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Posts Tagged ‘FDA’

Foodbourne Illness Outbreaks

Friday, April 12th, 2013

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Foodborne illnesses affect 1 in 6 people annually, claiming nearly 3,000 lives. But where are they occurring? Which products had the most outbreaks? Which were the most dangerous? These are all questions recently answered by the Center for Science in the Public Interest (CSPI) in their white paper, Outbreak Alert! 2001-2010 A Review of Foodborne Illness in America, released last month.

The CSPI analyzed 7,194 unique foodborne outbreaks documented within a 10-year period (1991 to 2010), accounting for 205,867 cases of illness.¹

Outbreak Locations

According to the CSPI’s analysis, cases of outbreaks were greatest in restaurant settings, accounting for 1,786 outbreaks and 32,919 illnesses, while household settings resulted in the second highest number of illnesses (12,666) in 922 outbreak incidents. Prisons contained 77 unique outbreaks with 10,660 sicknesses, the third largest, with 1,644 of those occurring in a single incident in 2006, in which contaminated milk was served resulting in the largest single-source outbreak of the decade.¹

Food Product Type

According to the white paper, four food product categories resulted in the most outbreaks, making up 51% of all cases. These products were as follows:

#1 Produce: 696 outbreaks (17%), 25,222 illnesses (24%)

#2 Seafood: 657 outbreaks, 5,603 illnesses

#3 Meat

-1. Poultry: 458 outbreaks, 11,338 illnesses

-2. Beef: 363 outbreaks, 7,528 illnesses

-3. Pork: 176 outbreaks, 3,794 illnesses

#4 Dairy: 193 outbreaks, 5,524 illnesses

Highest-Risks Foods

The product with the greatest number of outbreaks does not mean that it is the highest at risk food. In fact, in this case, it’s the exact opposite. Produce was found to be one of the safest foods to consume, along with fruit and dairy. CSPI ranks seafood as the most hazardous product when analyzing risk of illness-per-pound followed by poultry, eggs, beef, and pork.¹

To read the CSPI’s white paper visit http://cspinet.org/new/pdf/outbreak_alert_2013_final.pdf.

How to Prevent

Although foodbourne illnesses will always be an ongoing problem, there are several strategies that can help prevent products from being at risk.

-Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA)

On January 4^th, 2011, the Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA) was signed into law by President Obama, making it the first significant food safety reform in over 70 years.

According to the new Act, the Food and Drug Administration will be granted the authority to “regulate about 80 percent of the food supply with the exceptions of meat and poultry,” with the capability of issuing mandatory recalls, analyzing irrigation water, requiring “credited third party certification for high-risk foods,” and deny entry of products to “foreign companies who do not allow the FDA access to their facilities.” ^2,3

According to Food Safety Magazine, “Food companies should begin getting ready now before the FSMA is fully implemented so they can be adequately prepared for new inspection standards since the FDA will be much stricter.”³

-Safe Transport

It is very important to stress safety throughout the entire supply chain, including transportation. Entrusting your freight in the hands of unsafe drivers, poor equipment, and shady carriers can lead to an unruly number of risks. Here are a few ways Road Scholar Transport offers to keep your food products safe:

Aluminum Floor Trailers: Wooden trailer floors serve as a means of contamination, as spills within the trailer from previous freight, unsanitary objects and materials being carried on from shoes and forklifts, among many other means penetrate the flooring, building up chemicals and bacteria which can enter future freight. Road Scholar’s aluminum floor trailers create a more sanitary environment for your products. We conduct regular sweeps on all trailers to ensure that your freight is being transported in a clean, and therefore safe, environment as well as have record of what was inside the trailer before your freight, before that, within the last month, and so on, as well as what has been transported since the last time the trailer was cleaned.

Proper Temperature Conditions: The upcoming summer months pose a large risk for shippers whose food products must maintain specific temperature ranges or face spoilage and contamination risks. Therefore, it is important that you ensure that carriers are properly maintaining these conditions throughout the entire process.

With Road Scholar’s ReeferTrak system, we can provide our customers proof of the exact temperature inside the reefer any time, even months after delivery. Our ReeferTrak immediately alerts our team of even the slightest change in the temperature allowing our team to change the temperature of the trailer while in transit from our main terminal.

Security: It goes without saying that stolen products, even if recovered, run a high risk of contamination concerns. We cut back on the handling of your products, which could lead to contamination, by offering 24-hour expedited service, dock-to-dock with NO transfers. We can provide the exact route that the truck took with a time log noting every door opening/closing, temperature conditions within the trailer at any given time, and its exact location (right down to the breadcrumbs), along with protecting your freight with security features including Navalock.

