ATP — Certification of Refrigerated Food Transport Equipment

When a refrigerated truck or container crosses an international border carrying perishable food, the importing country needs assurance that the equipment can actually maintain the temperature the food requires. The Agreement on the International Carriage of Perishable Foodstuffs and on the Special Equipment to Be Used for Such Carriage (ATP) — a United Nations treaty administered in the United States by USDA's Office of Transportation — provides that assurance through a standardized testing and certification system. The USDA regulations at 7 CFR Part 3300 implement the U.S. side of the ATP: designating approved testing stations and laboratories, specifying how equipment must be tested, and issuing ATP certificates that U.S. owners can use when moving perishable food across international borders. The ATP matters for any American food exporter, refrigerated carrier, or equipment manufacturer whose products move through ATP signatory countries — primarily in Europe, the Middle East, and the former Soviet Union.

Current Rule (2026)

What This Rule Does

The ATP treaty — to which the United States has been a signatory — establishes internationally recognized standards for the equipment used to transport perishable foods at controlled temperatures. Signatory countries agree to accept ATP certificates as proof that a piece of transport equipment has been tested and meets the treaty's thermal performance standards. Without an ATP certificate, U.S. refrigerated equipment can be delayed or refused at the border of an ATP country. Without an approved testing infrastructure in the United States, U.S. carriers and manufacturers would need to test equipment abroad.

USDA's Part 3300 regulations solve this by establishing a U.S. domestic testing infrastructure. There are two types of approved facilities: ATP Testing Stations (which test complete insulated transport bodies — the whole truck or container as a unit) and ATP Testing Laboratories (which test refrigerating appliances — the mechanical cooling unit — separately from the insulated body). A third category governs certification itself.

Testing Station approval (§§ 3300.16–3300.31): Any U.S. public or private organization with a U.S.-based facility can apply to be an approved ATP Testing Station. The application goes to the USDA ATP Manager. USDA must respond within 30 days — approval or rejection. Approved stations hold 5-year terms, renewable 90 days before expiration. USDA can revoke approval for cause with written notice. Testing stations perform the insulated body tests specified in ATP Annex 1 — measuring thermal performance of the complete transport unit.

K-coefficient measurement (§ 3300.10): The fundamental insulation test measures the "K-coefficient" — a measure of how well the body's walls resist heat transfer. The test uses the internal heating method specified in ATP Annex 1, Appendix 2. The K-coefficient determines the equipment classification (insulated only, refrigerated, heavily refrigerated, heated) and drives what food types and ambient temperatures the equipment is certified for. Lower K means better insulation.

Thermal appliance testing (§ 3300.13): The efficiency of the cooling or heating appliance — how well it maintains the required interior temperature — is tested per ATP Annex 1, Appendix 2, paragraphs 31–47. This test confirms the appliance can maintain required temperature differentials under the defined testing conditions.

Mechanical refrigerating appliance testing (§§ 3300.34–3300.37): Mechanically refrigerated equipment can be approved through a separate process — testing the refrigeration unit alone using the calibrated-box method per ARI Standard 1110 (Air-Conditioning and Refrigeration Institute). This allows refrigeration unit manufacturers to certify their units independently before they're installed in a transport body, streamlining certification for serial production.

ATP Testing Laboratories (§§ 3300.40–3300.55): Separate from Testing Stations, Testing Laboratories focus specifically on refrigerating appliances. Same 5-year approval term, 30-day USDA response, 90-day renewal lead time, and revocation-for-cause provisions.

Certificate issuance (§§ 3300.58–3300.61): U.S. owners can obtain ATP certificates for equipment made or assembled in the United States and tested at approved U.S. facilities. New equipment must pass testing at an approved station. For serial production runs, one representative unit is tested at an approved station and the remaining units are verified through the approved laboratory. Certificates are internationally recognized by all ATP signatory countries.

Key Provisions

• § 3300.1 — Scope: USDA runs the U.S. testing and certification program implementing the ATP treaty; covers insulated, refrigerated, mechanically refrigerated, and heated transport equipment
• § 3300.4 — Definitions: defines the equipment categories (insulated body, mechanically refrigerated, etc.) and the roles of testing stations vs. laboratories
• § 3300.10 — K-coefficient test: internal heating method per ATP Annex 1; K-coefficient is the foundational measure of insulation quality
• § 3300.13 — Thermal appliance efficiency: measured per ATP Annex 1, paragraphs 31–40 and 43–47
• § 3300.16–3300.31 — Testing Station designation: application, 30-day USDA response, 5-year approval, 90-day renewal, revocation for cause
• § 3300.34–3300.37 — Mechanical refrigerating appliance testing: ARI Standard 1110 calibrated-box method; enables unit-level certification independent of body type
• § 3300.40–3300.55 — Testing Laboratory designation: parallel to Testing Stations but for refrigerating appliances specifically
• § 3300.58–3300.61 — Certificate issuance: U.S.-equipment owners can receive ATP certificates after testing at approved domestic facilities; serial production uses representative unit + laboratory verification

