3. Thwarting Terrorism

Maintaining proper temperature of perishables in transit is closely related nowadays to concern about terrorism through food tampering. There are safety checks built into the equipment as well as safety procedures to be followed.

For example, all of Thermo King's refrigeration units can be equipped with door switches that monitor and record all door openings. This can indicate unintended access to food cargo and thwart tampering. Door switches work in conjunction with a feature that records the time and duration of door openings. This feature can also record temperature throughout the truck or trailer to ensure the integrity of food cargo.

"Also, the sealing of trailers now is a lot more prevalent," says Behrmann. "All trailers that leave any shipping location have to have a seal on them, and they have to be received with the seal. If you do receive a trailer with a broken seal, there are laws that say you have to report them and audit them. These shippers will not let you accept them.

"The other bigger thing is on the product being returned or received," Behrmann adds. "If any seals are broken, the product is now destroyed. Years ago, they would send it back and rework them. Those days are over with. That's probably a new practice that has come in because of 9/11."

But whether changes are prompted by concern over terrorism or just a desire for improved safety, the integrity of food in transit has never been better.

Back to Case study >>