Food Transportation Safety: Characterizing Risks and Controls by Use of Expert Opinion

Federal regulations stipulate that food products be protected against physical, chemical and microbial contamination during transportation and holding. An expert opinion elicitation was conducted to assess food safety hazards and preventive controls associated with the transportation and holding of food commodities. Frequency and severity risk rankings suggest five food safety hazards of greatest concern across all modes of transport: (1) lack of security; (2) improper holding practices for food products awaiting shipment or inspection; (3) improper temperature control; (4) cross-contamination; and (5) improper loading practices, conditions, or equipment. Factor analysis suggests that "in-transit" and "organizational" risk factors might explain the relationships among the various food safety hazards. Raw seafood, raw meat and poultry, and refrigerated raw and ready-to-eat foods have the highest overall risk (in descend-ing order) across all modes of transit. Our analysis also identified a range of preventive controls that may help eliminate/mitigate the risks to food during transport and storage, including: employee awareness and training, management review of records, and good communication between shipper, transporter and receiver.