If you’ve ever wondered what funeral directors go shopping for at a convention, I’m bringing you an insider’s look from the Expo at the International Cemetery, Cremation and Funeral Association.
The Expo brings together products and services that you never knew existed for cemeteries, funeral homes, and cremationists.
I had a great conversation with two representatives of American Airlines Cargo and U.S. Airways Cargo about regulations regarding body shipment. My previous information about shipping of un-embalmed bodies is that they need to be put in a leak-proof Ziegler case for transport.
Yet, just last week, I participated in a tahara where the woman was going to be shipped to New Jersey right after we prepared her. The plain pine casket was on an Air Tray, a wooden base that gets a cover over the casket. What’s up with that?
Apparently, the regulations about the use of a Ziegler case, dry ice and cool packs can vary from airline to airline. Funeral directors need to know these differences as they work to get a body to a distant city in a timely manner.
The first exhibitor I visited and interviewed was The Body Bag Store (www.BodyBagStore.com). Sales agent Vince Sessa provides a great overview of different types of body bags, including those that can be used for cremation, water rescues, and removals of bodies in various stages of decomposition.
