Are you a food distributor? Every type of food, including Nebraskan beef and Chilean grapes, has to reach the end consumer. As a food distributor, millions of consumers count on you to receive food items on time while still fresh.
Back in the 1930s, restaurants in the US wooed their customers by boasting how far they transport foods. The mileage covered by exotic vegetable salads totaled up to 22,250. The main mode of transportations back then included rail cars and steamed ships.
Retailers relied on warehouses cooled with ice during food transport to keep their food cargo fresh. Fast forward to 2021, the consumption trends of consumers are still the same. They will pay more for exotic foods traveling thousands of miles to reach their favorite grocery stores.
So, what’s the best way to transport foods over long distances in 2021? Which transportation mediums guarantee fast delivery with minimal disruptions in the supply chain? This article explains this in more detail.
Beverage Food Transportation
Beverage food transportation can be pretty tricky. You have to find the right logistics and also ensure that the cargo arrives in good condition. Although every distributor might have unique approaches to transportation, they must all adhere to the set industry standards.
For instance, you should meet the temperature control needs for beverage transportation. Beverages like milk require you to observe specific temperature controls around the year. Other drinks like beer only require seasonal temperature control.
When transporting beer during winters, go for refrigerated trucks. This will prevent the liquids from freezing, which can break the packaging. However, opting for refrigerated trucks also means you might need to reduce your capacity.
That’s where having access to a vast network of food transport services steps in. You can hire as many refrigerated trucks as possible to ensure you meet the demand of your retail customers. Remember, you also have to meet the low volume but high-frequency orders.
But how do you mitigate potential damages such as bottles breaking or exploding while on transit? First, you should avoid overhang products on the transportation pallet. Overhang products can break when they come into contact with other transport equipment in the truck.
Whether you’re moving full or half capacity, it will also help if you use a strong shrink wrap to provide maximum hold. You can wrap your pallets up to three times using polyolefin or strong PVC. And if possible, add load locks too.
Transporting Fresh Agricultural Produce
What’s the secure food transport mode for perishable foods? Although fruits and vegetables make the bigger part of a healthy diet, distributors have to overcome many challenges to ensure they reach the consumer while fresh and safe.
For instance, agricultural products can go stale any time as soon as they start to ripen. So, it’s a race against time if you’re going to reach the other corner of the country. Taking longer on transit, even when refrigerated, can affect flavor and nutrient contents.
Your food transport solution should also mitigate the possible dangers of bad weather and natural disasters. That said, start your transportation by picking the right packaging. It’s prudent to transport fruits and vegetables in special boxes that facilitate air circulation throughout transit.
However, that doesn’t mean that you can just stack all agricultural produces. Some products such as peaches and tomatoes require layered packaging to prevent them from crashing against each other. Also, you’ll need to wash and sanitize tomatoes before packing them into boxes.
After packing your agricultural produce, you’ll need delivery vehicles from a reliable transport services company. The type of vehicles used must ensure you transport food safely by observing the right temperature limits in the entire shipping route.
It will help if the delivery vehicle can guarantee a temperature range of 35 to 45 degrees Celsius for most farm produce. You can also use hanging storage shelves to keep the food off the floor. This will ensure you go past inspection points swiftly to arrive at your destination on time.
How to Transport Foods: Frozen Products
When it comes to frozen foods, spending as little time as possible while on transit is critical. Even after freezing the food, it can still go stale or lose natural taste if you spend endless hours on the road. Moreover, the more time you spend, the lower the chances of meeting your quotas.
Frozen foods can include anything from fish fillets, plain chicken, sausages to other vegetables such as peas. So, how do you handle frozen foods safely? That depends on whether you’re shipping personally on a small scale or using third-party services to transport foods.
If you’re transporting on a small scale, you should use an insulated shipping container. You can also wrap the foods in custom poly bags inside the container to prevent them from getting soggy. These bags ensure that the food doesn’t leak into the container.
After that, you should choose the right refrigerant for your frozen foods. There are various types of refrigerants in the market, including gel, dry ice, and regular ice.
Regular ice, as the name suggests, will melt when exposed to higher temperatures. This can dampen the container.
On the other hand, dry ice remains dry during transit. However, gel refrigerants have a relatively longer lifespan than dry ice. You’ll find gel refrigerants useful when transporting foods that require stable temperature ranges of about 32 to 60 degrees.
If you opt for third-party food transport services, ensure their fleet meets these conditions. Also, they should have all relevant documents to facilitate swift logistics across borders. This will save you more time and money in the long haul.
Transport Your Food Cargo Safely
As you can see, transporting foods over long distances can be pretty challenging, especially if you just launched your distribution business. However, you can handle these without worries if you know how to transport foods safely.
Remember, the goal is to spend as little time as possible on the road. The quicker you are, the higher the chances of the foods arriving safely. Find other articles on this site for more tips on how to secure food transport over long distances.
