World Health Organization

WHO Technical Report Series, No. 908, 2003

Annex 9
Guide to good storage practices for
pharmaceuticals1
1.

Introduction

125

2.

Glossary

126

3.

Personnel

128

4.

Premises and facilities

128

5.

Storage requirements

131

6.

Returned goods

133

7.

Dispatch and transport

133

8.

Product recall

134

References

134

Bibliography

134

Appendix

136

Storage and labelling conditions

1.

Introduction
This guide is intended for those involved in the storage, transportation and distribution of pharmaceuticals. It is closely linked to
other existing guides recommended by the WHO Expert Committee
on Specifications for Pharmaceutical Preparations, such as:
Good trade and distribution practice (GTDP) of pharmaceutical
starting materials (1);
The stability testing of pharmaceutical products containing
well-established drug substances in conventional dosage forms
(information given in connection with regulation for marketing
authorization) (2);
Good manufacturing practices (GMP) (3);
1

This guidance has been prepared in close collaboration with the International
Pharmaceutical Federation (FIP).

125

 The cold chain, especially for vaccines and biologicals;

The International Pharmacopoeia (4).
The objective of this guide is to supplement the above-mentioned
documents by describing the special measures considered appropriate
for the storage and transportation of pharmaceuticals. However, they
may be adapted to meet individual needs where necessary, provided
that the desired standards of quality are still achieved.
The guidelines are applicable not only to manufacturers of medicinal
products but also to pharmaceutical importers, contractors and
wholesalers, and community and hospital pharmacies. They should be
adjusted in line with the type of activity where the storage of pharmaceuticals is taking place. National or regional regulations should be
followed for all related activities.
2.

Glossary
The definitions given below of some of the terms used in this document take into account the terminology of current regulations and
recommendations.
active pharmaceutical ingredient (API)

Any substance or mixture of substances intended to be used in the

manufacture of a pharmaceutical dosage form and that, when used in
the production of a drug, becomes an active ingredient of that drug.
Such substances are intended to furnish pharmacological activity or
other direct effect in the diagnosis, cure, mitigation, treatment or
prevention of disease, or to affect the structure and function of the
body.
contamination

The undesired introduction of impurities of a chemical or microbiological nature, or of foreign matter, into or onto a starting material, or
intermediate or finished product during production, sampling, packaging or repackaging, storage or transport.
cross-contamination

Contamination of a starting material, intermediate product or finished product with another starting material or product during
production.
excipient

A substance, other than the active ingredient, which has been appropriately evaluated for safety and is included in a drug delivery
system to:
126

 aid in the processing of the drug delivery system during its

manufacture;
protect, support or enhance stability, bioavailability, or patient
acceptability;
assist in product identification; or
enhance any other attribute of the overall safety and effectiveness
of the drug during storage or use.
expiry date

The date given on the individual container (usually on the label) of a

drug product up to and including which the product is expected to
remain within specifications, if stored correctly. It is established for
each batch by adding the shelf-life to the date of manufacture.
labelling

The action involving the selection of the correct label, with the
required information, followed by line clearance and application of
the label.
manufacture

All operations of purchase of materials and products, production,

quality control, release, storage and distribution of finished products,
and the related controls.
material

A general term used to denote starting materials (active pharmaceutical ingredients and excipients), reagents, solvents, process aids,
intermediates, packaging materials and labelling materials.
packaging material

Any material, including printed material, employed in the packaging

of a pharmaceutical product, but excluding any outer packaging used
for transportation or shipment. Packaging materials are referred to as
primary or secondary according to whether or not they are intended
to be in direct contact with the product.
pharmaceutical product

Any medicine intended for human use or veterinary product administered to food-producing animals, presented in its finished dosage
form or as a starting material for use in such a dosage form, that is
subject to control by pharmaceutical legislation in both the exporting
state and the importing state.
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production

All operations involved in the preparation of a pharmaceutical product, from receipt of materials, through processing, packaging and
repackaging, labelling and relabelling, to completion of the finished
product.
retest date

The date when a material should be re-examined to ensure that it is

still suitable for use.
storage

The storing of pharmaceutical products and materials up to their

point of use.
supplier

A person providing pharmaceutical products and materials on request. Suppliers may be agents, brokers, distributors, manufacturers
or traders. Where possible, suppliers should be authorized by a competent authority.
3.

