The loading of sea and air freight is the last checkpoint to inspect your products
before the container is loaded, sealed and dispatched to your customer.
As such, this provides you with the opportunity to check and ensure your products are loaded
appropriately into a container which is fit for purpose
and is capable of transferring your products safely
and securely to your customer.
You must have clearly documented procedures for the controls you have in place
to load your product for export directly into freight containers.
Your procedures must include the checks you undertake on the freight containers
and you must ensure that appropriate records are kept.
The container used for your prescribed milk products must be kept in a condition which is fit for purpose.
The containers must be built so they will prevent any contamination during transport.
Fixtures within the containers should not be protruding
which could damage packaging and pose a threat to your milk product.
The container floor and any vents should be checked
and the container should be free of odors,
taints and any other toxic or chemical substances
which could adversely affect your product.
The construction of the containers and food carrying compartments of vehicles
must ensure they can be cleaned effectively to reduce the possibility of a food safety event.
Documented procedures must be in place
to ensure that any air or sea freight containers to be used for transport
are clean and there are no residues or extraneous matter.
It should be pest and insect free, showing no evidence of any contamination.
For example, it should be free from dirt, rust,
water or moisture, mould, mildew or algae growth,
flaky paint, chemical smell or residues, just to name a few.
Food transport containers must be insulated and constructed to be able to maintain your export product
at the required temperature during transport.
If your freight includes geolocation tags and continuous temperature monitoring devices,
you should include such measures in your procedures.
As the use of advanced technology can provide assurance of your food safety system.
Personnel responsible should be trained and aware of the requirements
which are to be met and corrective action to be taken
if containers do not meet the specified criteria.
The Australian Food and Grocery Council has implemented an Australian cold chain guidelines document.
This document assists the industry to understand the requirements
and importance of conducting the correct checks
at loading of products for dispatch.
It highlights the requirements for cold chain compliance during storage and transport.
When documenting and reviewing your procedures,
you should consider the following,
Do you have a checklist to ensure that the transport containers used for sea or air freight
are cleaned, inspected and approved before loading?
Does your documentation include all relevant areas to check
as per your approved arrangement,
legislative and importing country requirements?
Has your supplier of containers been included in your approved supplier program?
Have you considered assigning someone
to verify the checks before loading and if so, who will be responsible for this
and how will they conduct it? Do you retain records of container inspections and correct loading?
Are images and photographs included in these records?
Do you raise a corrective action report if a non-conformance is identified with
any of the exported products as a result of incorrect container loading procedure?
The loading of sea and air freight is the final stage of the export supply chain
under the control of the exporter.
Having a well-documented procedure will allow exporters to conduct
thorough inspections of the products and freight at dispatch,
ensuring the export products arrive at the overseas customer as expected.