212 FOOD PROTECTION TRENDS | APRIL 2010 Food Transportation Safety: Characterizing Risks and Controls by Use of Expert Opinion NYSSA ACKERLEY, 1* AYLIN SERTKAYA 1 and RACHEL LANGE 2 1 Eastern Research Group, Inc., 110 Hartwell Ave., Lexington, MA 02421, USA; 2 Food and Drug Administration, Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition, 5100 Paint Branch Parkway, College Park, MD 20740, USA * Author for correspondence: 781.674.7271; Fax: 781.674.2851 E-mail: nyssa.ackerley@erg.com A peer-reviewed article ABSTRACT Federal regulations stipulate that food products be protected against physical, chemical and microbial contamination during transportation and holding. An expert opinion elicitation was conducted to assess food safety hazards and preventive controls associated with the transportation and holding of food commodities. Frequency and severity risk rankings suggest five food safety hazards of greatest concern across all modes of transport: (1) lack of security; (2) improper holding practices for food products awaiting shipment or inspection; (3) improper temperature control; (4) cross-contamination; and (5) improper loading practices, conditions, or equipment. Factor analysis suggests that “in-transit” and “organizational” risk factors might explain the relationships among the various food safety hazards. Raw seafood, raw meat and poultry, and refrigerated raw and ready-to-eat foods have the highest overall risk (in descend- ing order) across all modes of transit. Our analysis also identified a range of preventive controls that may help eliminate/mitigate the risks to food during transport and storage, including: employee awareness and training, management review of records, and good communication between shipper, transporter and receiver. Food Protection Trends, Vol. 30, No. 4, Pages 212–222 Copyright © 2010, International Association for Food Protection 6200 Aurora Ave., Suite 200W, Des Moines, IA 50322-2864 ARTICLES INTRODUCTION Each year, 200 billion metric tons of food are transported globally — 35 percent by land, 60 percent by sea, and 5 percent by air (3). The sheer quantity and variety of foods transported, along with the multitude of container, temperature, and handling requirements for each food product, emphasizes the vulnerability of the food industry to possible contamina- tion during transport and storage (8). Risk factors for contamination include improper production practices, tempera- ture abuse, unsanitary cargo areas, im- proper loading or unloading procedures, damaged packaging, shipping containers in ill repair, bad employee habits, and road conditions. There is, however, cur- rently very little information on the state of food transportation and holding prac- tices in the United States. Current federal regulations stipu- late that food products be protected against physical, chemical and micro- bial contamination during transporta- tion and holding (21 CFR § 110.93) (19). The Sanitary Food Transportation Act of 2005 (Pub. L. 109-59, 119 Stat. 1144) reallocated responsibilities for food transportation safety among the US Department of Health and Human