12.6 Receipt, Storage, and Transport
This procedure will ensure that your storage and transport areas are functioning properly to ensure a smooth workflow and avoid any unnecessary discrepancies or costs.
River Valley Holdings
08/15/2023
12.6 Receipt, Storage, and Transport
This procedure will ensure that your storage and transport areas are functioning properly to ensure a smooth workflow and avoid any unnecessary discrepancies or costs.
12.6.1 Storage of Materials and Product
12.6.1.1 The site shall implement an effective storage plan that allows for the safe, hygienic storage of ice, food products (frozen, chilled, and ambient), packaging, equipment, and chemicals.
12.6.1.2 Dry food products shall be received and stored in a way to prevent cross-contamination with frozen and chilled products.
12.6.1.3 The responsibility and methods for ensuring effective stock rotation principles are applied shall be documented and implemented.
12.6.1.4 Procedures shall be in place to ensure that all food products and recouped products are utilized within their designated shelf life.
12.6.1.5 Where goods are held under temporary or overflow conditions that are not designed for the safe storage of goods, a risk analysis shall be undertaken to ensure there is no risk to the integrity of those goods, or contamination, or adverse effects on food safety.
12.6.1.6 Records shall be available to verify alternate or temporary control measures for storage of raw materials, ingredients, packaging, equipment, chemicals, or finished products.
12.6.1.7 Racks provided for the storage of food products shall be constructed of impervious materials and designed to enable cleaning of the floors and the storage room. Storage areas shall be cleaned at a predetermined frequency.
12.6.2 Storage and Use of Hazardous Chemicals and Toxic Substances
12.6.2.1 The site shall provide confirmation of the effective operational performance of freezing, chilling, and cold storage facilities. Chillers, blast freezers, and cold storage rooms shall be designed and constructed to allow for the hygienic and efficient refrigeration of food and shall be easily accessible for inspection and cleaning.
12.6.2.2 Sufficient refrigeration capacity shall be available to store chilled or frozen food at the maximum anticipated throughput of product with allowance for periodic cleaning of refrigerated areas.
12.6.2.3 Discharge from defrost and condensate lines shall be controlled and discharged to the drainage system.
12.6.2.4 The site shall have a written procedure for monitoring temperatures of storage rooms, including the frequency of checks, and corrective actions if the temperature is out of specification. Cold and chilled storage rooms shall be fitted with temperature monitoring equipment, located to monitor the warmest part of the room, and be fitted with a temperature measurement device that is easily readable and accessible. Records shall be kept of frozen, cold, and chilled storage room temperatures.
12.6.2.5 Procedures shall be in place to identify the methods and responsibilities used to ensure that processes applied to materials prior to distribution (e.g. thawing, slacking, labeling) do not pose a risk to product safety or loss of traceability.
12.6.3 Storage of Dry Goods
12.6.3.1 Dry goods shall be located away from wet areas to protect the product from contamination and deterioration and to prevent packaging from becoming a harborage for pests or vermin.
12.6.4 Storage of Hazardous Chemicals and Toxic Substances Used On-site
12.6.4.1 Hazardous chemicals, toxic substances, and pesticides that are for use on the site with the potential for food contamination shall be:
12.6.4.2 Hazardous chemicals and toxic substances shall be stored:
12.6.4.3 Personnel who handle hazardous chemicals and toxic substances, including pesticides and cleaning chemicals:
12.6.4.4 The site shall dispose of unused chemicals and empty containers in accordance with regulatory requirements and ensure that:
12.6.4.5 In the event of a hazardous spill, the site shall:
12.6.5 Loading, Transport, and Staging Practices
12.6.5.1 The practices applied during loading, transport, and unloading of food products and materials shall be documented, implemented, and designed to maintain appropriate storage conditions and product integrity. Practices shall protect against contamination from biological, chemical, and physical hazards, and under conditions that prevent cross-contamination.
12.6.5.2 Sites shall have a procedure in place that is documented and implemented to ensure trailers are inspected prior to receiving shipments or loading to ensure that the trailer is in good repair, clean, secured and at the required environmental condition and temperature.
12.6.5.3 Vehicles (e.g. trucks/vans/containers) used for transporting food shall be inspected prior to loading to ensure they are clean, in good repair, suitable for the purpose, and free from odors or other conditions that may impact negatively on the product.
12.6.5.4 Receiving, staging, loading, and unloading practices shall be designed to minimize unnecessary exposure of the product to conditions detrimental to maintaining product integrity.
12.6.5.5 Where applicable, food transport vehicles’ refrigeration units shall maintain the food at the required temperatures and the units’ temperature settings shall be set, checked, and recorded before loading and product temperatures monitored at regular intervals during loading as appropriate. The refrigeration units shall be operational at all times and checks shall be completed of the units’ operation, the door seals, and the storage temperature at regular intervals during transit.
12.6.5.6 Upon arrival and prior to opening the doors, the food transport vehicles’ refrigeration unit storage temperature settings and operating temperature shall be checked and recorded. Receiving shall be completed efficiently and product temperatures shall be recorded at the commencement of unloading and at regular intervals during unloading.
Ask a receiver what the procedure is for receiving refrigerated product.
Source: River Valley Holdings (Community Member)