Main precautions in food transport

Those who work with food transport know that this is not a common category of freight.

The care required in this type of logistics goes far beyond loading and unloading moments. Even the basic precautions adopted by truck drivers are indispensable for everything to go as expected.

It must be borne in mind that ensuring good food transport influences much more than the profitability of the transporters. It is an issue directly involved with the health of consumers, and that includes several inspection agencies.

Then, check the most important points so that you always remain attentive and guarantee the best quality standard when transporting food items.

Know the type of cargo and its main specifications when transporting food

When dealing with food transport, several perishable cargoes can be mentioned. Meat, poultry, and by-products, fish, mollusks, crustaceans, and other seafood, vegetables, fruits and mushrooms, eggs, leaven, and yeast, as well as frozen and super frozen foods.

In each situation mentioned, there are specific precautions that need to be taken regarding the ventilation of the cargo in question, temperature control, and lighting.

If the specific characteristics of conservation of each product are not respected, even if through minimal errors, entire shipments can be lost; consequently, this will generate serious losses for truck drivers and their contractors.

In the same sense, also consider issues such as the maximum stacking limit, correct means of allocation, maximum permitted speed, among others.

Maintain the basic care of your vehicle according to each item transported

As mentioned in the previous item, each type of food has its own standard of care for transportation. In this sense, the cleaning methods adopted in the vehicles are also no exception and must necessarily respect the characteristics of the perishables that are accommodated there.

Keep this factor always in mind when taking a load under your responsibility, guiding yourself with the contractor on all the details regarding the product that you will take with you.

Also keep in mind that, under no circumstances, some situations are allowed in the truck when transporting food, such as transporting perishable cargo with people, ready and raw products in the same vehicle, and other similar cases that may compromise the integrity of the shipment.

Make sure your truck is equipped to transport food

In the area of ​​food transport, the minimum requirements for vehicles include internal temperature control, calibrated and easy-to-read thermometer, in addition to a constant temperature and humidity control.

Refrigerated loads, or even with dry, canned, or embedded food, can suffer from freezing if the truck’s refrigeration system is not properly regulated and operating precisely at the desired temperature.

Under the same logic, when refrigeration is very out of date, frozen and fresh items can suffer from the acceleration of their deterioration.

Therefore, it is necessary to be attentive to the preparation of the vehicle, preserve its maintenance standards, and always check the accuracy of the monitoring systems.

Pay attention to the validity of the products

This care may seem obvious, but accepting loads that are very close to the expiration date can represent real headaches!

Some products are more perishable than others, and some sections are more subject to delays and possible problems than the others.

Always take these questions into account to prevent unexpected situations on the road from causing even more damage than you expected.

Have all documents required by Organs competent bodies at hand

Everyone knows that, in terms of legal requirements, surveillance, and inspection, food transport is subject to much more stringent measures than in the vast majority of other categories.

More than meeting all Anvisa’s requirements when providing this type of service, in alignment with the conditions we mentioned earlier for each food, it is also necessary to be aware of what the law says and also what the contracts you sign require.

To avoid delays in your deliveries, to be stopped at a checkpoint or even to suffer from fines, ensure that all permissions, licenses, and documentation of the cargo are up to date and always on hand during transportation.

That was our article on the main precautions in transporting food. We hope I helped you with this matter! Want to know more? Keep an eye on our blog for more topics like this by clicking here.