The last several years have brought many food safety challenges to those in the foodservice industry. The cost of foodborne illness has taken on new dimensions that include not only financial implications, including declining stock value and loss of sales, but the prospect of c-suite executives facing criminal charges as well.
The Food Safety Modernization Act, signed into law in 2011, aims to ensure the safety of the U.S. food supply by shifting the focus from responding to product contamination to preventing it from happening in the first place. The Food and Drug Administration (FDA), in concert with the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), established new rules that set more rigorous standards for preventive controls, environmental monitoring, product testing, sanitary transportation, water quality and other good manufacturing practices.
A key area that’s often ignored is the safe transport of food from producers to retailers or restaurants. Vertical food safety integration, at all phases of the distribution chain, is imperative. For those operating food transport systems, there are key questions leadership needs to ask, including:
- Who are the appointed, trained personnel in charge of FSMA implementation and compliance in your organization?
- Do you have an accurate, updated approved supplier list, and are their certifications and third-party audits in good standing?
- Do you have food safety records from suppliers, and how are they maintained?
- Have you identified and implemented the most effective protocols to prevent product contamination?
- Are all employees properly trained to implement food-safety practices?
- Are internal and third-party audits being conducted?
- If problems were identified, what corrective actions were taken?
- Are trucks being cleaned and sanitized with an application methodology and chemistry that is compliant with FSMA regulations?
- Does your application methodology minimize water usage and toxic run-off, protecting against costly trailer and refrigeration unit corrosion?
- Does your application methodology minimize trailer downtime and achieve maximum pathogen kill to prevent cross contamination?
As foodborne illness continues to be top of mind with regulatory bodies as well as consumers, it’s imperative to continually seek superior food safety solutions and protocols to ensure maximum integrity and safety of food distribution systems.
PURE Bioscience, Inc., in conjunction with its application system partner, has developed a simple, time-efficient solution for transport sanitization: using PURE® Hard Surface. The current process of sanitizing trucks requires up to two hours of time and labor and delays the transport significantly. The PURE process requires just two minutes of labor, with the transport ready for use within 15 minutes. Current water flooding methods can lead to potential mold issues and chemicals used can be corrosive to the refrigeration unit, while PURE® Hard Surface is applied in a misting spray method, ensuring coverage without over application. The formulation includes non-corrosive chemistry, effectively treating the transport and refrigeration unit.
This proprietary disinfection application methodology ensures full coverage for all motor and rail vehicles, and is in compliance with the new FSMA rules.
PURE Bioscience is a company that offers products that incorporate proprietary Silver Dihydrogen Citrate (SDC) technology that is ideal for use at all steps along the food distribution and sales chain. For food transport, PURE has developed a unique cleaning and sanitizing solution that’s lowest in toxicity and superior in efficiency and efficacy to ensure FSMA compliance. For more information, visit www.purebio.com.
This post is sponsored by PURE Bioscience