To learn how you can check a carrier’s CSA scores, contact at www.roadscholar.com.

What do you find to be the number one factor of foodborne outbreaks during the transportation process? Is it poor equipment? Theft? Improper handling? Etc.

¹http://cspinet.org/new/pdf/outbreak_alert_2013_final.pdf

²http://www.thetowntalk.com/article/20130407/NEWS01/130407010/New-standards-intended-improve-food-safety

³http://www.strategicsourceror.com/2013/04/new-fda-regulations-could-have-large.html

Tags: aluminum floor trailers, Center for Science in the Public Interest, CSA scores, CSPI, FDA, Food and Drug Administration, Food Safety Modernization Act, foodborne illnesses, foodbourne outbreaks, navalock, President Obama, ReeferTrak, road scholar transport
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FDA Proposes Two Major Regulations for Increased Food Safety in Supply Chain

Wednesday, January 16th, 2013

On January 4^th, 2011, the Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA) was signed into law by President Obama, making it the first significant food safety reform in over 70 years.

Earlier this month, the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) progressed forward in releasing two major proposals which, instead of intended towards consumers, would affect “areas such as suppliers, manufacturing plantshttp://www.roadscholar.com/blog/wp-admin/post-new.php, wholesale dealers, and transportation.”¹

The FDA’s following proposed rules “build on existing voluntary industry guidelines for food safety” and “are key to the preventive food safety approach established by the 2011 FDA Food Safety Modernization Act.”²

1. Manufacturing, process, packing, or holding facilities of human food products that “are required to register with FDA under FDA’s current food facility registration regulations,” must “develop a formal plan for preventing their products from causing foodborne illnesses.” ^2,3This includes:

a) “Analyzing potential hazards associated with their facilities” along with a recall plan.⁴

b) “Develop and implement controls to significantly minimize or prevent those hazards.” ⁴

c) “Verify the controls are working (and take corrective action if they are not).” ⁴

d) “Periodically reassess those hazards and controls.” ⁴

This proposal is expected to cover an anticipated 97,600 domestic and 109,200 foreign facilities.⁵

2. “Enforceable safety standards for the production and harvesting of produce on farms.”³

Risks

Do you know that 1 in 6 Americans suffer foodborne illnesses, affecting 48 million Americans, hospitalizing nearly 130,000 and causing nearly 3,000 fatalities annually?

Not properly vetting out brokers or carriers puts your product and brand equity at risk through recalls and vicarious liability claims, due to accidents, spoilage due to negligence, and faulty equipment. Road Scholar outlines these risks and how to prevent them in our white paper: Supply Chain Insanity: Would you Choose a Babysitter Found on Craigslist? Click here for your free copy.

According to the FDA, its proposal would attribute to nearly 1 million of food illnesses each year and save nearly $2 billion annually from the economic cost of illnesses.⁵ During its first year in effect, the proposal is expected to cost $701 million with “an annualized cost of $472 million using a 7 percent discount rate.” ⁵

How Can Road Scholar Help?

Road Scholar Transport provides you with six ways to keep your freight safe from contamination:

*We utilize aluminum floor trailers which can help prevent contamination built up on wooden flooring over time, creating a more sanitary environment for your products.

*We conduct regular sweeps on all trailers to ensure that your freight is being transported in a clean, and therefore safe, environment.

*We have record of what was inside the trailer before your freight, before that, within the last month, and so on, as well as what has been transported since the last time the trailer was cleaned.

*We employ reefer tracking with the ability to adjust trailer temperature remotely from headquarters, complete with unlimited user-defined temperature alerts, displaying the history of the temperature inside the trailer (even months after delivery) to ensure that your freight was transported under the proper conditions.

* Electronic Door Monitoring: Displays the time of every door opening/closure alerting of any suspicious activity.

Effective Date

Currently, there is a 120 day comment period on the FDA’s proposals. If published, the rule would take affect after 60 days. Compliance dates are as follows (according to the FDA website):

-“Small Businesses—a business that employs fewer than 500 persons and that does not qualify for an exemption would have to comply two years after publication of the final rule.”⁵

-“Very Small Businesses—Three options are being proposed for the definition of a very small business: less than $250,000, less than $500,000, and less than $1,000,000 in total annual sales of food, adjusted for inflation. Very small businesses, which would be considered “qualified facilities” and subject to modified requirements for preventive controls, would have to comply three years after publication of the final rule.”⁵

-“Other Businesses—a business that is not small or very small and does not qualify for an exemption would have to comply one year after publication of the final rule.”⁵

Read the FDA’s proposed regulations at http://www.fda.gov/Food/FoodSafety/FSMA/ucm334115.htm.

