A Guide To Transporting Meat Products
Joe Dickman | January 4th, 2021
In the race to get products from the farm to your table, food goes through many hurdles. It must be safe to consume. This is especially important when dealing with meat and the potential health consequences of improper transportation. Here is a helpful guide to transporting meat products.
Short Travel Times
The goal of any transport company is to get products from point A to point B as quickly as possible. This is especially critical when handling perishable items. Food products, especially fresh meat, have short shelf lives that can be as small as a few days, so getting it to stores quickly is crucial. If transporting meat long distances, freezing it first can yield the best results.
Control the Temperature
Travel time is important, but temperature is also very significant. For meat to safely reach the final destination, it must stay refrigerated throughout the trip. Logging the temperature at set intervals will ensure that the product is as fresh as possible.
Prevent Contamination
In the food world, contamination often means game over. To avoid contaminating meat during transportation, consider factors like clothing, personal hygiene habits, and wounds on people handling the product. You can also prevent contamination with proper temperature control standards, safe packaging, and short delivery times.
Food Handler Training
A guide to transporting meat products wouldn’t be complete without talking about the people handling the meat along the way. Any worker who comes into contact with the meat at any stage in the supply chain should know proper food handling techniques. This will make sure the consumer who buys the product is happy and safe with their purchase.
If you want to get into the meat delivery business, the cold transport experts at Emerald Transportation Solutions have everything you need. We have a wide variety of refrigerated trucks and insulated vans for sale that will benefit any cold supply chain.
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What does under DOT mean?
Questions regarding DOT requirements come up often. 10,000 lbs GVW (gross vehicle weight) and over are commercial vehicles that fall under the Department of Transportation regulatory requirements.
What is the difference between GVW and payload?
GVW or Gross Vehicle Weight is the entire weight of the vehicle including the payload. The payload weight represents the amount of cargo you are hauling.
What is a self-powered unit and a vehicle-powered unit?
A self-powered unit has its own fuel source and will run independent of the truck. This is the heaviest and most expensive option. While vehicle-powered units run off the engine via a compressor mounted on the engine. These are less expensive and lighter in weight but you must run the truck or plug the electric standby into shore power.
What does K-factor mean and why is that important?
K-factor is a term that stands for the overall insulating value of the container (truck body). Quite simply the lower the K-factor the better the truck body will be able to maintain a given temperature and require less energy to do so.
How much lighter is a Poly Van vs a US spec body?
Poly Van bodies are very light. On average we estimate we are 75-150 lbs per foot lighter than a traditional sheet and post foamed in place body. These weight savings translates to less fuel burn and less CO2 emissions, along with added payload, the most important benefit.
