Annual Test Verifies Cleanliness of Corrugated Shipping Containers
An independent study has confirmed that corrugated containers used to transport fresh produce are safe and clean. Fresh produce has been documented by the U.S. Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) as a leading source of food-borne illness (CDC, 2015). With the passage of the US Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA) in 2011, the supply chain has become an even greater source of regulatory scrutiny for growers, shippers and even retailers.
FSMA now requires U.S. entities take a proactive rather than reactive approach to food safety (US FDA, undated). Although food-borne illness has not been directly associated with shipping and transport containers, the potential for containers to harbor and transfer microbial loads to the fresh produce placed in those containers has been documented (Danyluk, 2012; Sanders, 2015a; Warriner, 2013).