Sanitary Transportation Final Implementation Date Looms

The Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA) landmark final rule on the Sanitary Transportation of Human and Animal Food is approaching its final implementation date for 3PLs on April 6, 2018. This implementation date is for the remaining small businesses that were not included in the initial implementation date of April 6, 2017. FDA defines a small business as, “businesses other than motor carriers who are not also shippers and/or receivers employing fewer than 500 persons and motor carriers having less than $27.5 million in annual receipts.”

Under the Final Rule, FDA amended the definition of a “shipper” to include 3PLs as a responsible party. Specifically, the definition reads:

Shipper means a person, e.g., the manufacturer or a freight broker, who arranges for the transportation of food in the United States by a carrier or multiple carriers sequentially.

Furthermore, FDA notes that shippers or brokers are in the best position to determine the necessary requirements and places the primary responsibility for compliance on them. This would include:

• Appropriate transportation operations
• If the food needs temperature controlled for safety and the relevant operating temperature and mode of temperature monitoring
• If clean out procedures are needed
• If previous cargo should be revealed

The Agency notes that shippers can contractually assign responsibility to other covered parties.
TIA offers its members access to a Temperature Controlled Course that was updated to include all the requirements of the Sanitary Transportation of Food Final Rule. Please click here to learn more.

If you have any questions, please contact TIA Advocacy at advocacy@tianet.org or (703) 299-5700).