 minutes or you plan to make additional stops.

Bonus tip: “Add reusable ice packs or frozen bottles to extend freshness,” recommends Raquel Cabrera.

3. Organize Your Products Well in the Bag

Once you have your refrigerated and frozen products, how you pack them in the cooler or bag matters. It’s not just about throwing everything in and zipping it up—a good organization helps maintain temperature longer and more efficiently.

Group items by temperature type:

• ❄️ Refrigerated with refrigerated (gazpachos, guacamoles, salmorejos, yogurts, cold cuts)

• 🧊 Frozen with frozen (ice cream, frozen vegetables, fish, meat)

Why is this important?
Because each group maintains its own level of cold. If you mix products with different temperatures, the colder items can lose their cooling effect when in contact with warmer ones, accelerating spoilage in both.

Also, if using ice packs or frozen bottles, distribute them among the products, especially the frozen ones, to create a kind of “cold microclimate” inside the bag.

4. Be Careful with the Car

Avoid leaving your shopping in the car, especially if parked in the sun.

Ideally, go straight home and store the items that require refrigeration as soon as possible.

If you’re traveling:

• Place the cooler in the coolest part of the vehicle (never in a hot trunk).

• Turn on the air conditioning if possible to maintain a stable temperature during the journey.

5. Once Home, Store Cold Products First

After getting home from shopping, don’t get distracted with other tasks. The first thing you should do is refrigerate or freeze the necessary products.

Even a 15–20 minute delay may be enough for some foods to lose their properties, allowing microorganisms to develop that affect their safety and quality.

Have your fridge organized beforehand so you can quickly and efficiently store cold products without leaving the door open too long. If you’re freezing anything, do it as soon as possible to preserve texture and nutritional value.

6. Use Your Fridge Wisely

Once at home, proper use of the refrigerator is key to maintaining the cold chain. As Raquel Cabrera reminds us: “Close the refrigerator door properly and avoid opening it frequently, especially in summer when ambient temperatures are higher.”

Every time you open the fridge, warm air enters and the motor has to work harder to restore the optimal temperature. Repeated fluctuations can negatively affect more sensitive foods. Here are a few extra tips:

• Don’t overcrowd the fridge, so cold air circulates better.

• Check that the temperature is set between 1 °C and 8 °C for the refrigerated section.

• Store the most delicate products in the coldest zones (usually the bottom or dedicated drawers).

Maintaining the cold chain is a small gesture that makes a big difference in food safety and quality, especially during the hottest months.

At Caña Nature, where we work with 100% natural, additive-free products, we take great care of our food so you can enjoy them in perfect condition.

Follow these tips and enjoy our products with total peace of mind this summer—wherever you are. And remember, if you have any questions, we’re here to help.
Happy summer!