The Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS), housed within the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), is responsible for preventing unsafe food products – including eggs, meat, and poultry – from entering the country’s supply chain. To ensure food safety for all consumers, the FSIS carries out inspections of food processing and handling operations, analyzing every aspect of daily business – down to a company’s forklifts. It also maintains a set of laws that all food-related facilities must adhere to. Barclay Brand Ferdon takes a closer look at the importance of food safety training for forklift operators.
Learning the Laws
Even the slightest mishap when transporting food on a forklift can result in catastrophic consequences, from contaminating the goods to spreading food-borne illnesses. In conjunction with the United States Food Code, the FSIS has several mandates in place that pertain to not only the entire facility but also forklift operators. These include:
- 9 CFR 416.4(b): This law states that “non-food-contact surfaces of facilities, equipment, and utensils used in the operation of the establishment must be cleaned and sanitized as frequently as necessary to prevent the creation of insanitary conditions and the adulteration of product.”
- 9 CFR 416.2(d): This law states that “ventilation adequate to control odors, vapors, and condensation to the extent necessary to prevent adulteration of product and the creation of insanitary conditions must be provided.”
- 9 CFR 416.1: Under general rules, “each official establishment must be operated and maintained in a manner sufficient to prevent the creation of insanitary conditions and to ensure that product is not adulterated.”
Beyond FSIS Oversight
In addition to FSIS rules and regulations, food facilities with forklifts must also be aware of the Global Food Safety Initiative (GFSI). While not an official mandate, it suggests forklifts used in produce cooling and packing operations should be powered by propane or electricity to avoid product contamination.
Starting with the Right Forklifts
Training your facility’s forklift operators with inefficient or hazardous machinery only adds more time and effort to the food safety training process. To simplify this training for your employees, ensure that your facility is using the latest advancements in forklift technology. At Barclay Brand Ferdon, our team is standing by to help your team outfit your facility with the most efficient forklifts for your day-to-day operations, including models that will help to promote food safety. Our selection of products includes:
- Pallet jacks
- Electric forklifts
- Reach trucks
- Order pickers
- Very narrow aisle (VNA) forklifts
- Cushion tire LPG forklifts
- Pneumatic tire forklifts
- Outdoor/rough terrain forklifts
- Explosion-proof forklifts
- Robotics
Contact Us to Learn More about Food Safety Training
Food safety training is an integral component of a forklift operator’s skill set and knowledge, and it’s equally important to equip your workers with the right equipment from the start. For more information about implementing food or any other kind of safety training for your forklift operators or the equipment we offer, contact Barclay Brand Ferdon today.