Emerald named as Iveco dealer for Ireland
Iveco has appointed a subsidiary of the Gaffer Group as its new distributor in Ireland.
News - Commercial Motor
March 17, 2014
Companies that specialise in the transport of bulk liquids must adhere to some of the strictest hygiene standards in haulage. Tanks must be in good repair, without defects, checked regularly and scrupulously cleaned.
The standards expected by customers vary depending on the company and the product being transported, but can include procedures such as Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Point (HACCP), rigorous cleaning regimes, approved cleaning stations, the use of dedicated food grade hoses and fittings, driver training, as well as constant sampling and quality-control checks.
Wincanton moves a variety of liquid foods, including milk, water, cider, vinegar and tonic wine. The company’s development manager, Claire Charlton, says contamination risks are kept to a minimum by ensuring that the majority of its tanks are for single product use. “When we interchange our tankers between food products, we have a comprehensive cleaning regime,” she says. “We also have customer and product specific procedures, such as cleaning frequency; cleaning products and techniques; load compatibility; load security and sealing and specialist processes for hoses and so on.”
Summarising some of the standard tanker cleaning procedures, Charlton adds: “Wincanton advocates use of approved cleaning stations suitable for food grade tanker cleaning; dedicated wash bays; ensuring all hoses, fittings and pumps are cleaned as well as the tanker; use of appropriate chemicals where applicable; swabbing and ensuring the right temperature, flow rate and wash programmes are used. Tanker design is also a factor in terms of pipe work and spray ball and spinner configurations.”
Customers get involved too
Steve Granite, MD at Abbey Logistics Group (ALG), says customers explain the cleaning standards they expect to be conducted and will invariably audit the processes for approval. The company is involved in the transport of refined vegetable oil; glucose syrup and sugar; chocolate; dairy ingredients and mineral water and he describes the cleaning guidelines set out by ALG’s customers as “very strict” .
As a rule, the company carries out three checks: a liability check, in which the hatches on top of the tankerand the outlet at the back are inspected; swabs are taken to check for bacteria and the driver must make their own visual checks too.
“Inspections include ensuring it’s clean and dry, for example, and up to spec and then we look inside the hatches,” Granite says. “You don’t want to have dropped a pen or a pad inside.”
He adds: “Chocolate has a very high spec. We try to dedicate types of products to tankers. It’s cost-effective and good for the environment, especially for chocolate, because it doesn’t all come out when you discharge the load. The tank’s still coated with chocolate, so you don’t want to be washing 200kg of it down the drain.”
Tanks must also be maintained at the correct temperature, as well as being kept either dry or wet: “With glucose the tank has to be wet, but not with refined oil or chocolate,” he explains.
Training crucial
How tanks are cleaned also involves stringent processes, and Granite says company managers will take weekly samples of the final rinse water at their wash facilities to gauge the pH value. The water used for the cleaning is also monitored and must be above 90degC.
Given these high standards, the training of drivers is crucial. “At Wincanton, our training varies according to the product carried,” says Charlton. “For example, our water drivers receive EUSR [Energy & Utility Skills Register] training in water hygiene and carry a blue card. Our milk drivers receive product specific training and carry a Milk Collection Drivers Handbook. Topics that this training covers include product handling and awareness; vehicle checks; temperature control; personal hygiene; delivery and discharge techniques and food safety.”
She adds: “We conduct regular internal audits, which are contract, product and customer specific.”
Granite says ALG drivers have a classroom-based induction before they go out on the road for eight working days with a trainer, gaining first-hand experience of washing tanks, loading, delivering and fuel-efficient driving.
SHEQ and HACCP
Companies that transport bulk liquid foods generally have a department or manager responsible for Safety, Health, Environment and Quality (SHEQ), which ensures that codes of practice, guidelines, quality standards and applicable legislation are followed.
Companies can draw up their own SHEQ plans, which focus on each of these four areas. For example, among other topics, Abbey Logistics Group focuses on water consumption, site energy efficiency and fleet emissions; health and safety training, best practice and an active promotion of near-miss reporting.
The Health and Safety Executive says failings in SHEQ can lead to prosecution under the Health and Safety at Work Act. Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Points (HACCP) is a system that helps food business operators look at how they handle food and introduces procedures to ensure the food produced is safe to eat.
The Food Standards Agency (FSA) says that as part of routine inspections, enforcement officers will check that a business has in place an appropriate HACCP-based food safety management system. The industry has produced a range of national guides for good hygiene practice and the application of HACCP principles within the legislative framework.
Using the guides is voluntary; there is no legal requirement to follow the advice and businesses may demonstrate compliance with the hygiene legislation in other ways.
But the FSA adds: “Where a food business operator is following the guidance in a recognised industry guide, the enforcement authority must take this into account when assessing compliance with the legislation.”
Further information
The Food Standards Agency admits that the production, processing, packaging and distribution of food products are governed by a mass of laws and regulations and information on all of these can be found here
As far as general food laws are concerned, the three main ones are the Food Safety Act 1990 (as amended), the General Food Law Regulation (EC) 178/2002 and the General Food Regulations 2004 (as amended). Get more information here
The Road Haulage Association has a dedicated livestock and milk carriers group; find more information here
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