Would you like to know more about Road Scholar’s ReeferTrak? Contact us at www.roadscholar.com.

¹http://www.hayspost.com/2013/01/14/extension-agent-u-s-food-supply-generally-very-safe/

²http://www.lexology.com/library/detail.aspx?g=d34b3dbc-273a-4e9f-ac48-3871a85e8a58

³http://www.cattlenetwork.com/cattle-news/latest/DC-Watch-Debt-ceiling-debate-next-on-US-agenda–186493231.html

⁴http://www.feedstuffs.com/ME2/dirmod.asp?sid=F4D1A9DFCD974EAD8CD5205E15C1CB42&nm=Breaking+News&type=news&mod=News&mid=A3D60400B4204079A76C4B1B129CB433&tier=3&nid=CAF887EA5AC643D8A4B846D700FC85DC

⁵http://www.fda.gov/Food/FoodSafety/FSMA/ucm334115.htm

Tags: electronic door monitoring, FDA, Food Safety Modernization Act, food safety regulations, FSMA, recalls, ReeferTrak, road scholar transport, supply chain, trucking company, trucking industry, US Food and Drug Administration, white paper
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Meningitis Outbreak Demonstrates Need for Secure Transport

Wednesday, October 24th, 2012

The recent outbreak of meningitis has caused a widespread health risk to consumers across the nation and, once again, demonstrates to shippers the importance of choosing a secure carrier.

Meningitis, “an infection of the membranes covering the brain and spinal cord” causing “headache, fever and nausea,” has broken out from tainted steroid injections shipped from the New England Compounding Center in Massachusetts.¹

Nearly 14,000 people are expected to have received the injection (commonly used to treat back pain). So far, the outbreak has lead to 23 deaths and 285 cases in 16 states including Tennessee, Michigan, Virginia, Indiana, Florida, Maryland, New Jersey, Ohio, New Hampshire, Idaho, Illinois, Minnesota, New York, North Carolina, Pennsylvania and Texas, with numbers expected to rise.²

Upon investigation, the US Food and Drug Administration and U.S. Center for Disease Control and Prevention discovered that the outbreak was caused by “the spread of a fungus (Exserohilum rostratum) through blood to the spinal cord.”³

Last week, the FDA investigated Framingham’s New England Compounding Center, which has undergone nine inspections from it’s opening in 1998 through its voluntary shut down this month, stating that “based on the condition of the plant and other factors, ‘we really can’t assure the sterility of these products.’” ^{1, 4}

This isn’t the first time that the New England Compounding Centre was warned about the way they handled products. Back in 2006, they received a letter from the FDA regarding their process of “splitting and repackaging vials of Avastin” which they stated “was compromising the quality of the drug.”⁵

As the Centre for Infection Disease Research and Policy’s Michael Osterholm explained, “This shows that one simple mistake in terms of contamination of a product can result in a very serious outbreak involving lots of lives.”⁵

That is why is it very important to take extreme caution in the supply chain when dealing with high-risk products. Not only does product safety begin at the manufacturer, but must continue throughout transport as well.

Temperature-controlled products, including pharmaceuticals and food, must be transported under specific temperature ranges. Failing to do so can result in contamination concerns which, in return, can lead to consumer health problems, including death, when taken.

And although your shipment may arrive with a proper temperature setting, you have no way of knowing if the driver turned on the unit close to delivery in order to refreeze the products, like many drivers have been noted as doing in order to save fuel costs.

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, on the other hand, can present our customers with a time log displaying the temperature of our reefers at any precise moment, so you can be assured that your products maintained a proper temperature throughout transport and can provide your customers with proof to support it, even months after delivery.

Additionally, Road Scholar Transport can help you avoid a cargo theft by providing verification of drivers, electronic door monitoring, navalocks, and more. Visit www.roadscholar.com to learn more about Road Scholar’s security features and to get a rate today!

What process do you go through when deciding on a carrier? Is security a top concern? Let us know!

Below are a few facts about bacterial meningitis provided by www.accesskent.com/Health/…/CD…/MeningitisFactSheet2.pdf.