Personnel
3.1 At each storage site (e.g. that of a manufacturer, distributor,
wholesaler, community or hospital pharmacy) there should be an
adequate number of qualified personnel to achieve pharmaceutical
quality assurance objectives. National regulations on qualifications
should be followed.
3.2 All personnel should receive proper training in relation to good
storage practice, regulations, procedures and safety.
3.3 All members of staff should be trained in, and observe high levels
of, personal hygiene and sanitation.
3.4 Personnel employed in storage areas should wear suitable protective or working garments appropriate for the activities they perform.

4.

Premises and facilities

Storage areas

4.1 Precautions must be taken to prevent unauthorized persons from

entering storage areas.
4.2 Storage areas should be of sufficient capacity to allow the orderly
storage of the various categories of materials and products, namely
starting and packaging materials, intermediates, bulk and finished
products, products in quarantine, and released, rejected, returned or
recalled products.
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4.3 Storage areas should be designed or adapted to ensure good

storage conditions. In particular, they should be clean and dry and
maintained within acceptable temperature limits. Where special
storage conditions are required on the label (e.g. temperature, relative humidity), these should be provided, checked, monitored and
recorded. Materials and pharmaceutical products should be stored
off the floor and suitably spaced to permit cleaning and inspection.
Pallets should be kept in a good state of cleanliness and repair.
4.4 Storage areas should be clean, and free from accumulated waste
and vermin. A written sanitation programme should be available
indicating the frequency of cleaning and the methods to be used to
clean the premises and storage areas. There should also be a written
programme for pest control. The pest-control agents used should be
safe, and there should be no risk of contamination of the materials
and pharmaceutical products. There should be appropriate procedures for the clean up of any spillage to ensure complete removal of
any risk of contamination.
4.5 Receiving and dispatch bays should protect materials and products from the weather. Reception areas should be designed and
equipped to allow containers of incoming materials and pharmaceutical products to be cleaned, if necessary, before storage.
4.6 Where quarantine status is ensured by storage in separate areas,
these areas must be clearly marked and their access restricted to
authorized personnel. Any system replacing physical quarantine
should provide equivalent security. For example, computerized systems can be used, provided that they are validated to demonstrate
security of access.
4.7 There should normally be a separate sampling area for starting
materials in a controlled environment. If sampling is performed in
the storage area, it should be conducted in such a way as to prevent
contamination or cross-contamination. Adequate cleaning procedures should be in place for the sampling areas.
4.8 Physical or other equivalent validated (e.g. electronic) segregation
should be provided for the storage of rejected, expired, recalled or
returned materials or products. The materials or products, and areas
concerned should be appropriately identified.
4.9 Highly active and radioactive materials, narcotics and other
hazardous, sensitive and/or dangerous materials and pharmaceutical
products, as well as substances presenting special risks of abuse, fire
or explosion, (e.g. combustible liquids and solids and pressurized
129

gases) should be stored in a dedicated area that is subject to appropriate additional safety and security measures.
4.10 Materials and pharmaceutical products should be handled and
distributed according to GMP as defined in this document.
4.11 Materials and pharmaceutical products should be handled and
stored in such a manner as to prevent contamination, mix-ups and
cross-contamination.
4.12 Materials and pharmaceutical products should be stored in conditions which assure that their quality is maintained, and stock should
be appropriately rotated. The first expired/first out (FEFO) principle should be followed.
4.13 Rejected materials and pharmaceutical products should be identified and controlled under a quarantine system designed to prevent
their use until a final decision is taken on their fate.
4.14 Narcotic drugs should be stored in compliance with international
conventions, and national laws and regulations on narcotics.
4.15 Broken or damaged items should be withdrawn from usable
stock and separated.
4.16 Storage areas should provide adequate lighting to enable all
operations to be carried out accurately and safely.
Storage conditions

4.17 Storage conditions for pharmaceutical products and materials

should be in compliance with the labelling, which is based on the
results of stability testing (see Appendix).
Monitoring of storage conditions

4.18 Recorded temperature monitoring data should be available for

review. The equipment used for monitoring should be checked at
suitable predetermined intervals and the results of such checks should
be recorded and retained. All monitoring records should be kept for
at least the shelf-life of the stored material or product plus 1 year, or
as required by national legislation. Temperature mapping should
show uniformity of the temperature across the storage facility. It is
recommended that temperature monitors be located in areas that are
most likely to show fluctuations.
4.19 Equipment used for monitoring should also be calibrated at
defined intervals.
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5.

