In 2011, the Food Safety Modernization Act expanded the domain of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration beyond regulating food producers alone.
“Everyone in the entire food supply chain is now responsible to the FDA,” says Allen Warner, director of quality for Oakley Transport (CCJ Top 250, No. 139). “The FDA had rarely walked into a trucking company before, so that puts us on a different level of inspection and responsibility.”
With the FDA’s broad authority to regulate the food supply chain, motor carriers began to investigate how the agency’s new rules would impact their organizations. The wheels of government turned slowly.
“It kept going on,” says Tommy Oakley, president and chief executive officer of the Lake Wales, Fla.-based company. “The (FDA) would pass the ball from one group to another, and it never got traction”
As the process dragged along, Oakley saw an opportunity to take the lead. Tommy, and the management team, began working with customers and trade groups such as the Juice Products Association, which represents the fruit and juice products industry, to establish standards and best practices for food safety and food defense.
Having been in the food industry since 1961, Oakley Transport had become familiar with International Organization for Standardization (ISO) certifications. Many of the fleet’s customers had quality management systems; most motor carriers in the food sector did not.
More than three years ago, Oakley Transport’s management team decided to earn ISO certifications without being pushed by regulations or prodded by customers. The company started on this path to get ahead of FDA and customer requirements.
