Approving Large Couriers for Food Transport
Hi All,
After a little help and guidance, ahead of my BRCGS audit for Storage and Distribution, I am in the process for approving our transport arrangements with couriers to allow me to approve them as a sub contracted service provider (standard large couriers networks in DPD / Royal mail etc for transport)
None of the courier services have HACCP / HARA plans is this normal? and how can I approved them without BRC accreditations as by next stage is to review HACCP or HARA in place?
Thanks in advance
If we're talking about mail and parcel services, or other types of LTL shipping where you can expect your goods to comingle with who-knows-what, then they don't have any kind of safety plan. You need to rely on your secondary/tertiary packaging and shipping containers. Even the 'big box' retailers do some ridiculous things with trucks leaving their distributions centers.
The best you can do is to have very good packaging.
I think it's pretty common for standard carriers to not have HACCP plans. They're not food producers and comingle all sorts of commodities, so it would be hard for them to design a plan around food safety.
You should review with them what their procedures are for load security in general. At minimum, they should be locking trailers and have a policy to abide by your trailer seal program (and provide documentation for broken seals). They should have a policy for keeping trailers clean and well maintained to prevent pest intrusion. For refrigerated/frozen loads, they should have guarantees to operate the trailers at temps you require. Anything else they can provide you related to this should be documented and covered in your contracts. Obviously LTL loads are a whole separate issue and should rely more on your package security before pallets leave your facility.
Important to include customer truck preference as an issue in your SOP: If you state that you only load your approved carriers but a new customer insists on paying freight with their own carrier, you'd be out of your program compliance by loading their truck. For customer selected carriers, my program always stated that we'll do the intended checks and trailer inspections, but the load becomes the customer's responsibility as soon as those doors close and we don't control that carrier at all.
Hi Catchaz,
Normally alternative transport arrangements would fall under sub-contracted services and the requirements of the following in the BRCGS Global Standard Storage and Distribution:
2.15 HARA or HACCP plans of service providers or subcontractors
3.5.2 Management of subcontractors
3.5.2.1 X - A contract or written agreement shall exist with all subcontractors, which shall, on the basis of risk and any specified customer contracts, define requirements for the safe handling, storage and transport of products (e.g. temperature range, special handling requirements, product security, segregation of incompatible products, vehicle type).
3.5.2.2 X - There shall be a documented process for the review and acceptance of a subcontractor who could potentially impact product safety, legality, quality and integrity.
However, note Section 12.6 Use of the distribution network for final mile deliveries only - This section includes requirements for:
12.6.1 Documented procedure for the approval and monitoring of suppliers
12.6.2 Contracts between the company and the suppliers of distribution network services
12.6.3 Contract review
12.6.4 Supplier performance monitored
Interpretation - Procedures shall be in place to ensure that where distribution networks (including postal, courier and pallet network or less-than-load type operations) are used for distributing products, they do not present a risk to the safety, security or quality of the products.
Where these networks are used, their use must be restricted to making the final mile deliveries only.
Kind regards,
Tony