Importance of Food Grade Transportation

Every day, thousands of food transporters help distribute millions of food items like a constant clock. This is why food-grade transportation is one of the most top most important because we rely on them to gather our food from almost everywhere in the world. In fact, the food grade transportation industry makes a significant difference in the quality of produce we get from our local grocery stores.

If our food transporters do not take the proper steps to keep our foods chilled and get them to their destination as fast as possible, we will most likely end up with groceries that do not taste fresh and pure.

But in order for food transporters to do their job efficiently and bring to our local stores the highest quality foods possible, there are critical key steps that they have to follow. Here are steps that all food transporters must take to be able to distribute fresh quality foods to grocery stores:

Refrigeration Is The Very First Requirement

Although it may sound funny that trucks that carry food basically need to drive a refrigerator truck, but this is actually one of the most important parts in keeping food fresh. Actually, truck transport refrigeration has been around for more than a hundred years and has been used ever since to keep fruits, veggies, meats and dairy products at a stable temperature.

And to think about it, truck refrigeration makes perfect sense. Imagine in the summertime trucks loading fruits, veggies, meats, and dairy into their trucks, but there is no ventilation and it is hot and humid.

In a matter of a few hours, we can expect for the food to start turning rotten and unsafe, especially dairy and meat. So in order for food transporters to keep our food fresh, they normally have criteria to transport at a temperature of 40 degrees or lower.

Any foods that sit in temperatures of 41 degrees and higher will give bacteria the potential to grow and multiply like weeds. Therefore the very first most important requirement for truck transporters is to keep fruits, veggies, meats, and dairy as chill as possible.

How Food Grade Transportation Works With Organization

Food transporters not only handle fresh foods, but they also can carry a lot of products that are canned, in plastic and in glasses. This is why some food trucks can appear to be a little slow on the road because they have a lot of valuable goods that can spill if they are not careful. Truck drivers can carry a lot of items that can particularly bust, especially glass items with like oil, mayonnaise in glass jars and jars of fruit.

Cans are also mainly packed tightly in boxes so they do not fall, roll over and eventually become dented/beaten up. Even though some canned and glass items do not require cold temperatures of refrigeration, they still are not required to be out in the sun in extreme heat temperatures. So truck drivers typically still make sure that they keep these products in a dark, cold place.

Dry Foods Need Love and Care Too

Although dry foods can usually take a little more pressure in harsh conditions than fresh foods can, there are still things that need to be done to keep them fresh. Dry foods should never come in contact with moisture.

This actually can activate bacteria to grow and invade, and then dry foods will no longer be able to inhibit contaminants like they used to. In other words, food transporters have to make sure that they treat different types of foods in a way that fits their needs. Keeping fresh foods cold, keeping canned and glassed items packed tightly and secured and dry foods out of contact with moisture.