Dairy Processing - November/December 2023 - 57

climate change and related natural disasters. "
Andy Moses, senior vice president of sales and solutions,
Penske Logistics, said that the industry has seen a dramatic
runup in supply chain costs, to a record $2.3 trillion. Thirdparty
logistics providers like Penske, he said, play a critical
role in helping shippers navigate an increasingly volatile
logistics market.
After pandemic-led shifts in warehousing and distribution,
nearly half of consumer packaged goods companies (CPGs)
expect D2C shipping to increase in the next three years,
according to the Association for Packaging and Processing
Technologies (PMMI) Business Intelligence's 2022 report " The
Future of Automation in Packaging and Processing. " If D2C
e-commerce grows as expected, it will impact the automation
needs of consumer packaged goods companies and how they
think about automating their production lines.
The switch is not seamless though; shipping D2C requires
minimal mistakes as errors incur more costs than other shipping
methods. This makes automation a vital tool.
" Some of our clients have fully robotic pick-and-pack
warehouses and that is just for e-commerce, " a mid-sized OEM
said in the report.
FOOD SAFETY CONCERNS
When consumers order food items online, there may be
concerns about food safety, shelf life and distribution.
Perishable foods should not be held at temperatures between
40 and 140 degrees Fahrenheit, also called the " Danger Zone " ,
for longer than 2 hours. Pathogenic bacteria can grow rapidly
in the " Danger Zone " , but they may not affect the taste, smell
or appearance of a food, meaning that consumers cannot tell if
food has been mishandled or is unsafe to eat.
There are steps to help the recipient determine if their
perishable foods have been handled properly, including ensuring
perishable items are shipped cold or frozen and packed with
a cold source. Product should be packed in foam or heavy
corrugated cardboard. The products should also be delivered
as quickly as possible and with the outer package labeled
" Keep Refrigerated " to alert the recipient to open the shipment
immediately and check its temperature.
The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA), in
coordination with the US Department of Agriculture (USDA)
and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC),
collaborated with the Conference of Food Protection (CFP) to
address the safety of foods ordered online and delivered directly
to consumers in the New Era of Smarter Food Safety blueprint.
The best practices document identifies mitigating measures to
potential food safety vulnerabilities, including those that may
arise in the " last mile " of delivery.
The document outlines food safety best practices that
include preventive controls, mechanisms to assess risk,
recommendations for proper packaging, temperature
control, physical and chemical contamination control, and
allergen control.
CFP, a non-profit organization created in 1971, provides
a formal process for the food industry, state and local health
departments, academia and consumer organizations to submit
input in the development and/or modification of recommended
national retail food safety policy and also identifies and
addresses emerging problems associated with food safety.
DAIRYPROCESSING.COM | NOV-DEC 2023 57
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