An online course now offered by Penn State Extension aims to help transportation personnel nationwide meet federal food safety requirements when transporting human and animal foods.
The course, “Sanitary Transportation of Human and Animal Food,” can help shippers, loaders, carriers by motor or rail vehicle, and receivers involved in transporting human and animal foods understand the Sanitary Transportation Regulation, which is part of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s Food Safety Modernization Act — often referred to as FSMA.
The goal of FSMA’s Sanitary Transportation Regulation is to prevent practices during transportation that create food safety risks, such as failure to properly refrigerate food, inadequate cleaning of vehicles between loads and failure to properly protect food. The Penn State Extension course breaks down the regulation in a user-friendly format that provides an overview of food hazards and how the risk of those hazards can be minimized.
Using easy-to-follow videos and short readings, the self-paced, interactive course outlines how to safely transport food in all stages of the transportation process. Participants will learn about regulations, hazards associated with food during transportation, basic safety procedures, and company procedures and documentation. To receive certification, participants must pass four short quizzes with a minimum score of 80%.
