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Vulnerability of food delivery growing concern as comments on safe transport bill urged

WASHINGTON — Even as concern grows over what may be a dangerous vulnerability in the delivery system of the nation’s eggs, F. R. Hall Associates, a consulting group for the agri transport business, says comments are due by Aug. 30 on an Advanced Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (ANPR) from the transportation sector and others on the Safe Food Transportation Act (SFTA).

The safe handling and transport of food was to be the Department of Transportation’s purview, noted Barbara Robinson, senior vice president of policy and research for Hall and Associates, but DOT didn’t have the expertise to implement the law.

So the scope of the SFTA will be partly determined by the outcome of the rulemaking. The Food and Drug Administration is the agency seeking information on the rule including but not limited to the frequency of food and nonfood freight being transported and what security measures are in place to prevent contamination; sanitation and security measures taken to protect food during loading, unloading and during transport; what information is provided by food shippers to the carriers to prevent food adulteration; and what kinds of records are being kept by shippers and receivers.

When submitting comments refer to Docket No. FDA-2010-N-0013. Click here and follow the prompts.

Dorothy Cox of The Trucker staff may be contacted to comment at [email protected].

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