FSMA Requirements for Cold Chain Monitoring

Update:  The next approaching food safety compliance milestone will be impacting smaller fleets effective September 17, 2018.

We’re almost 2 years after the FSMA publication date of the Sanitary Transportation of Human and Animal Food (STF) rule and the April 6, 2018 deadline for small business compliance is only 1 month away!

In order to maintain compliance with FSMA and ensure your fleets are fully equipped to provide consistent temperature reporting, we summed up the basics of the sanitary transport rule as it applies to Shipper & Carrier Temperature Control & temperature tracking. We also provided a quick overview of the various solutions Wireless Links has to offer so you can improve the management of your fleet in a variety of ways!

What Is the Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA)?

In April of 2016, The FDA Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA) published its final on the Sanitary Transportation of Human and Animal Food (STF).
The Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA) focuses on preventing food safety problems, and impacts primarily shippers, carriers, loaders and receivers. Requirements include additional driver training, written procedures, greater record-keeping retention requirements and other efforts of enforcement. Included in this list of requirements is one for individuals who transport foods that require time and temperature control. This is to ensure they are safely maintained through the transportation cold chain during operations.

Key Requirements for Temperature Monitoring

Section 111 Sanitary transportation of Food applies to ambient, refrigerated and frozen modes of transport vehicles and requires those involved in the cold chain supply to use documented sanitary practices to ensure that proper temperatures are maintained for the duration of food transport within the United States. The FSMA rule sets out the following responsibilities:

• Shippers – Temperature monitoring at the staging area prior to shipment. Must provide a complete temperature report to the receiver upon request.
• Carriers – Temperature monitoring before and during transport and at the time of delivery (precool reefers and cold storage compartments, maintain safe temperatures during transport, delivery of goods at the required temperature).
• Both Shippers and Carriers – Consistent temperature reporting is required throughout all stages of the transportation cold chain.

Why FSMA is Necessary

Foodborne illnesses are a significant challenge. Each year, over 48 million people in the United States become sick with such illnesses, with over 128,000 being hospitalized, and over 3,000 cases being fatal.

Today, over 15% of the U.S. food supply originates outside of our borders, which obviously creates greater concerns around handling and distribution prior to arriving at local retail stores. Secondly, our food supply chain processes are becoming increasingly more complex, with many new foods entering the market every day, presenting new potential challenges. And with a changing demographic, the U.S. population is viewed as being more susceptible to foodborne illnesses.
The FSMA is part of the FDA’s larger effort to shift focus from responding to outbreaks of contaminated food to preventing them before they even happen.

FDA Food Safety Rule Compliance Deadline

• Effective June 6, 2016.
• April 6, 2017 for large fleets with annual revenue over $27.5 million -1 year from publication date.
• April 6, 2018 for small fleets of 500 employees or less and less than annual revenue over $27.5 million.- two years from the publication date.
•  September 17, 2018 the next approaching food safety compliance milestone for smaller fleets.

Temperature Tracking & Monitoring with FSMA Compliance

One of the key responsibilities under the food safety rule is to ensure that proper temperatures of food are maintained throughout the supply chain. Telematics and temperature tracking solutions are the perfect fit to assist your fleet with compliance to the new guidelines.

Wireless Links offers a wide selection of innovative wireless telematics solutions for cold chain temperature monitoring of refrigerators and freezers, refrigerated vehicles and trailers and refrigerated cargos.

We offer Refrigeration Monitoring and Control either as a stand alone service, or as a single integrated solution combining GPS Fleet Management, Asset Tracking, and ELD in one elegant, plug and play device.

Real-Time Temperature Monitoring Integrated with GPS Fleet Management

Our powerful Fleet.Net platform allows you to monitor and control the temperature of perishable goods from the time they are loaded onto your trucks to the time they are delivered.

You can easily view and export temperature reports for each trip. In parallel, whenever the temperature exceeds predefined thresholds, alarms are triggered via e-mail, SMS and in-app pop-up notifications.

Your fleet has different needs. We offer multiple hardware configurations.

Fleet.Net can only be as powerful as the hardware devices that feed it. As such we manufacture a family of hardware configurations to meet any logistical need with wired & wireless temperature monitoring options for trucks and trailers. The different hardware options provide various features depending on your need and all provide advantages that allow you to:

• Receive greater control of refrigeration, ensuring product quality & spoilage prevention
• Receive real-time alerts as soon as the temperature exceeds predefined thresholds.
• Gain Cold Chain Visibility in minutes

Learn More

Companies that ship fresh produce, frozen goods, or high-value assets such as pharmaceuticals via refrigerated transport can benefit from Wireless Links cold chain temperature monitoring devices while complying with the FSMA food safety rule.

For more information visit our dedicated page for temperature monitoring & tracking devices

To discuss your specific business and explore the solution that best fits your needs: