The impact of HACCP cleaning on transport companies
Food safety is very important. If food gets contaminated, people can get sick and even die. This is the reason that there are strict European rules and regulations for handling foodstuffs. To help companies ensure food safety, a management system was developed: Hazard Analysis Critical Control Points (HACCP).
In this blog we will explain the impact of HACCP on transportation companies, and specifically on cleaning trucks and trailers.
What is HACCP?
HACCP is a food safety management system that helps companies along the whole foodstuff supply chain ensure that we can eat our food without worry. HACCP addresses food safety through the analysis and control of biological, chemical, and physical hazards from raw material production, procurement, handling, manufacturing, distribution, transportation, and, finally, consumption.
The 7 principles of HACCP:
- Assess risks by conducting a hazard analysis
- Determine the critical control points (CCP’s)
- Establish critical limits
- Establish monitoring procedures
- Establish corrective actions
- Establish verification procedures
- Establish record-keeping and documentation procedures
Both producers and buyers of foodstuffs use the HACCP system, and they often demand similar standards from their suppliers. For transport companies transporting these foodstuffs on behalf of these producers or buyers, this means adhering to the strict HACCP guidelines.
What is the impact of HACCP on transport companies?
For transport companies transporting foodstuffs, HACCP means taking measures like proper training for drivers and monitoring conditions during transport, like temperature or humidity.
Another key aspect of HAACP safety during transport of foodstuffs and perishables is ensuring trailers are clean. The basis for this is an HACCP plan, which outlines when trailers need to be cleaned. The plan makes sure the right trailers are scheduled for cleaning. A trailer that has been used to transport raw meet needs to be cleaned more often than a trailer that has been used to transport packaged foodstuffs.
Not only do you need to find the right truck wash stations that clean trailers according to HAACP standards but you also need them to provide a cleaning document to prove this. A comprehensive cleaning registration is a vital part of a transport companies’ HACCP plan. The fleet’s cleaning history must be carefully documented. The cleaning certificate should state what trailer was cleaned, when and where it was cleaned, and what specific cleaning procedures were executed.
Building a reliable cleaning registration can be challenging, as there is no standard cleaning document that is used across all truck washes in Europe. Cleaning documents may vary widely between countries, and even between service locations. Some don’t even issue cleaning documents.
How TRAVIS ensures transport companies can adhere to HACCP standards
Transport companies can use the TRAVIS platform to find, book, and pay for road services at more than 1450 service locations across Europe, whether that is secure parking, repairs, or in this case truck- and tank cleaning. Planners can do this and incorporate road services into existing routes and plans, and drivers can book these services on the go if they need them. Next to that, the platform can be used as a fleet management tool.
Planning
The cleaning of trucks and trailers needs to be planned. Using the fleet management capabilities of the TRAVIS platform, transport companies can make sure trailers are cleaned on time. If a driver misses the schedule, the platform sends them a reminder to book a cleaning, if the planning hasn’t booked one for them.
Frequency management
Periodically cleaning vehicles involves considerable (indirect) costs. For this reason, many carriers and transport companies establish a clearly specified washing plan for their fleet. This plan for instance states how many times a vehicle should (and may) be cleaned in a certain timeframe. The actual set of rules carriers decide upon may be subject to various reasons. Across the board however, the goal is the same: to save on costs and to ensure hygienic transport.
Cleaning certificates
There is no standard when it comes to documentation used to prove a trailer has been cleaned according to certain specifications. When you use one of the service stations within our network to have your trailer cleaned, you will receive a cleaning certificate. This standard cleaning certificate has been set up by TRAVIS to make it easy to maintain a cleaning registration for all your vehicles and trailers. Each certificate has a unique identifiers – your company details and the details of the vehicle, the service provider details, and information about the cleaning program and cleaning procedure followed. The cleaning document is signed by both parties to confirm the cleaning was done satisfactorily. A digital copy of the certificate can then be stored for easy retrieval in case of an audit.