Food Safety Standard

Food Grade Warehousing Standards and Guidelines

Food grade warehouses serve as an invaluable link between the fields of the farmer, the processor, the retailer, and finally the consumer. These specialized storage facilities must undergo rigorous evaluation and adhere to precise guidelines in order to continue operation.

Food grade warehouses are separated by type. Some of the most common include:

Cold or frozen storage
Dry storage
Chilled or refrigerated storage

These food-grade warehouses are focused on maintaining proper health and sanitation in order to protect the food within. As such, a warehouse building cannot have:

Leaks in the roof, walls, or edges of the foundation.
Weeds, standing water, trash, or rodent tracks/burrows around the perimeter of the building.
Cleaning agents, pesticides, and other chemicals in the vicinity of the general storage area with food products.
Holes in the windows or the window frames.
Damage to the exterior of the building such as cracks, holes, open pipes, etc.

There also should be measures in place to make sure not store any products within the warehouse that can cross-contaminate other product due to their odor. Food packaging is sensitive to odors and can be absorbed, so what inventory is actually in the building is something most food customers take into consideration when choosing their 3PL.

As further safeguarding against food damage or contamination, food grade warehouse facilities function within four main principals known as the McKenna’s 4 Principles for Food Grade Storage. These principals are as follows.

Personal Hygiene and Training:

This principal dictates that all employees of food grade storage warehouses must wash their hands with company-supplied soaps in sinks equipped with hygienic drying systems. Records of new employee training in the areas of food safety, personal hygiene, quality awareness, incident and crisis management, as well as traceability must be kept and updated.

Pest Control:

Substances to ensure the prevention of pests such as rodents, insects, birds, ants, and other animals must be placed around the perimeter of the building. Updates to the pest control routine and any changes must be noted quarterly.

Effective pest control is essential for food warehouses. Does the facility use a licensed pest control service? How often are these services utilized in a month? Control programs and guidelines must be strictly followed and action well documented:

Is there an up-to-date pest control map?
Is the pesticide usage log up to date?
Are good manufacturing practices and housekeeping audits conducted and documented?
Are pest control devices on either side of doors?
Are all traps properly spaced, secured, numbered, mapped and verified?

Maintenance, Operational Methods and Personnel Practices:

Warehouses should be well maintained, both inside and out. The grounds should be free of standing water and burrows that may indicate rodents. Pipe openings should be covered to deter rodents from entering the building. Roofs, floors, walls and windows should all be properly maintained to protect against leaks, cracks and chipping paint. The entire facility should be properly cleaned on a regular basis to prevent any potential cross-contamination.

Equipment used in the warehouse should also be well maintained, up to date, sanitized and free of debris. Equipment usually found inside a food warehouse might include storage bins, pallets, refrigerator units, freezer units and temperature/humidity gauges. Forklifts should be equipped with wheel shields to help eliminate dust from being kicked up on products.

Other factors that ASI commonly investigates to ensure a facility’s operational practices are up to superior standards include:

Are doors/windows/louvers kept closed or screened when opened?
Is the warehouse free of broken windows or skylights?
Are all doors sealed properly?
Is stock rotation of all materials following FIFO (first in, first out)? Is there proper documentation to validate the practice?
Are all trailers inspected and cleaned prior to loading?

Standard Operating Procedures and Policy:

Adhering to safety regulations not only prevents the spread of illness, but also prevents economic loss by the customer due to spoilage. Food safety training programs are necessary to ensure safe handling and care of food in warehouses. All food items should be stored in an area that is the appropriate temperature and free from hazards. Foods exposed to chemical or microbiological hazards can cause poisoning and disease. All hazardous chemicals should be stored securely and handled properly. All cleaning agents and pesticides should be clearly labeled and instructions for proper use, including what type of safety equipment employees should use when handling, should be properly displayed.

If the facility offers refrigerated or cold storage, temperature logs should be used to ensure that foods are always kept at the proper temperature. Frozen foods should be stored at 0 degrees Fahrenheit or lower, refrigerated foods between 34 and 39 degrees Fahrenheit, and dry foods between 50 and 70 degrees Fahrenheit.

Food storage is an important industry. Food-grade warehouses adhere to very strict standards to ensure that food is kept safe. Less-than-excellent conditions could lead to dangerous situations, including spoilage and poisoning.

Sanitation Schedule:

The warehouse facility must be properly cleaned and kept tidy at all times. All cleaning and housekeeping within the warehouse must be thoroughly documented, and the records are to be available whenever prompted.

Lot Traceability:

And finally, the warehouse must have a system in place for tracing lot and date codes of products to ensure a “first in, first out” method of inventory rotation.

These four principals and the strict quality control standards ensure that the food items within will never be jeopardized. If you would like to learn more about warehousing, we invite you to contact us to discuss your food grade warehousing needs.

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