The Uniform Food Safety Transportation Protocol is available now for use by motor carriers to comply with mandates from shippers and their broker agents under the new Food and Drug Administration rule for sanitary transportation of human and animal food, according to TransComply, the compliance-support firm that publishes and manages the UFSTP.
The UFSTP was drafted in consultation with refrigerated and agricultural carriers, brokers, shippers and refrigerated warehousing firms, said Avery Vise, president of Birmingham, Ala.-based TransComply.
Vise said the protocol establishes uniform standards for delegating responsibilities to carriers under the Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA) for the transportation of perishable food.
He noted that the UFSTO is intended for carriers of all sizes and is modeled loosely after the Uniform Intermodal Interchange & Facilities Access Agreement (UIIA).
Beginning in April, shippers and receivers with 500 or more employees and their agents will have to comply with the FDA rule. The entire perishable-food supply chain must be compliant by April, 2018.
FDA said the food-transport rule aims “to prevent practices during transportation that create food safety risks, such as failure to properly refrigerate food, inadequate cleaning of vehicles between loads, and failure to properly protect food.”
The new rule establishes requirements for vehicles and transportation equipment, transportation operations, records, and training.
“Although the FDA rule technically exempts carriers with less than $500,000 in annual revenue,” Vise pointed out, “shippers undoubtedly will expect carriers regardless of size to adhere to common standards. The protocol is a fair and accurate reflection of best practices and minimum standards that shippers, brokers, and warehousing operations will expect from carriers.”
In the absence of industrywide acceptance of uniform commercial terms, the FDA rule likely will lead to conflicting contracting terms that would frustrate the ability of carriers to contract for the movement of perishable commodities in the spot market,
