Just days before Christmas when everyone is rushing to the stores to load up on everything they need for their traditional Christmas dinner, thieves stole a trailer loaded with several thousands of dollars worth the meats and vegetables.
The truck, which was parked behind a HoneyBaked Ham store in Cordova, TN, was filled with 1,017 hams worth $56,000, 42 boxes of turkeys worth $15,000, and $57,000 worth of side dishes (which included potatoes, casseroles and cinnamon apples), according to WMCTV.com.
Somewhere between the times of 11:15 p.m. on Dec. 20th (when the trailer was last seen) and 6:15 a.m. on Dec. 21st, the truck was stolen.
After sending out an alert for police to stay on watch for the tractor trailer, Memphis police recovered the abandoned truck two days later, the exact location not released, however, three quarters of the cargo was taken, WMCTV explains.
Although a quarter of the cargo was recovered, the high risk of contamination is enough to keep the products off the market. As HoneyBaked Ham’s Robin Blanton stated, “Because the product has been out of our control for the period of time, we of course are not able to sell it. Because of food safety issues, we’re not able to donate the product as well. We’ll just have to destroy the product” (http://www.wmctv.com/story/16390097/truck-stolen-from-cordova-honeybaked-ham-recovered).
This is the unfortunate case most of the time, especially when transporting refrigerated/frozen goods, such as meat, which can become contaminated and lead to widespread health concerns when transported under improper temperature conditions and ingested by consumers. Not knowing how long the trailer failed to maintain a proper temperature or who tampered with the product, companies are forced to discard their products, losing money.
Road Scholar Transport, however, can help. We apply a product known as ReeferTrak to all of our refrigerated trailers, which allows our staff to carefully monitor the temperature within the trailer (and your freight), alerting us of any change in degree. This system allows you, the customer, the ability to see the temperature of your freight, as well as its location, at any given time, with accessibility months after delivery so you don’t have to deal with the problem of disposing your freight due to contamination concerns.
Thieves will have an incredibly tough time making away with one of Road Scholar’s brightly colored awareness trucks which are tracked live, delivering its precise location as well as location history, so you not only know where your freight is but where it has been.
With electronic door monitoring alerting of every door opening/closing, our team will constantly be on guard of any irregular activity. Not to mention Navalock capability which is bolt cutter, sledgehammer, and chisel proof to prevent the tampering of your freight.
Visit Road Scholar’s University page at www.roadscholar.com where you will learn about cargo security from Walt Beadling, Managing Partner at the Cargo Security Alliance, and Jim Barrett, President of Road Scholar Transport, and how Road Scholar is taking measures to keep your freight secure.
What do you think of Road Scholar’s ReeferTrak system? List your comments below.