¹http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/10/17/usa-health-meningitis-idUSL1E8LG9LW20121017

²http://www.guyanatimesgy.com/?p=2924

³http://www.latinospost.com/articles/5748/20121019/meningitis-outbreak-2012-fda-links-steroids-massachusetts-death.htm

⁴http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-18563_162-57536518/ex-workers-company-linked-to-meningitis-outbreak-had-questionable-practices/

⁵http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/57016268-118d-11e2-a637-00144feabdc0.html#axzz2A2UBP2DY

Tags: electronic door monitoring, FDA, freight quote, meningitis, navalock, New England Compounding Center, reefer, road scholar transport, secure transport, temperature-control, trucking company, US Center for Disease Control and Prevention, US Food and Drug Administration
Posted in Awareness Campaign Articles, Freight Quotes, LTL Freight Quotes, LTL freight, Northeast Regional Freight Quotes, Services, Trucking Industry News | Comments Off

What You Need to Know About the Safe Cosmetics Act of 2011

Tuesday, November 8th, 2011

In late June, Reps. Jan Schakowsky, Ed Markey, and Tammy Baldwin introduced the Safe Cosmetics Act of 2011 in an attempt to improve safety in the cosmetic industry.

Cosmetics are a $50 billion dollar industry, yet still operate under the “minimal requirements for labeling and testing,” triplepundit.com notes. But that would soon change with the republicans’ proposal, urging for stricter regulations among manufacturers.

The Safe Cosmetics Act of 2011 would update the current policy involving the specification of ingredients, which has not been revised since 1938, requiring that manufacturers list all ingredients within a product on its label.

To prevent the usage and distribution of products that pose as a health hazard to consumers, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) will list specific contaminates, such as Ethyl acetate, Butyl acetate, and Toluene, that are commonly used in cosmetic products as well as state the level at which they must be listed on labels (http://www.triplepundit.com/2011/07/introduction-safe-cosmetics-act-means-beauty-industry-shape/).

Changes resulting from the new bill would also include “worker access to information about unsafe chemicals in personal care products, required data-sharing to avoid duplicative testing and encourage the development of alternatives to animal testing, and adequate funding to the FDA Office of Cosmetics and Colors so it has the resources it needs to provide effective oversight of the cosmetics industry” (http://safecosmetics.org/section.php?id=74).

Smaller businesses who use “green” products are embracing the bill, which they feel will allow them to compete with larger companies whose contaminated ingredients will now be listed for consumers to see.

Contaminated cosmetics pose as a large health risk since they are used so frequently. According to studies, a typical woman uses an average of 12 cosmetic products daily. Out of these, harmful toxins have been found in various hair products, perfumes, makeup, baby products, and much more.

And did you know that formaldehyde, which has been proven to lead to a greater risk of developing leukemia, has been found in many creams, hair products and other cosmetics? But you may not have been aware of that if the ingredient was not listed on the label, which the bill is looking to stop.

Protecting the value of your cosmetics does not stop at the manufacturing facility however. It is important that your high valued targets are transported by a secure and safe carrier who abides by proper protocol.

Did you know that your freight could become contaminated by a spill in the trailer previous to your cargo? With Road Scholar Transport, you can be guaranteed that all of our trailers undergo regular sweeps to ensure that your freight is being transported in a clean, and therefore safe, environment. We also maintain a record of what was inside the trailer before your freight, before that, within the last month, and so on, as well as what has been transported since the last time the trailer was cleaned.

As a backup, Road Scholar Transport carries the proper insurance in case anything should go wrong. We hire only the most professional and experienced drivers who are subject to background checks and safety tests well beyond the industry standard. Our hazmat certified drivers participate in a training program so that they are “up to speed” on the latest techniques to prevent accidents and protect your hazardous cargo.

You can view Road Scholar’s insurance certifications by going to http://www.roadscholar.com/certifications.php and be sure to visit www.roadscholar.com to get onboard a safe carrier today.

Are you in support or opposition of the Safe Cosmetics Act of 2011? List your comments below.

Tags: Butyl acetate, contaminated products, cosmetics, Ed Markey, Ethyl acetate, FDA, formaldehyde, hazmat certified, Jan Schakowsky, Office of Cosmetics and Colors, road scholar transport, Safe Cosmetics Act of 2011, secure carrier, Tammy Baldwin, Toluene, U.S. Food and Drug Administration
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Listeria Possibly Entered Packing Facility Through Contaminated Dump Truck, Causing Cantaloupe Contamination

Thursday, October 20th, 2011

Earlier this month, we informed you of the widespread cantaloupe contamination recalled by Jenson Farms that hit 26 states, killing 25 people and affecting 123 total. Between 1.5 and 4.6 million cantaloupes were contaminated in what is known to be the worst outbreak in terms of death in 25 years. But with multistops and traceability problems, the FDA (Food and Drug Administration), explained how hard it was to track down the source of the contamination. Now, they think they have found the cause.

