Tag Archives: Sanitary transportation

Chinese fuel tankers being used to transport both fuel and food oil products, without any cleaning process between

By Food Safety Tech Staff
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On July 2, the Beijing News reported that the state-run oil and grain company, Sinograin was using the same tanker trucks to transport both fuel and food oil products, without any cleaning process between.  According to the website, ChinaMediaProject.org, the tankers were transporting soybean oils and syrups together with coal-to-oil (CTL) products, which use coal as a raw material to produce oil and petrochemical products through chemical processing. The scandal has implicated other major Chinese companies including Hopefull Grain and Oil Group, a private conglomerate as reported  in the Guardian.

In the Beijing News report, an undercover reporter interviewed a trucker who had driven a tanker of coal-derived fuel from Ningxia, a region in the west of China, to the east coast city of Qinhuangdao in Hebei, a journey of more than 800 miles (1,290km). The trucker told the journalist he was not allowed to return with an empty vehicle, and subsequently drove to a facility in another part of Hebei to load up with nearly 32 tons of soya bean oil, without cleaning the tanker. Several other tankers featured in the article made similar journeys without any washing or sanitizing of the tank in between.

The Beijing News is a state-run newspaper under Beijing municipal propaganda office that into the early 2010s was among the country’s more outspoken professional outlets. Stories like this have become a true rarity in the Xi Jinping era, as the leadership has emphasized “positive propaganda” and the need for media to abide by “correct public opinion guidance.”

There is no mandatory national standard at present for the transportation of edible oil in China. There is only a recommended Code for Bulk Transport of Edible Vegetable Oil, which mentions that special vehicles should be used for the transportation of edible vegetable oil in bulk. Because it is a recommended national standard, this means that it has limited binding force on manufacturers.

This week the office of the food safety commission under China’s State Council said it was investigating the claims and that “individuals found violating the law through improper use of tanker trucks will face severe punishment”.

It is not clear where the cooking oil in the fuel-contaminated tankers ultimately ended up. Follow-up reports tracking the truckers identified in the Beijing News article suggested that the tankers delivered oil to packaging facilities run by household brand names in China, intensifying concerns that people could be consuming toxic oil. The article also quoted an industry insider as saying that some of the oil may ultimately be packaged into small bottles for foreign sales.

Photo Credit: Rick Biros

Erika Miller
FST Soapbox

Does the Sanitary Transportation Regulation Require Seals for LTL Shipments?

By Erika Miller
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Erika Miller

This question has come up frequently in our FSMA Sanitary Transportation workshop. Just as with all the parts of FSMA, the focus of the Sanitary Transportation of Human and Animal Food regulation is on addressing hazards that may be present throughout the food chain and assigning responsibility (liability) for preventing those hazards. There are very few specific requirements—most of it is couched in very general language, for flexibility on both sides (FDA’s and industry’s).

While the regulation does not specifically address locks or seals on trailers, the FDA has stated publicly that they intend to enforce the adherence of industry to generally accepted best practices. Sometimes, as in the case of certain animal food applications, the FDA has stated they will accept mild steel transports instead of stainless (as would typically be required for hauling food) because it’s all about the risk, and mild steel is not a risk in those applications. What is the risk of an unlocked load to the food being hauled, and to the business being conducted? Maybe a seal or lock on an LTL can protect a significant investment from an identified hazard.

Generally, in most food hauling operations, seals or locks are required on trailers by businesses in order to protect their investments. They are also expected under GFSI-approved food safety management systems, used by most food manufacturers (which are private, voluntary standards, not regulatory). They are definitely required if you want to haul 100% juice under Juice HACCP and the JPA guidelines.

There are so few straightforward answers with FSMA. You must always look at your operation, your risks, and decide if controls are necessary. Document the basis for your decision, ensuring it is based on facts. If the FDA inquires, you must make your case for your decision. Do you feel comfortable defending it, all the way to a court of law if need be? If so, then stand by it.

If there are potential risks to food that is being hauled (don’t forget about defense-type risks as well, like the truck being stolen or misrepresented) then you must take reasonable, industry-standard precautions to prevent those hazards from occurring.

Of course, you want to do this anyway because it is smart business.

