National food distributor KeHE has earned the Cold Carrier Certification, the first certification of its kind focused on excellence in refrigerated transportation.
The Cold Carrier Certification program was initially piloted by several companies, including KeHE.
The certification, offered by the International Refrigerated Trucking Association (IRTA), recognizes transportation companies that comply with the IRTA Refrigerated Transportation Best Practices Guide. The guide provides support on the Food and Drug Administration’s rule for the Sanitary Transportation of Human and Animal Food, with the overall goal of preventing the improperly refrigerating food, inadequate cleaning of vehicles between loads, and failure to properly protect food.
KeHE’s Executive Vice President of Operations Chris Sieburg said, "KeHE has taken the step to ensure our professional truck drivers are knowledgeable about food safety risks.”
The Global Cold Chain Alliance (GCCA), a trade association that represents industries involved in temperature-control logistics, has collaborated with IRTA to ensure companies abide by FDA regulations. Both organizations provide additional resources to help identify compliance issues through checklists and driver training materials.
“Our professional truck drivers are honored to display the Cold Carrier Certification logo on their trucks, it shows KeHE’s compliance while encouraging others to join in food safety," Sieburg added. "These measures were taken to protect our suppliers’ food products and retail partners’ orders. Ultimately, we want to make sure we are providing excellent service to our partners, while reducing food waste as a benefit.”
KeHE’s Cold Carrier Certification is one of many initiatives taken to increase food safety and eliminate food waste. A recent partnership with Climate Collaborative has provided KeHE’s retail partners with food waste resources through a 10-step Food Waste Reduction Toolkit. To learn more about the partnership with Climate Collaborative, visit KeHE’s blog.
Source: KeHe Distributors