According to FDA officials, the Colorado packing site of Jensen Farms likely caused the listeria outbreak, finding “dirty equipment, faulty sanitation, and bad storage practices,” including “standing pools of water, inaccessible drains, hard-to-clean equipment and failure to cool cantaloupes fresh from the field before placing them in cold storage,” (http://vitals.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2011/10/19/8403525-consumers-couldnt-have-washed-away-cantaloupe-contamination-experts-say).

The best part is that the plant had passed a safety audit just days prior to the contamination outbreak, scoring a 96 out of 100 points, the NY Times notes.

But what started the listeria outbreak in the first place? How did it get into the packaging plant?

According to experts, a dump truck “hauled culled cantaloupe back and forth to a cattle yard and then parked next to where the whole melons were being processed” and, as you may know, “cattle are known reservoirs for listeria,” and therefore, could have easily transported the listeria into the packaging plant, MSN notes.

As FDA commissioner Dr. Margaret Hamburg explains, “If we’re to have a food safety system that truly prevents foodborne illness, we must all practice prevention.”

That’s where Road Scholar Transport comes in.

Road Scholar Transport practices safe food transport, providing the exact route that the truck took with a time log noting every door opening/closing, temperature conditions within the trailer at any given time, and its exact location (right down to the breadcrumbs).

Want to know what was being transported before your products? Was there garbage in the trailer previous to your food? Or how about a chemical spill where your food is now placed? Road Scholar can provide a history of what was inside our trailer prior to your shipment, prior to that shipment, and so on. Talk about safety measures. Not to mention each trailer is regularly washed down to enhance sanitary measures.

Why risk your reputation and a widespread contamination outbreak by choosing the cheapest, most ill-equipped carrier to transport your freight? Visit www.roadscholar.com to learn more about Road Scholar’s services and security features.

On a scale of 1 (“not at all”) and 10 (“very”), how important is it for you to choose a knowledgeable, safe carrier to deliver your food products? List your comments below!

Tags: cantaloupe, Colorado, contamination, dump truck, electronic door monitoring, FDA, Food and Drug Administration, food recall, food transport, freight, Jensen Farms, Listeria, packaging plant, road scholar transport, safety, temperature monitoring, trucking company, trucking industry
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Widespread Food Contamination Demonstrates Need for Safe Transportation Practices

Monday, October 3rd, 2011

Any food manufacturer knows that one widespread case of contaminated food products can damage their company name, placing a hefty financial burden on them, sometimes resulting in a shut down.

As was the case in 2009 when salmonella was found in peanut butter manufactured by the Peanut Corporation of America. With nine people dying and nearly 22,500 getting sick from eating the product, the corporation was forced to shut its plants in Georgia, Virginia, and Texas.

Along with a manufacturer’s reputation being ruined, comes a financial loss from suits filed by those who ingested the contaminated product, along with the loss of your freight. Look at last year when over 500 million eggs were recalled due to salmonella. Now that’s a lot of freight.

Most recently, a case of contaminated cantaloupe has struck a widespread alert, already killing 17 people and causing more than 80 to become sick. These cases have spread nationwide, found in 19 states including Colorado, Texas, Kansas, Maryland, Missouri, Nebraska, Oklahoma, Alabama, Arkansas, California, Illinois, Indiana, Montana, North Dakota, Virginia, West Virginia, Wisconsin, Wyoming, and New Mexico.

The Food and Drug Administration, however, explains how hard it is to track down the source of contamination due to multistops and traceability problems.

As Forbes notes, these cantaloupes alone could have made five stops, between packaging, distribution, processing, retailer, etc, before consumers even purchase it, and who knows how many more times the food has been handled by carriers. Road Scholar Transport, on the other hand, cuts back on the handling of your products, which could lead to contamination, by offering 24-hour expedited service, dock-to-dock with NO transfers.

The FDA explains that “the more steps there are the harder it can be to link up each step to identify the source of an outbreak” (http://www.forbes.com/feeds/ap/2011/10/02/general-us-listeria-farm-to-fork_8712631.html). With that being said, food associations are placing an emphasis on traceability throughout the supply chain.

One thing you can be assured of is that your food products did not get contaminated during transport when shipping with Road Scholar Transport.

