Dispatch Procedure for Food Warehouses

In the previous articles, we have looked at the different aspects of a warehouse HACCP Program such as the Receiving procedure and the Storage procedure as CCPs. This article covers dispatch as a CCP to complete the three CCPs that were in our Process Flow diagram. 

Dispatch procedure covers activities from storage units to the cooling dock and the delivery truck. Activities under the dispatch procedure include the following:

•  Temperature monitoring
•  Product quality checks
• Delivery truck inspection
• Staging of products

Temperature monitoring

For warehouses that handle temperature-sensitive products, temperature monitoring plays a vital role by enabling early detection of temperature deviations and prompt actions to correct the non-conformance.

Before dispatching a product from the warehouse, check the temperature of the storage room, product, and cooling dock before dispatch. The storage room temperature should be -18 degrees Celsius (-12°C Max) for frozen products and 1-4°C for chilled products. 

The cooling dock should be maintained at 1-7°C to prevent the growth of psychrophilic spoilage microorganisms such as Pseudomonas, thus preventing the quality of temperature-sensitive products from deterioration.

To maintain the product temperature along the route, the delivery truck is pre-cooled to -≤12°C and ≤4°C for the frozen and chilled product compartment, respectively.

The temperature of storage units is measured using the following methods:

• Internal thermometer probes;
• Portable probe thermometer;
• Continuous computerized temperature monitoring.

Product quality checks

Check the temperature of the products to be delivered and record it in the delivery monitoring form. The Frozen product temperature is -18 degrees Celsius (-12°C Max), and the temperature range for chilled products is 1-4°C. It should however be noted that refrigeration temperature for the chicken product and meat product is 1-2°C. 

I guess you are wondering why the temperatures of beef and meat products are slightly lower than those of other products. Well, the reason is simple- Meat (beef and poultry) is very rich in nutrients that support spoilage microbial growth.

Check the product label to be sure that;

• It follows FEFO.
• No expired product is dispatch.

Check frozen products for signs of thawing and refreezing or any other sign of product temperature deviation. These include frozen liquid at the bottom of primary packaging, large pieces of ice on the surface of the product, and fluid leakage.

Note;

• load products in their respective truck sections- chilled products, frozen and dry products are loaded in chilled, frozen, and dry sections, respectively.
• Load temperature-sensitive products first before other products to allow time for the products to cool further while loading other products.
• Unlike products are loaded separately (separate meat and chicken products from other products) to prevent cross-contamination.
• The product temperature is measured using a calibrated probe thermometer.

Corrective actions

With a deviant storage unit temperature, the warehouse designated personnel measures the temperature of the product and checks for any signs of thawing. 

If visual checks reveal signs of thawing (but the surface of the product is still hard), transfer the non-conformant products to a storage unit that is within acceptable temperature ranges. However, if the surface of the product is soft, the warehouse designated personnel should completely thaw the products in a refrigerator or a chiller.

Dispatch is one of the vital activities for a food product warehouse, largely because the product conditions have to be maintained within the stated specifications until when delivered to the final consumer, who in this case, can be a restaurant, a grocery shop, or a client’s doorstep. During dispatch, a delivery truck becomes your storage room (dry storage or cold storage) on wheels. Therefore, all checks you apply to a storage room will still apply to your delivery truck. Let us look at these checks.

Delivery truck pre-loading inspection

Check Panels

Panels are made of insulators acting as a barrier between the inside of the delivery truck and the outside environment. They play are vital role in maintaining the product temperature to a specific set value. Temperature loss can be detrimental to the products inside the truck. These can thaw (in case of frozen products) leading to the growth of spoilage microorganism (which can also be pathogenic), loss of product shape, blood dripping (for fresh meat products), withering for the case of leafy vegetables, the list goes on and on. Therefore, the dispatch designated personnel need to check for any damage to the panels that can lead to temperature loss.

Temperature checks

Since the delivery truck carries food products and food-related products, including cold chain products, its temperatures must be set to maintain product safety and avoid product deterioration. The set temperatures must also be in the range described by the food safety standard the warehouse subscribes to or as dictated by the regulatory authorities. Before loading, the delivery truck must first be precooled. Precooling is the process of lowering the temperature to achieve the desired range. From my experience, a delivery truck meant to carry frozen products must be precooled to ≤-12⁰C (10.4⁰ F) and 4⁰C (39.2°F) for chilled products. However, this temperature can change based on regulatory authorities, food safety standard, or the nature of food. For instance, It is recommended that trucks carrying high-risk products such as chicken (because of the salmonella bacteria) be precooled to 2⁰C (35.6°F).

Cleanliness

The delivery truck must be clean both inside and outside. The inside storage compartment walls, floor, and ceiling must be free from any dust or traces of previous goods that the truck transported. If the delivery truck previously carried high-risk products such as meat, poultry, and poultry products, it must be washed thoroughly and its compartment sanitized. This is to avoid cross-contaminating the product that will be carried in the truck next. Checking for cleanliness also involves checking for off odors that might taint other products carried in the delivery truck. In case of detection of off odors, the truck should be thoroughly washed before use. In cases of time-sensitive operations, use another delivery truck to save time. When checking for cleanliness, also look out for any signs of pest infestation these include;

• Pest sightings
• Insect droppings
• Rodent droppings

No damages to the bulk head

A bulkhead is an insulated barrier that separated two different temperature zones within a delivery truck. Let assume you use the same truck to deliver dry goods and frozen goods at the same time. You can only do this if you have a bulkhead installed in your delivery truck. It separates the dry goods compartment from the frozen goods compartment. To maintain the required temperature, the bulkhead must be in excellent condition and regularly checked for any deviation. The bulkhead is not necessary for trucks that carry products of the same temperature range.

Note

Products that can be affected by low temperatures (Freezing temperatures) should not be placed near to the bulkhead that separates frozen good from other goods. Placing them near to the bulkhead can affect their product attributes such as product integrity.

Cooling unit

Cooling units have a tendency to drip water, risking product safety of the product underneath. To avoid this, always check the cooling units before loading the product, and if possible, avoid putting products directly under these units. The risk for this can always be assessed under the warehouse’s risk assessment.

Summary of dispatch process

1. Truck inspection
2. Cool dock temperature monitoring (for the case of cold chain products)
3. Product staging (according to client’s order)
4. Product inspection (product temperature, expiry date checks, carton damage checks, and any other suspicious checks)
5. Product loading
6. Securing or locking the delivery truck

Check out Appendix 2 for the flow diagram

APPENDIX

Dispatch monitoring form

 

 Appendix 2

A flow diagram of the Dispatch Process

 

 

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