Protocols for truck deliveries of product

Per our SQF Policy we receive trucks from all suppliers some full, some partial and LTL.   The full and partial come in with seals but. the LTL do not come in sealed at all.

My question is what is the proper protocol for trucks delivering. As of now we say if full truck or partial has to have a seal. LTL we do not have anything?

This came up because we have a supplier that send us a truck and they claim that they never have seals on the trucks. 

Any help or guidance would be greatly appreciated. Thank you 

You will never get a seal on an LTL no matter which company you ask

You should perform a risk analysis for these loads, and ensure that otherwise the loads looks intact etc

Part of the risk analysis should include that the driver is present during each load/unload for the duration of the contents

We had the same thing happen. Our auditor stated that even LTL trucks carry locks with them. The Shipping Department just needed to make sure they saw the lock removed before unloading and put on after loading. We added a column on both the Receiving log and Shipping lock stating that a lock was there.

 SEALING - FOOD DEFENSE

These Question with sealing become more and more interest. FOOD DEFENSE. The actual sabotage acts in Europe. All thsi shows how inportant FOOD DEFENSE and the right sealing of trucks is. 

Please find more informations on the attachement. ENFIT - International Association Supply Saftey has deveop a digital solution where sealings (blockchain protected) can scanned by smartphone and transfered by cloud to the reciver of goods. 

If some of you needs more details, please let me know. 

We can also provide the international ENFIT Guideline - Transport of unpacked raw materials and food in transport container. Send an email with your name, comapany and position/department and you will get all details free of charge. 

Best regards 

Hans Dieter Philipowski

President ENFIT 

I don't know if the LTL question will ever be resolved to an auditor's true satisfaction.  In the past, I relied on having my receiving checklist focus on the package integrity itself as an acknowledgement that we cannot control how the LTL companies handle the product out of our sight/control.  So long as actual cross contamination has not occurred, odors are not noted as permeating your product, and package integrity is intact, one can deduce the food safety aspect of the received goods remains intact.  That said, anyone shipping food LTL should be ensuring pallets are secured in wrap with tamper type products.

One auditor suggested we should be rejecting LTL pallets if they're stacked next to motor oil or poisons, or refusing to load LTL's that had questionable materials on them.  That made no sense to me, knowing that LTL trucking companies cross-dock everything they transport at various hubs.  It's perfectly likely your food was sitting next to God-knows-what before they loaded it onto the trailer to bring to you, and just because you manage to see it stored next to something bad means it should be rejected?  Not in my mind.  You cannot control where that truck goes after picking up with you either, so the lock is somewhat pointless knowing the forklift operator at the next stop will be parking right next to your shipment.

Now, if they deliver your packages and they're covered with spilled peanuts and rodent droppings, absolutely reject the load for mishandling.  If they beat your product to smithereens, and package integrity is compromised, reject it.

We are an SQF Certified Company. What I did with  LTL load is to have the driver record his Plate / DL Number and sign an attestation that the shipment was under his/her control at all times. I simply added a box for this in our receiving checklist so I don't need to create a new form. On our last audit, it seems like the auditor was fine with this. Hope this helps.

We will not load with poisons or other items we know are not food, we only place shipments with food transportation trucking companies.  With that said we know we do not have control after it leaves our plant and is transferred in their warehouse(s).  That is why we trend any logistics complaints.  Typically though, we do not have an issue with food storage/contamination, but with carelessness of forklifts (Damage).