-------------------- FOOD SAFETY --------------------


Why is it important?

• Infectious diseases that spread through food or beverages are a common, distressing, and sometimes life-threatening problem for millions of people in the world.

• The Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) estimates 76 million people suffer food borne illnesses each year in the United States , accounting for 325,000 hospitalizations and more than 5,000 deaths.

• Improve your exporting competitiveness. HACCP is recognized as the internationally accepted standard for food safety. Countries are beginning to require all imported meat, poultry and seafood be produced under HACCP in the country of origin. With a Trucking Food Safety Program you can offer the producer an opportunity to extend HACCP controls to the first point of delivery.

As domestic and international market places expand, food products will have to meet the growing expectations of consumers who demand safe and high quality food products. Producers and processors will have to demonstrate that their products meet these expectations.

In addition to an array of illnesses, food safety problems can cause economic losses to producers, distributors and retailers, and jeopardize a company’s competitiveness in the international marketplace.

Various Canadian government departments as well as the FDA in the US, the European Union and the World Trade Organization (WTO) mandate one or more food safety programs. The 133 member countries of the WTO have agreed to use HACCP based programs as the method of regulating food safety within their borders and as the required program for controlling food safety for imported food products.