What challenges are involved in receiving expedited Customs clearances for cold chain logistics?
The Customs clearance process is commodity-driven, and logistics providers must adhere to all governmental regulations as mandated by the Food and Drug Administration, United States Department of Agriculture and Customs and Border Protection. These requirements vary among commodities and are intended to safeguard, inspect and ensure accountability for all imported temperature-controlled goods moving along the global supply chain.
For logistics providers, the challenge becomes not only ensuring that they maintain proper temperature ranges and product protection, they must also speed up clearances for perishables within hours of arrival into U.S. Customs. It is their responsibility to consult with government agencies and educate their customers on which specific federal health regulations apply to the refrigerated and frozen goods they are shipping to ensure expedited customs clearance.
What documentation is required for these cases of steaks, pallets of cream puffs or boxes of frozen turkeys, for instance? Are there any embargoes or restrictions on these particular commodities or ingredients? Are import permits required?
When it comes to ensuring quality, security, compliance and freshness in today’s world of global logistics, there’s no substitute for preparation and planning.
How do you ensure that your colleagues and partners are compliant with all food safety regulations?
Implementing a comprehensive food safety and security plan that formalizes and standardizes your company’s processes and procedures is a critical component to enforcing compliance. These plans should include the most sophisticated and updated standards in the areas of food safety and security, including a full analysis on all aspects of food packing, storage, warehousing and transportation, including sanitization, inspection, record keeping and data integrity.
Compliance is also achieved through ongoing training of your staff and network of agents and partners. Make sure that your operating procedures are not only aligned with all government agencies but also with each customer’s own sets of mandates and measures.
It’s not enough to develop standard operating procedures and trust they will be strictly followed. Internal audits should be conducted on a continual basis. After all, no single step or quality assurance improvement will, by itself, ensure compliance and prevent product spoilage. Rather, it’s the conscientious and collective application of these measures that will achieve optimal performance and customer satisfaction.
STEVE TAYLOR is the perishable station manager for AIT Worldwide Logistics Inc., headquartered in Itasca, Ill. Spanning numerous nationwide locations and an ever-increasing network of international partnerships, the global transportation and logistics provider delivers tailored solutions for a wide variety of vertical markets and industries. Reach him at [email protected] or (800) 669-4AIT.
