Everything You Need to Know About the NF S99-700 Standard: Useful Clarifications

The NF S99-700 standard is a French standard approved and published by AFNOR in October 2007. It describes a method for qualifying the thermal performance of insulated and refrigerated packaging for health products. Take a look at these useful clarifications regarding the NF S99-700 standard.

Certification according to AFNOR NF S99-700 standard

Terms to use when discussing certified packaging

Talking about AFNOR certified insulated packaging without mentioning the standard reference can be misleading. It is more relevant and accurate to say that the packaging is certified according to NF S99-700 standard. Indeed, AFNOR publishes standards like NF S99-700, but also has certification authority (the NF mark, for example).

Furthermore, it is advisable to use the term thermal performance certification rather than validation.

The NF S99-700 standard offers two protocols

The NF S99-700 standard should not be reduced to temperature profiles. Specifying the temperature profiles applied in the qualification is necessary, but not sufficient to declare the packaging’s compliance. To illustrate this point, let’s say that temperature profiles are like a needle hiding in a haystack!

Certain parameters and criteria are mandatory for both protocols, while others are mandatory only for the standard protocol (ST) and can be chosen or adapted for the specific protocol (SP).

• – Learn more about the common criteria that follow the standard protocol of the standard (ST).
• – Learn more about the parameters to specify within the framework of a specific qualification (SP).

If you adapt one or more standard parameters to specific conditions, the certification is then specific (SP). In this case, the packaging’s compliance is declared for a referenced packaging and a referenced specification.

The test report specifies the protocol (standard or specific), the applied profile and all test conditions. An insulated box can be certified for multiple profiles, whether standard or specific.

Contact our experts for any questions regarding our packaging certified according to the NF S99-700 standard.