Food Safety Tech

Call for Abstracts: Be a Part of the 2019 Food Safety Supply Chain Conference

By Food Safety Tech Staff
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Food Safety Tech

The supply chain is a potentially weak and vulnerable part of a company’s food safety plan. The annual Food Safety Supply Chain Conference is months away and we are accepting abstracts for presentations. The conference takes place May 29–30, 2019 in Rockville, MD.

If you have expertise in the following areas, we invite you to submit an abstract to present at the conference:

  • Food Safety Supply Chain Vulnerabilities & Solutions
  • Audits & Inspections
  • How to Write Supplier Specifications
  • Blockchain Technology
  • FSMA’s Sanitary Transportation Compliance Tools & Techniques
  • Supply Chain Traceability
  • FSMA’s FSVP Compliance Tools & Best Practices
  • Data, Predictive Analysis
  • Recalls: barcode labeling, case histories and lessons learned
  • Testing Strategies of the Supply Chain
  • Supplier Verification Best Practices
  • Supply Chain Risk Management
  • Food Safety Transportation, Distribution and Logistics
  • Food Authenticity
  • Food Safety/Quality Culture measurement in supplier management
  • Supplier Management Case Histories

Each abstract will be judged based on educational merit. The submission deadline is February 8, 2019.

Results: FSMA IQ Test on Sanitary Transportation of Human & Animal Food

By Food Safety Tech Staff
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The results are in for the latest FSMA IQ test about the sanitary transportation rule. If you haven’t taken the test yet, visit the survey here. Results are posted below.

  1. Data sets must be shared between shippers, carriers, loaders & receivers to ensure rules are properly implemented. TRUE
    • 76.04% answered correctly
  2. Employee training is not a requirement for the shipping of food product. FALSE
    • 98.97% answered correctly
  3. Only the personnel of the carriers transporting food product require training and training records. FALSE
    • 89.58% answered correctly
  4. Records of certified disposal of food freight loss and damage must be maintained and verified. TRUE
    • 93.81% answered correctly
  5. Foreign-supplied shipments should include records that comprise the listing of all required information to confirm the safety of the product being shipped and the shipping instructions to protect the product during shipment. TRUE
    • 98.95% answered correctly
  6. Shippers need not develop and implement written procedures to ensure compliance of food shipments unless the carrier has entered into a written agreement with the shipper to assume this responsibility. FALSE
    • 77.08% answered correctly
  7. Shipper & carrier can agree to a condition & temperature monitoring mechanism for foods that requires temperature control for safety. TRUE
    • 91.67% answered correctly
  8. Carriers need not demonstrate that they have maintained requested condition & temperature conditions. FALSE
    • 92.55% answered correctly
  9. Carriers must disclose identity of most recent prior bulk cargo & cleaning information prior to the next shipment. TRUE
    • 90.63% answered correctly
  10. It is the receiver of food shipments that ensures food is not be sold or distributed until a determination of safety is made? TRUE
    • 73.96% answered correctly
Question mark

FSMA IQ Test Part II: Sanitary Transportation of Human & Animal Food

By Food Safety Tech Staff
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Question mark

The FSMA Sanitary Transportation of Human & Animal Food rule has a broad level of requirements that must be met across the various steps of transporting food product. Do you know the correct response to these questions?

Kestrel ManagementWorking with Bill Bremer, principal of food safety compliance at Kestrel Management, LLC, Food Safety Tech is continuing its FSMA IQ test series. Results will be posted monthly in our Food Safety Consortium newsletter leading up to the 2017 event.

Confirm your company responsibility in meeting FSMA Sanitary Transportation compliance by answering True or False.

 

FSMA, Food Safety Tech, FDA

FDA Submits Sanitary Transportation Final Rule

By Food Safety Tech Staff
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FSMA, Food Safety Tech, FDA
Syed Hassan of PepsiCo addresses Michael Taylor during FDA Town Hall
How are FDA investigators taking a new approach with FSMA? WATCH THE VIDEO

FDA announced today that it has submitted the final FSMA rule, Sanitary Transportation of Human and Animal Food, to the Federal Register for publication. It can take a few days for the documents to be available, so stay tuned for updates from Food Safety Tech once the final rule is available.

In the meantime, find out how the sanitary transportation rule affects employee training: Specific Training Required Under FSMA: A Look at Each Rule