Everyday, vast quantities of food are shipped back and forth across the U.S. In fact, there are upwards of 15,000 distribution companies in the U.S., each operating hundreds of warehouses, as well as their own fleets of trucks. Each one of these distribution companies might service upwards of 5,000 different clients out of a single warehouse. The responsibility for ensuring the safe arrival of food that is being shipped falls on the shoulders of distribution companies and their truck drivers.
Many consumers are unaware of the challenges involved in maintaining cold temperatures all the way from farms to dinner tables. Much of the credit for this being possible is owed to refrigerated trucks and freezer trucks, which allow for food to arrive at its destinations unspoiled. But now the laws regulating this process are changing.
The Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA)
This new bill was signed into law by the Obama administration in 2011, and it marks the most drastic reform on food safety laws in more than 70 years. Now distribution companies are facing a slew of new mandates and regulations that they need to comply with, starting on March 31st 2016, when the law goes into effect. Many sections of this bill directly apply to refrigerated transportation.
Specific Changes Refrigerated Truck Fleets Are Facing
Trailer Requirements: Moving forward, the designs of refrigerated trailers will be subject to changes as specified by the Food Safety Modernization Act. On top of this, sanitation standards for these trailers are going to go up. Distributors will be responsible for keeping detailed records of their upgrades for the Food & Drug Administration (F.D.A.) to verify.
Refrigeration & Data Sharing: First, there will be “pre-cooling” requirements and standards that must be met before food can begin to be stored in refrigerated trailers. Distributors will then be required to keep track of the temperatures in their refrigerated trailers over the course of each of their journeys. In doing so, they will furthermore be required to keep the data that they collect on record. This data must now be kept over time and be made available to the F.D.A.
Driver Training: Drivers of refrigerated trucks will be required to complete new training courses bringing them up to speed on new Food Safety Modernization Act regulations and procedures. Although no such training course has been made available yet, the F.D.A. is planning to provide distribution companies with simple 4-hour courses for their drivers. Distributors will then be required to keep their drivers’ certificates of completion on file for purposes of the F.D.A.’s verification.
How The Food & Drug Administration Fits In
With the passing of the Food Safety Modernization Act, the F.D.A. will take on a proactive role as this law’s primary enforcement agency, and they are not without recourse. Criminal prosecution is a possibility for distributors who fail to adhere to this new legislation. With an operating budget of $1.4 billion of federal money, the F.D.A. is well equipped to enforce the Food Safety Modernization Act. However, many prominent members of the refrigerated transportation industry feel that this law is not so much about modernization as it is about record keeping and verification. The F.D.A. will be integrated as a part of the food supply chain in order to verify that distributors are acting in accordance with the new law. This is why record keeping will be of paramount importance for distributors moving forward.