Warehouses are hives of activity with cargo constantly arriving, departing, remaining and being handled, repacked or manufactured into new products. Warehouses which handle general cargo certainly are focused on safety, speed, automation and offering competitive pricing to people who use their warehouse.
As a food storage and handling warehouse, Flex Logistics has to be all that and more thanks to the requirements of the Food & Drug Administration and the state of California.
There have been several pieces of legislation passed since 2000 governing the handling and transport of food. In 2011, the government enacted the Food Safety Modernization Act, or FSMA.
Per FDA, did you know that:
- The FDA regulates about 80 percent of U.S. food supply—$602 billion in domestic food and $64 billion in imported food each year—nearly everything we eat except for meat, poultry, and some egg products that are regulated by the U.S. Department of Agriculture.
- The FDA has oversight of more than 166,000 registered domestic food facilities, including manufacturers, processors, warehouses, storage tanks, and grain elevators.
As an FDA registered facility we are on file with the agency and have a strict record keeping program that requires recertification and attestations to the agency that carry both civil and criminal penalties for false declarations.
In other words, it’s a big deal.
If there were to be some sort of public health emergency or recall, the goal of FSMA is to maintain a chain of custody record of all the places that the food traveled to identify at which point in the supply chain it became contaminated. And there are repercussions to a facility if they are found to be the source of contamination. Per the regulations, a facility can be closed if:
- FDA determines that food manufactured, processed, packed, received, or held by a registered facility has a reasonable probability of causing serious adverse health consequences or death to humans or animals (SAHCODHA); and
- That facility:
a. Created, caused, or was otherwise responsible for that reasonable probability of SAHCODHA; or
b. Knew of, or had reason to know of, the reasonable probability of SAHCODHA, and packed, received, or held such food (section 415(b) of the FD&C Act).
At Flex Logistics, we have worked very hard to not just receive this certification, but also to ensure that the culture and work climate of our warehouse reinforces the high level of trust that is placed in us by our clients and by regulating authorities to insure the safety of food in our care. With dedicated team members such as Warehouse Associate Tony Lopez ensuring we are in food grade compliance day in and day out, our customers are confident their products are stored and handled in a safe and regulated manner.
For more information why Flex Logistics should be your choice of warehouse for your food ingredients or products, contact us today.