Airline Catering

Cut block dry ice is used in the airline catering industry to keep prepared meals fresh when transported from the airline catering kitchen to the airplane. The standard airline catering cut measures 5" x 5" x 7/8" and weighs ¾ pounds. The cut is packaged in a sealed poly bag for easy handling. The cuts are delivered in an 11 cubic foot insulated container with a hinged lid and on wheels. These containers hold approximately 700 pounds of dry ice cut block. Full containers are delivered to the airline catering kitchen's dock. Empty containers from prior deliveries are loaded back onto the truck. Upon return to the Continental Carbonic production plant, the empty containers are inspected for damage, repaired if necessary, thoroughly washed and sanitized and stored awaiting the next load.

Topping Off

Continental Carbonic adds a layer of loose dry ice on top of the top row of cut block product to better preserve this layer for use. Without the dry ice "topping", the top row of cut block will frequently sublimate to an unusable size resulting in significant loss in yield for the catering kitchen.

Product Quality

Continental Carbonic goes to great lengths to minimize the risk of product contamination. We adhere to strict maintenance and sanitization programs for our dry ice production equipment. We require our floor personnel to wear hair nets and anti-bacterial smocks and employ food grade cleanliness practices. Liquid carbon dioxide and dry ice are periodically tested to assure tight product specifications are being met. Digital video cameras monitor the production floor at each of our plants. Insulated containers are thoroughly cleaned and sanitized upon their return to our plants and lids are shrink wrapped once containers are filled. These practices result in Continental Carbonic being able to deliver the highest quality cut block dry ice in the industry.

On Time Deliveries

Our airline catering customers require timely delivery of dry ice to allow their kitchens to meet their meal production schedules on an uninterrupted basis. Continental Carbonic managers stay in close contact with their customer counterparts to insure timely and accurate communication of orders and adjustments.