The International Refrigerated Transportation Association (IRTA), a core partner of the Global Cold Chain Alliance (GCCA), has released three resources to help support industry compliance with the Sanitary Transportation of Food Regulation.
These resources were developed due to the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) issuing the Sanitary Transportation of Human and Animal Food (STF) ruling in April of 2016 to improve the safe, efficient movement of food worldwide through required, documented sanitary practices. The rule has the potential to hugely impact members of the temperature-controlled transportation sector, as shippers, loaders, carriers by motor or rail vehicle and receivers involved in transporting human and animal food must take action to comply. In an effort to comprehensively address concerns surrounding the rule, GCCA assembled a task force of representatives from IRTA member companies, including leaders in refrigerated trucking, third-party logistics, warehousing, manufacturers, and the scientific community. After months of discussions, the IRTA Refrigerated Transportation Best Practices Task Force completed work on three new resources related to the rule.
The Refrigerated Transportation Best Practices Guide assists shippers in understanding and preparing qualified and attainable food safety plans and transportation requirements. The Refrigerated Transportation Summary and User Guide provides useful information to better understand and become compliant with the FDA’s STF rule. The Sanitary Transportation of Food Compliance Matrix helps readers to identify specific compliance requirements included in the STF rule, the respective roles of shippers, loaders, carriers and receivers, and the section of the Best Practices Guide that includes guidance on how to comply.
GCCA has held two roundtable events to bring together IRTA and other key industry stakeholders in discussions about the ruling and the new resources. The most recent was a roundtable held at the GCCA Assembly of Committees on August 3, 2016, in Washington, DC. Representatives of industry associations including the American Frozen Food Institute, the Grocery Manufacturers Association, the American Trucking Associations, and others contributed to the conversation.
“Through discussions during these roundtables we continue to hear that their concerns and a lack of awareness surrounding the Sanitary Transportation of Human and Animal Food rule – especially regarding defining the roles of all parties involved in the movement of food,” said Lowell Randel, vice president of government and legal affairs of the Alexandria, Virginia, USA-headquartered GCCA. “That’s why the new compliance guide and resources are so critical to the entire food supply chain and cold chain logistics industries.”
The three resources are free and available to all interested parties for download on the GCCA website at http://www.gcca.org/resources/sanitary-transportation-food-compliance-resources/