Road Scholar can provide the exact route that the truck took with a time log noting every door opening/closing, temperature conditions within the trailer at any given time, and its exact location (right down to the breadcrumbs).

Do you know what was being transported before your products? Was there garbage in the trailer previous to your food? Or how about a chemical spill where your food is now placed? Road Scholar can provide a history of what was inside our trailer prior to your shipment, prior to that shipment, and so on. Talk about safety measures.

Over 48 million people develop illnesses from food contamination every year with nearly 3,000 dying from it (http://www.foodborneillness.com/).

Why risk your good name and the health of your customers by choosing the cheapest, most ill-equipped carrier to transport your freight? Visit www.roadscholar.com to learn more about Road Scholar’s services and security features.

On a scale of 1 (“not at all”) and 10 (“very”), how important is it for you to choose a knowledgeable, safe carrier to deliver your food products?

Tags: Alabama, Arkansas, california, cantaloupe, carrier, chemical spills, Colorado, contaminated food products, FDA, Food and Drug Administration, food contamination, food products, freight, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Maryland, Missouri, Montana, multistops, Nebraska, New Mexico, North Dakota, Oklahoma, Peanut Corporation of America, road scholar transport, salmonella, security features, Texas, tractor, trailer, transportation, trucking, Virginia, west virginia, Wisconsin, wyoming
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Stronger Security Regulations and Greater Responsibility have Manufacturers Turning Towards More Secure Carriers

Monday, September 19th, 2011

With 54 major pharmaceutical cargo thefts last year, two of them accounting for over a $10 million loss, the FDA (Food & Drug Association) is seeking more power and stricter regulation in securing the pharmaceutical supply chain.

Feeling that they are unable to fully handle security issues, FDA deputy commissioner Deborah Autor asked that the agency receive “explicit authority to refuse admission of a product into the U.S. if the foreign manufacturer delays, limits or denies inspection of its facilities” as well as new authorities (http://www.procurementleaders.com/news/latestnews/3803-fda-urgent-attention/).

One such authority that Autor seeks is the FDA’s ability to issue mandatory recalls in order to prevent serious health affects, such as those that could be caused during an accident or theft when transported with an unqualified carrier.

Along with tighter regulations, manufacturers could also be facing more responsibility on the quality of their products, an article on ProcurementLeaders.com notes. In return, manufacturers will be less concerned about finding the cheapest way to transport their freight and more concerned about the quality and reputation of the carrier transporting it.

Just last year, the average loss per stolen load amounted to $3.78 million, making pharmaceuticals the most costly stolen commodity.

Stricter pharmaceutical penalties, such as the Safe Doses Act (S.1002) introduced in May, as well as modernized technology, such as a track-and-trace system, are efforts to cut back on thefts.

The FDA is currently in support of a mandatory track-and-trace system on pharmaceuticals which would increase security measures during distribution, while the National Community Pharmacists Association (NCPA) remains skeptical, believing that the system is still unproven and rather expensive, especially for smaller companies, offering a risk-base approach and federal grants for those independent pharmacies to incorporate the system (http://drugtopics.modernmedicine.com/drugtopics/Chains+%26+Business/NCPA-cautions-Congress-about-track-and-trace-bill/ArticleStandard/Article/detail/740090?contextCategoryId=40159).

In the first half of this year alone, there were already 14 pharmaceutical thefts which decreased from the 25 reported during the same period last year, due to effort from groups such as the Pharmaceutical Cargo Security Consortium and secure/knowledgeable trucking companies such as Road Scholar Transport.

Road Scholar Transport has the ability to monitor, timestamp, and log the location of the trailer and your cargo. Need to know where our truck was with your cargo at 11:30 am? No problem, we can verify. What about every time the trailer door was opened or closed with your freight inside? No problem. Road Scholar has electronic door monitoring and can tell you the exact time the door was opened and for how long.

But what about theft? That’s a $4 million shipment in there! Road Scholar not only has satellite tracking but Navalock to ensure that thieves can’t break in. And, in the unfortunate case of a theft, Road Scholar not only can provide you with the route history but a log of the temperature within the trailer so you know whether your freight has been contaminated.

As ProcurementLeaders.com notes, “If Congress accepts the proposals, the provisions would be introduced as part of the legislation to re-authorize the Prescription Drug User Fee Act (PDUFA V) next year.”

On a scale of 1-10, how secure do you believe the pharmaceutical supply chain to be? List your comments below.