Storage requirements
Documentation: written instructions and records

5.1 Written instructions and records should be available which document all activities in the storage areas including the handling of expired stock. These should adequately describe the storage procedures
and define the route of materials and pharmaceutical products and
information through the organization in the event of a product recall
being required.
5.2 Permanent information, written or electronic, should exist for
each stored material or product indicating recommended storage conditions, any precautions to be observed and retest dates. Pharmacopoeial requirements and current national regulations concerning
labels and containers should be respected at all times.
5.3 Records should be kept for each delivery. They should include the
description of the goods, quality, quantity, supplier, suppliers batch
number, the date of receipt, assigned batch number and the expiry
date. Where national regulations prescribe that records must be retained for a certain period, this must be observed. (Otherwise such
records should be retained for a period equal to the shelf-life of the
incoming materials and products, where applicable, plus 1 year).
5.4 Comprehensive records should be maintained showing all receipts
and issues of materials and pharmaceutical products according to a
specified system, e.g. by batch number.
Labelling and containers

5.5 All materials and pharmaceutical products should be stored in

containers which do not adversely affect the quality of the materials
or products concerned, and which offer adequate protection from
external influences. In some circumstances, this could include bacterial contamination.
5.6 All containers should be clearly labelled with at least the name of
the material, the batch number, the expiry date or retest date, the
specified storage conditions and reference to the pharmacopoeia,
where applicable. Unauthorized abbreviations, names or codes
should not be used.
Receipt of incoming materials and pharmaceutical products

5.7 On receipt, each incoming delivery should be checked against the

relevant purchase order and each container physically verified, e.g. by
the label description, batch number, type of material or pharmaceutical product and quantity.
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5.8 The consignment should be examined for uniformity of the containers and, if necessary, should be subdivided according to the
suppliers batch number should the delivery comprise more than one
batch.
5.9 Each container should be carefully inspected for possible contamination, tampering and damage, and any suspect containers or, if
necessary, the entire delivery should be quarantined for further
investigation.
5.10 When required, samples should be taken only by appropriately
trained and qualified personnel and in strict accordance with written
sampling instructions. Containers from which samples have been
taken should be labelled accordingly.
5.11 Following sampling, the goods should be subject to quarantine.
Batch segregation should be maintained during quarantine and all
subsequent storage.
5.12 Materials and pharmaceutical products should remain in quarantine until an authorized release or rejection is obtained.
5.13 Measures should be taken to ensure that rejected materials and
pharmaceutical products cannot be used. They should be stored separately from other materials and pharmaceutical products while awaiting destruction or return to the supplier.
Stock rotation and control

5.14 Periodic stock reconciliation should be performed by comparing

the actual and recorded stocks.
5.15 All significant stock discrepancies should be investigated as a
check against inadvertent mix-ups and/or incorrect issue.
5.16 In manufacturing facilities, partly used containers of materials
and pharmaceutical products should be securely reclosed and resealed to prevent spoilage and/or contamination during subsequent
storage. Materials and pharmaceutical products from containers
which have been opened or partly used should be used up before
those in unopened containers.
5.17 Damaged containers should not be issued unless the quality of
the material has been shown to be unaffected. Where possible, this
should be brought to the attention of the person responsible for
quality control. Any action taken should be documented.
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Control of obsolete and outdated materials and pharmaceutical

products

5.18 All stocks should be checked regularly for obsolete and outdated materials and pharmaceutical products. All due precautions
should be observed to prevent the issue of outdated materials and
pharmaceutical products.
6.

Returned goods
6.1 Returned goods, including recalled goods, should be handled
in accordance with approved procedures and records should be
maintained.
6.2 All returned goods should be placed in quarantine and returned to
saleable stock only after this has been approved by a nominated,
responsible person following a satisfactory quality re-evaluation.
6.3 Any stock reissued should be so identified and recorded in stock
records. Pharmaceuticals returned from patients to the pharmacy
should not be taken back as stock, but should be destroyed.

7.

