Good morning all. This post is a call to action. We need to find safer and more effective ways to better ensure the security of our trailers when we leave a plant with a food product on board.
Food safety regulations becoming increasingly more stringent can be added to the short list of guarantees in life which already includes death and taxes.
A week ago we had a food security breach that amounted to an orifice on a trailer getting overlooked and not sealed. At the point a load is deemed unsecured it is rendered unsafe for human consumption. It is then the responsibility of the product owner and the associated governing body to ensure that product has no chance of making it back into production for human consumption somewhere else even if it is on your piece of equipment….no wiggle room here. In short, it needs to be used for animal feed or disposed of. Any one of us could go on for a long discussion about whether or not the product was truly unsafe or discuss what a tragedy it is to destroy that much food when there are mouths to feed. I propose we have that conversation some other time and instead we put our heads together to come up with ways to lessen the likelihood of an “unsecured” load.
As a part of the food supply we have a responsibility to ensure delivery of the food we’re hauling in a safe and secure manner to it’s destination. If we as a carrier, leave a plant with an unsecured trailer the responsibility falls on us the carrier. Transport around food long enough and you’ll be effected by this directly. I’d say at least once per year we (our two trucking companies) have an issue arise where a load is deemed rejectable and as a result we pay for the product. I’d really like to come up with some good solutions on how we can better secure our loads. Crawling up ladders, outside of intakes in January with snow blowing up your backside to ensure everything is sealed correctly isn’t exactly what anyone wants. Below I’ve listed a couple of ideas and thoughts to get things started. I’d really like your feedback and thoughts on how we can make this better.
- Long selfie stick for taking a picture from the ground to ensure secured top seals
- Utilizing Standfastusa.com (TRAM system) fall restraint top of tank access
- Working to mandate food intakes have cameras taking pictures of the top of trailers as they leave intakes
- Possible innovative sealing solutions (locks, mounted cameras, etc.)
Thank you for your time and I look forward to hearing back from you.
Brandon Johnson