On average 10-2 gallon batches of cheese can be made from the culture pouch. The number of usages will vary by the recipe and how the home cheese maker measures the culture. This is a gas producing culture to assist in the acidification of cheese. This product is not required to be refrigerated in shipment, only upon arrival. If you are concerned about post office misdelivery, late delivery, hot weather at your delivery zip code or inability to put in refrigerator upon arrival, you can add an ice pack in shipment for $3.75 more, plus the cost of the weight of this shipping. If you order more than one item, there will be one ice block for the entire order. You will need to select this as a separate purchase in our Amazon store as we do not automatically ship with an ice pack. Our ice pack option is also not available for shipment with other Amazon seller’s products. Pursuant to Amazons policy, we cannot accept back food-based, perishable items and we do not issue credits, refunds or replacements. We accept no liability for undue application by buyer.