Dispatch and transport

7.1 Materials and pharmaceutical products should be transported in
such a way that their integrity is not impaired and that storage conditions are maintained.
7.2 Special care should be exercised when using dry ice in cold chains.
In addition observing to safety precautions, it must be ensured that
the materials or product does not come in into contact with dry ice, as
this may adversely affect the product quality, e.g. by freezing.
7.3 Where appropriate, the use of devices to monitor conditions such
as temperature during transportation is recommended. Monitoring
records should be available for review.
7.4 The dispatch and transport of materials and pharmaceutical products should be carried out only after receipt of a delivery order. The
receipt of the delivery order and the dispatch of the goods must be
documented.
7.5 Dispatch procedures should be established and documented, taking into account the nature of the materials and pharmaceutical products concerned and any special precautions that might be required.
7.6 The outside container should offer adequate protection from all
external influences and should be indelibly and clearly labelled.
7.7 Records for dispatch should be retained, stating at least:
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 the date of dispatch;

the customers name and address;
the product description, e.g. name, dosage form and strength (if
appropriate), batch number and quantify;
the transport and storage conditions.
7.8 All records should be readily accessible and available on request.
8.

Product recall
8.1 There should be a procedure to recall from the market, promptly
and effectively, pharmaceutical products and materials known or suspected to be defective.

References
1. Good trade and distribution practice (GTDP) of pharmaceutical starting
materials. Geneva, World Health Organization, 2002 (unpublished document
QAS/01.014; available on request from Essential Drugs and Medicines Policy,
World Health Organization, 1211 Geneva 27, Switzerland).
2. WHO Expert Committee on Specifications for Pharmaceutical Preparations.
Thirty-fourth report. Geneva, World Health Organization, 1996 (WHO
Technical Report Series, No. 863).
3. Good manufacturing practices for pharmaceutical products. In: Quality
assurance of pharmaceuticals. A compendium of guidelines and related
materials. Volume 2. Good manufacturing practices and inspection. Geneva,
World Health Organization, 1999; WHO Expert Committee on Specifications
for Pharmaceutical Preparations. Thirty-Fifth report. Geneva, World Health
Organization, 1999 (WHO Technical Report Series, No. 885); WHO Expert
Committee on Specifications for Pharmaceutical Preparations. Thirty-Sixth
report. Geneva, World Health Organization, 2002 (WHO Technical Report
Series, No. 902)
4. The international pharmacopoeia, 3rd ed. Vol. 1: General methods of
analysis; Vol. 2: Quality specifications; Vol. 3: Quality specifications; Vol. 4:
Tests, methods, and general requirements. Quality specifications for
pharmaceutical substances, excipients, and dosage forms; Volume 5: Test
and general requirements for dosage forms. Quality specifications for
pharmaceutical substances and tablets (in press). Geneva, World Health
Organization, 19792002.

Bibliography
Quality assurance of pharmaceuticals. A compendium of guidelines and related
materials. Volume 1. Geneva, World Health Organization, 1997.
Quality assurance of pharmaceuticals. A compendium of guidelines and related
materials. Volume 2. Good manufacturing practices and inspection. Geneva,
World Health Organization, 1999.
Good storage practice: Joint report of the Committee for Official Laboratories
and Medicinal Control Services and the Industrial Pharmacists Section of the
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International Pharmaceutical Federation (FIP). Pharm. Ind., 1980, 42:1082

1085.

Management of drug purchasing, storage and distribution. Manual for

developing countries. Geneva, World Health Organization, 1992.

135

Appendix
Storage and labelling conditions2
Normal storage conditions
Storage in dry, well-ventilated premises at temperatures of 1525 C
or, depending on climatic conditions, up to 30 C. Extraneous odours,
other indications of contamination, and intense light must be
excluded.
Defined storage instructions
Drug products that must be stored under defined conditions require
appropriate storage instructions. Unless otherwise specifically stated
(e.g. continuous maintenance of cold storage) deviation may be tolerated only during short-term interruptions, for example, during local
transportation.
The use of the following labelling instructions are recommended:
On the label

Means

Do not store over 30 C

from +2 C to +30 C

Do not store over 25 C

from +2 C to +25 C

Do not store over 15 C

from +2 C to +15 C

Do not store over 8 C

from +2 C to +8 C

Do not store below 8 C

from +8 C to +25 C

Protect from moisture

no more than 60% relative humidity

in normal storage conditions; to be
provided to the patient in a moistureresistant container.

Protect from light

to be provided to the patient in a

light-resistant container.

136

The text was adopted by the WHO Expert Committee on Specifications for
Pharmaceutical Preparations at its 34th meeting (WHO Expert Committee on
Specifications for Pharmaceutical Preparations. Thirty-Fourth report. Geneva, World
Health Organization, 1996, Annex 5 (WHO Technical Report Series No. 863).