Carriers across North America are shifting their operations to comply with customer demands over more stringent requirements related to food safety transportation and a group of Canadian reefer fleets are leading by example, according to one industry expert.<\/p>\n
The transportation requirements for the Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA) in the U.S. are expected \u00a0released March 31 this year, with enforcement to begin March 31, 2017.<\/p>\n
As reported by Fleet Owner<\/em>,\u00a0 new food safety rules will force refrigerated carriers to make a bevy of operational changes, many of which need to be made ahead of the 2017 compliance date set for those mandates, according to Hugh Latimer, COO for Iron Apple<\/a>, a food safety compliance firm.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s coming down sooner than that, because shippers are demanding it,\u201d he told Fleet Owner. \u201cShippers are the ones held responsible under the new [food safety] rules.\u201d<\/p>\n Although these regulations do not impact trucking directly, carriers\u2019 customers will likely expect their transportation providers that move human and animal food products to have a written food safety preventative controls plan in place. While many carriers today have a variety of mechanisms to ensure safe food transport, the new regulations present more stringent requirements related to certification, third party verification and record keeping.<\/p>\n The requirements also transfer a lot of transportation risk and responsibility for food safety during transit to carriers, Latimer stressed.<\/p>\n \u201cYou must prove that you are following [safety] protocols now; you must prove you are washing trailers between loads, what cleaning agents you are using, and what training your drivers have received and are practicing,\u201d he emphasized. \u201cYou must document what you are doing on a continual basis .\u201d<\/p>\n \u201c\u2026 there is quite a gap between what carriers think is needed and what is actually needed.\u201d<\/p>\n Latimer pointed out that refrigerated carriers should formulate a rigorous preventive control plan or \u201cPCP\u201d to ensure they\u2019ve established a compliant food safety program. He emphasized that refrigerated carriers should take the lead in establishing such plans.<\/p>\n \u201cWhat we tell carriers is that shippers can make you adopt whatever plan they come up with to be compliant \u2013 and if you have five different major customers, you might be facing five vastly different food safety plans,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n That\u2019s why Latimer emphasized carriers should either develop their own plans or adopt one developed by a third party; then demonstrating to their customers that they are compliant.<\/p>\n