Understanding Food Grade Warehouse Requirements

In January 2011, the FDA enacted the Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA). The law enhances safety best practices for food-handling facilities in two ways: it prevents contaminated food from being disseminated to the general public; it stops retaliation against workers who report food safety issues. Any warehouse that fails to meet stringent requirements will be compelled to shut down operations. These best practices are great ways to stay in compliance:

If you operate a food storage warehouse but don’t maintain cleanliness, you could face many issues ranging from rodents to fungi and bacterial growth to other pests. It’s also essential to always be on the alert so that you can spot problems immediately and take corrective measures as soon as possible.

Cross-contamination can happen easier than you might think. For example, it can come from a product absorbing the odors of its packing, or even from another product. You’ll need to be strategic about what you store in your food storage warehouse.

All food packing, storage, processing, and manufacturing facilities are required to register with the FDA. If you registered prior to October 1, 2012, you need to register again because the FDA updated its registration process that year. You also must renew a current registration between the last three months of every even-numbered year. The registration information must include contact details for the facility in question, and stipulate that the FDA has the right to enter the facility for inspections.

You must create a written plan detailing issues that could potentially jeopardize food safety, the remedy for each of them, and the steps your company takes to prevent them from arising. Furthermore, you must train workers to follow the written plan’s safety procedures, and keep it available to FDA for review upon request.

Any food warehouse in the country has to submit for inspection within five years of the FSMA’s effective date, with reinspections every 36 months. The FDA was mandated to inspect no fewer than 600 facilities in the first year after the FSMA enactment and double that amount in following years. In the event that a foreign warehouse doesn’t not allow its facility to be inspected, the FDA has the right to block the non-complying entity from exporting food products into the U.S.

The FDA has the right to initiate a recall order on any food that might be contaminated or labeled improperly. Before that occurs, the warehouse deemed in violation must be told of the infraction and provided the chance to issue a voluntary recall. But if the offending party fails to do so within a reasonable time frame, the FDA will order that its processing and distribution activities be immediately shut down. Moreover, the warehouse is required to accept the return of existing products and provide complete refunds to customers.

Are you looking for food-grade storage options from a reputable company? At FW Warehousing, we offer food-grade warehousing solutions that align with FDA guidelines. We offer our clients cost-effective solutions for all of their food and beverage warehousing needs, including cold storage and temperature-controlled options.

When you work with FW Logistics, you can rest assured knowing that your products will remain safe during the storage phase of your supply chain operations. Manufacturers from across the country directly ship their products to our food-grade warehouse for storage and distribution. We have also earned critical certifications like Superior Rating from AIB International, GMP Certification, and ISO 9001.

Are you ready to explore how our food-grade warehousing solutions can help your business? Do you perhaps need help determining how much space you need? Get in touch to get the information you need to make an informed decision.