Tags: cargo theft, carrier, Congress, electronic door monitoring, FDA, Food & Drug Association, freight, manufacturer, National Community Pharmacists Association, navalock, NCPA, PDFA V, Pharmaceutical Cargo Security Consortium, pharmaceutical industries, pharmaceutical news, Prescription Drg User Fee Act, regulations, road scholar transport, supply chain, temperature monitoring, theft, transport, trucking company, trucking industry, trucking news
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Chicken Found to Contain Arsenic for Past Seven Decades

Friday, June 10th, 2011

A recent study conducted by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has the FDA finally admitting to the presence of arsenic in chicken.

Results showed the presence of inorganic arsenic, a cancer-causing agent, in the livers of chickens who have ingested feed containing the drug Roxarsone, according to consumerreports.org.

The best part is, Roxarsone has been voluntarily fed to chickens since 1940, in order to help “kill parasites as well as promote growth” (http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-504763_162-20070275-10391704.html).

But along with killing parasites comes a price. Consumers who eat chicken that has been given this feed are at risk of serious health problems, including cancer, heart problems, and mental disorders. Not only that, but as Consumers Union scientist Michael Hansen explains, “Arsenic can end up in the manure from chicken coops, and this is spread on agricultural land as fertilizer. We need to get arsenic out of food production altogether” (http://news.consumerreports.org/health/2011/06/pfizer-pulls-chicken-drug-roxarsone-due-to-arsenic-threat.html).

And steps are already being taken to do so. Pfizer Pharmaceuticals, who manufactures Roxarsone, will be pulling the ingredient from the feed next month, giving farmers time to ween their chickens off of it, CBS News reports.

But what about consumers? According to the FDA, chicken is still safe to ingest since the level of Roxarsone is not high enough to be considered a risk, as well as the fact that not all farmers use the ingredient for their chickens.

The FDA reminds consumers and manufacturers that health problems, such as salmonella and campylobacter, can be avoided by properly washing the chicken, cooking surface, and utensils, thoroughly cooking the chicken, and correct storage. This pertains to shipping means as well.

When poultry is not transported under the proper conditions, it can cause the growth of bacteria to spread, multiplying the risk of food poisoning. That’s why Road Scholar Transport offers temperature-protect trailers with unlimited user-defined temperature alerts and monitoring to keep your food products safe during transport.

Visit www.roadscholar.com to learn more Road Scholar’s reefer service and security features.

Do you feel that the FDA should have stepped in years ago on the usage of Roxarsone in chicken feed?

Tags: arsenic, chicken, chicken feed, Consumers Union, FDA, food production, parasites, Pfizer, pharmaceuticals, recall, road scholar transport, Roxarsone, U.S. Food and Drug Administration
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Have You Seen Your Carrier’s Safety Record?

Monday, June 6th, 2011

chemical spill

Every time you ship a product, your reputation and brand equity is at risk. Food/beverage, pharmaceutical, and chemical companies face consumer health concerns each time their freight is placed within a trailer. Hazardous spills can result in the release of toxic chemicals into the air as well as onto the ground, posing a risk for those who inhale the compounds. Food and pharmaceutical companies face improper transportation conditions necessary for the products to remain fresh up until delivery as well as the reselling of their products after a theft. In these cases, products face contamination issues and pose harmful risks to consumers who unknowingly ingest these products.

When tainted products hit the markets, whether through theft or failure to be alerted of transportation conditions, the FDA and manufacturers are prompted to issue recalls/health alerts, advertising the company’s brand name with a series of reported cases of salmonella, among other concerns. Years of building up a reliable and trustworthy reputation can be destroyed with a single delivery.

In many cases, accidents/thefts are the result of inadequate carriers, demonstrating the importance of reviewing a trucking company’s record before placing your freight in their hands. When trusting a 3^rd party to find you the cheapest rate, you are taking the chance of shipping with some unknown carrier who may be on an alert status in one or more of the CSA’s BASIC categories. This not only puts your freight at risk, but poses a danger to everyone else on the road. Do you want your freight onboard a carrier that just caused a major accident due to improperly maintained equipment or reckless driving?

The CSA 2010’s Safety Measurement System (SMS) scores a carrier and driver’s safety performance in seven BASIC categories, placing those who pose as a risk on “alert” status. Ranking from 0-100 (100 being the worst), the CSA 2010 has changed the scoring of deficiency from 75 and above to a lower number based on whether the carrier is a passenger, Hazmat Certified, or Other-which includes most trucking carriers. Scoring reflects a carrier’s BASIC scores compared to other carriers in their group. The categories are as follows (provided by http://www.carrier411.com/csa2010.cfm):

-Unsafe Driving: This category includes reckless driving, inattentiveness, speeding, failure to use a seatbelt, among others. To be placed on an “alert” status, a carrier must receive a score of ≥50 (passenger), ≥60 (HazMat), or ≥65 (Other).

