A new resource is available to help carriers comply with the implementation of the FDA’s Food Safety Modernization Act in April.Food-hauling carriers subject to the Food and Drug Administration’s new sanitary food transportation rules have a new resource to help them meet the rule’s requirements.
The Uniform Food Safety Transportation Protocol (UFSTP) was developed via consultation with carriers, shippers, brokers, warehousing firms and insurers. It spells out standards and responsibilities that carriers subject to the new Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA) will be expected to meet. The FSMA begins taking effect April 6, 2017.
The UFSTP, managed by carrier compliance firm TransComply, will allow carriers to subscribe online for $100 a year after meeting the protocol’s minimum standards. Carriers will then be listed on the website, which will essentially serve as a database, and will be publicly viewable by shippers, brokers and others.
Because FDA’s rule does not establish minimum standards for the transportation industry, TransComply says the UFSTP “establishes a useful and uniform standard that can be used in the spot market to facilitate the movement of freight without the delay and confusion that could result if FSMA terms had to be negotiated on a load-by-load basis.”
The firm adds that even though FDA’s rule technically exempts carriers with less than $500,000 in annual revenue, these carriers will still be expected by shippers and brokers to comply with the rule.
The full text of the UFSTP can be seen here.