How It Affects You

If you're a U.S. refrigerated food exporter or carrier moving product to ATP countries: The ATP certificate on your truck or container is what lets border agents in France, Germany, Turkey, or other ATP signatory countries accept that your equipment meets their temperature requirements without independent inspection. Without a valid ATP certificate, your shipment may face delays, re-inspection, or rejection at the border. The certificate is tied to the equipment (truck body or container), not to the cargo — it doesn't guarantee your products are safe, but it does certify that your cold chain equipment is capable of maintaining the required temperature conditions. If you're purchasing refrigerated transport equipment for international use, confirm with the manufacturer or seller whether it's ATP-certified and whether the certificate is current. Certificates are equipment-specific and expire.

If you're a transport equipment manufacturer or testing organization: USDA's approved testing station/laboratory status is the gateway to issuing ATP certificates for U.S.-built equipment. The application process is not burdensome by regulatory standards — 30-day USDA response, 5-year approvals — but your facility must be able to conduct the specific tests in ATP Annex 1 (K-coefficient measurement, thermal appliance efficiency testing, or refrigerating appliance testing per ARI Standard 1110). Most U.S. ATP testing infrastructure is concentrated in a small number of specialized facilities. Contact the USDA Office of Transportation ATP Manager for application forms and current requirements.

If you're tracking cold chain policy or food safety in international trade: The ATP covers the equipment side of the temperature-controlled supply chain — think of it as the credential for the truck, not the food. It sits alongside the Food Safety Modernization Act's Sanitary Transportation Rule (which governs how food is actually handled and temperature-managed during transport) and USDA/FDA import authorities that govern what food can cross the border. An ATP-certified vehicle can still carry improperly handled food; an ATP certificate is necessary but not sufficient for cold chain safety.

Statutory Authority

This rule implements:

• 7 U.S.C. § 4403 — Directs the Secretary of Agriculture to designate testing organizations and issue ATP certificates for transport equipment in accordance with the ATP treaty

Recent Rulemakings

No major Federal Register amendments to 7 CFR Part 3300 are on record in recent years. The underlying ATP treaty standards are set by the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE) and updated through treaty processes rather than U.S. rulemaking.

Recent Developments

• Cold chain disruption from COVID-19 and supply chain stress: The COVID-19 pandemic caused significant disruption to refrigerated transport capacity — particularly in the early months when trucking routes and border crossings changed rapidly. USDA worked with industry to maintain ATP-compliant transport for perishable exports even as logistics networks were restructured. Post-pandemic, cold chain investment has increased as food exporters recognized vulnerability to transport disruptions.
• FSMA Sanitary Transportation Rule interaction: FDA's Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA) Sanitary Transportation of Human and Animal Food rule (21 CFR Part 1, Subpart O, effective 2017) established temperature control and hygiene requirements for food transport that overlap with ATP equipment standards. For foods exported under ATP certificates, carriers must satisfy both the ATP international treaty standard and FSMA's domestic requirements. The two frameworks use similar but not identical temperature documentation requirements.
• UNECE ATP treaty revisions: The ATP treaty is administered by the UNECE and amended through diplomatic conference processes. Treaty parties periodically update Annex 1 (equipment definitions) and Annex 2 (testing procedures) to reflect advances in refrigeration technology. USDA incorporates UNECE amendments into Part 3300 to maintain alignment with international standards. Emerging topics in the UNECE working group include standards for electric refrigeration units and passive (non-powered) cool chain containers.
• Exports to United Kingdom post-Brexit: Following Brexit, the U.K. withdrew from the EU ATP framework and re-ratified the treaty as an independent party. For U.S. food exporters shipping perishables to the U.K. via European ports, the post-Brexit ATP certificate processing has added a step — U.K. customs now validates ATP certificates separately from EU documentation.

Pending Action

UNECE working groups continue evaluating proposed amendments to ATP Annexes 1 and 2, including proposed standards for electric refrigeration units (which lack the mechanical reliability provisions designed for diesel-powered systems) and passive cool chain containers increasingly used in e-commerce food delivery. USDA will update 7 CFR Part 3300 to incorporate any adopted UNECE amendments, typically within 1–2 years of treaty adoption. U.S. exporters shipping perishables to newly ratifying treaty parties should check ATP certificate recognition status before shipping to markets that recently joined or re-ratified the treaty.