How have new rules and regulations aimed at curbing the spread of COVD-19 affected food manufacturing and industrial refrigeration stakeholders? That is the focus of a one-hour webinar on March 25 at 2 p.m. ET hosted by the International Institute of Ammonia Refrigeration.

Cold Chain Technologies (CCT), a global provider of reusable and single-use passive thermal packaging solutions for the shipment of temperature-sensitive products for the life sciences industry, opened a facility in Lebanon, Tenn., that will support the needs for COVID-19 vaccine distribution.

Cold Summit Development launched a 343,000 ft² multi-tenant cold-storage facility, Cold Summit Dallas, in Dallas, Texas. The $60 million project will include state-of-the-art refrigeration technology and a 50’ clear height. Construction is anticipated to start immediately with completion scheduled for September 2021.

One issue with the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine is that it needs to be stored at -94°F, which is problematic when it comes to storage. One possible solution to the problem is Dippin’ Dots, the pelletized ice-cream treat. How? The company operates freezers that get as cold as -122°F, making them suitable for vaccine storage.

COVID-19 vaccine candidates being developed by Moderna Inc. and BioNTech and Pfizer Inc. will require stringent standards for refrigeration, according to a story on MarketWatch. Such requirements could hinder how they are distributed.

Facility managers are responsible for keeping their plants and buildings as safe as possible. This includes mitigating and preventing the contamination of cooling towers from dirt, bacteria and other dangers. COVID-19’s impact on sources such as cooling towers and HVAC systems is still being researched. However, cooling towers are a common source for the growth of infectious bacteria such as Legionella.

Chillventa, the Nuremberg, Germany-based biennial event that is one of the largest HVAC&R trade shows in the world, has been postponed until 2022, with a digital event now scheduled to take place on the original dates, October 13-15, 2020.

According to research conducted by Clear Seas Research for the period April 16-20, 56 percent of active business and 50 percent of planned business throughout the manufacturing industry is still on schedule during the coronavirus pandemic.

Currently, it is thought that the novel coronavirus causing outbreaks of COVID-19 worldwide is not a significant risk of contaminating industrial cooling towers. Little research has been completed to date, however.