Road Scholar Transport, a HazMat certified asset-based carrier, received a very low score of 9.3% in this category due to its safe drivers. (If you’re a qualified driver, Road Scholar wants to hear from you. Apply today at http://www.roadscholar.com/employment.php).

-Fatigued Driving (Hours of Service): This category includes violations against the current HOS rules such as surpassing the 11-hour allowed driving time, log violations, and driving after being placed out-of-service, among others. To be placed on an “alert” status, a carrier must receive a score of ≥50 (passenger), ≥60 (HazMat), or ≥65 (Other).

Road Scholar, once again, scored lower than the 60% category with 49.2%.

-Driver Fitness: This category includes those drivers who are unqualified, does not meet medical qualifications, and improper endorsements on CDL, among others. To be placed on an “alert” status, a carrier must receive a score of ≥65 (passenger), ≥75 (HazMat), or ≥80 (Other).

Road Scholar’s drivers are continuously being educated to ensure their competence and your safety on the road, receiving an inconclusive score in this category.

-Controlled Substances/Alcohol: This category includes those drivers who are under the influence or in possession of drugs and alcohol. To be placed on an “alert” status, a carrier must receive a score of ≥65 (passenger), ≥75 (HazMat), or ≥80 (Other).

In this category, Road Scholar received NO violations due to responsible drivers and routine drug tests. You can’t get better than that.

-Vehicle Maintenance: This category includes improper truck maintenance (Defective lights, windshield wipers, and brakes, flat tires, etc.). To be placed on an “alert” status, a carrier must receive a score of ≥65 (passenger), ≥75 (HazMat), or ≥80 (Other).

With an “alert” status being 75% or greater, Road Scholar scored in at 36.5%. This score reflects daily maintenance procedures, newer equipment models, and pre/post-trip inspections conducted by Road Scholar staff.

The final two BASIC categories (Cargo-Related and Crash-Indicator) are not available to the public.

So the next time you ship a product, think about your company’s reputation before you put your freight onboard an unknown carrier and go to www.roadscholar.com to get your LTL and truckload rate.

Would you ship with a company who has a series of alerts out on them?

Tags: accident, alcohol, alert status, asset-based carrier, BASIC, brakes, brand equity, cargo, carrier, chemical, contamination, controlled substances, crash, CSA 2010, defective, driver fitness, employment, fatigued driving, FDA, flat tire, food/beverage, freight, hazardous, Hazmat, HOS, hours of service, jobs, lights, log violations, LTL rate, maintenance, manufacturer, pharmaceutical, product, road scholar transport, Safety Measurement System, safety rating, salmonella, SMS, theft, third party, tractor, trailer, trucking company, truckload rate, unsafe driving, windshield wipers
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Tighter Food Regulations Have Companies Turning Towards a Safer Carrier

Monday, January 3rd, 2011

A new food safety bill was recently passed, providing tighter regulations on most food imported into and distributed produce throughout the United States, making it the “first major food safety measure in the U.S. in more than 60 years,” according to abc15.com.

According to the site, the bill would allow the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to mandate a direct recall as opposed to a voluntary one. Along with that, most firms will have to “wait for pathogen-testing results to come back before food can be distributed” and “electronic bar codes and radio frequency identification tags” would be applied in order to provide tracking information such as origin and the ability to tell if “cargo is tampered with or deviates from the designated route” during transport (http://www.abc15.com/dpp/lifestyle/food/new-food-safety-bill%E2%80%99s-likely-billion-dollar-impact-on-produce-industry).
Although this form of tracking is beneficial, it is costly as well. Road Scholar Transport offers a similar tracking via satellite that allows for street-level, minute-by-minute tracking on all tractor trailers and at competitive prices.

According to the site, 48 million Americans become sick each year and thousands die from food contamination. Not only does an outbreak like this ruin the manufacturer’s name, but costs excessive amounts of money as well. Prevent this from occurring and trust that your freight will be safe during transport by choosing a safe carrier.

Visit www.roadscholar.com to learn more.

Tags: Americans, awareness, carrier, competitive price, electronic bar code, FDA, food regulation, food safety bill, manufacturer, radio frequency identification tag, road scholar transport, safe, satellite tracking, tractor-trailer, transport, U.S. Food and Drug Administration, United States
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