The Codex General Principles of Food Hygiene – Transportation

1. Module 3.5 The Codex General Principles of Food Hygiene – Transportation

2. To elucidate the requirements of transportation practices in preventing contamination of food and relate this to coffee transportation Section VIII of Codex GPFH – “Transportation” Factors of time, nature of hazards and final use Suitability of means and maintenance International transportation of coffee Objectives Module 3.5 – The Codex General Principles of Food Hygiene – Transportation

3. Objective of Section VIII Measures to be taken where necessary to • Ensure adequate and appropriate maintenance and cleaning of the establishment and equipment • Protect food form potential sources of contamination • Protect food damage likely to render the food unsuitable • Provide an environment which effectively controls the growth of pathogenic or spoilage micro-organisms and the production of toxins Food may become contaminated, or may not reach its destination in a suitable condition even if adequate hygiene measures have been taken earlier in the food chain Module 3.5 – The Codex General Principles of Food Hygiene – Transportation

4. Outline of Section VIII Codex GPFH Transportation Reference: Recommended International Code of Practice-General Principles of Food hygiene [CAC/RCP1 1969, Rev.3(1997)] • 8.1 – General considerations • 8.2 - Requirements • 8.3 - Use and maintenance • 8.4 – Transportation and distribution Module 3.5 – The Codex General Principles of Food Hygiene – Transportation

5. General considerations • Food must be adequately protected during transport and storage • The type of conveyance or containers required depends on • The nature of food • The conditions under which it has to be transported Module 3.5 – The Codex General Principles of Food Hygiene – Transportation

6. Requirements • Where necessary, conveyances and bulk containers should be designed and constructed so that they • Provide protection from contamination • Can be effectively cleaned • Can maintain temperature, humidity or other conditions necessary to protect food from deterioration Module 3.5 – The Codex General Principles of Food Hygiene – Transportation

7. Use and maintenance • Conveyances and containers should be kept in an appropriate state of repair and cleanliness • Where the same conveyance or container is used in the transport of different food and non-foods, appropriate cleaning should take place between loads • Where appropriate, especially in bulk transport, containers should be designated and marked for food use only Module 3.5 – The Codex General Principles of Food Hygiene – Transportation

8. A B C D Primary transformation Primary processing Exportable coffee Dry product Fresh cherries Unsorted beans Unsorted beans Graded beans Dry product Secondary processing Bagging Storage Temporary storage and transport at each segment Transportation in the coffee chain • Transport takes place at several points of the coffee marketing chain • Processors must ensure that they avoid contamination of coffee during these operations Module 3.5 – The Codex General Principles of Food Hygiene – Transportation

9. Transportation of fresh coffee • Fresh cherries should not be stored before processing • Transportation of fresh cherries should be planned in such a way as to: • Minimise delay between harvest and processing - cherries should be processed as soon as possible on the day of harvest • Ensure that conveyances and containers minimise opportunities for contamination Module 3.5 – The Codex General Principles of Food Hygiene – Transportation

10. Conveyance of fresh material • Containers used in the transport offresh cherries and wet parchment should be clean and made of impervious material • Bags used to transport fresh cherries should free of husks and other substances known to be highly contaminated with mould • Baskets used in the transport of fresh parchment should be lined with clean plastic Module 3.5 – The Codex General Principles of Food Hygiene – Transportation

11. Transportation of dry coffee inthe local market chain • It is essential to avoid re-wetting of coffee during transport • Coffee should be protected from damage that would render it unsuitable for consumption Module 3.5 – The Codex General Principles of Food Hygiene – Transportation

12. International transportation • Length of transportation during export varies from a few days to several weeks • Diurnal variation of temperature can lead to condensation at the surfaces of coffee shipments • If re-wetting of coffee occurs, dormant spores can be re-activated and OTA may be produced • Bulk transport in container generally shows up the lowest incidence of damages upon arrival in consuming countries, but precautions are needed Module 3.5 – The Codex General Principles of Food Hygiene – Transportation

13. International transportation • Several studies were carried out on the international transportation of green coffee (a.o.) • Container bulk transport: Kampala - Mombassa – Bremen (51 days, 1999/2000) • Container bag storage trial in Rotterdam harbour (30 days, 1999) • Container bulk transport: Bangalore – Barcelona (42 days, 2004) • Model trials with Brazilian coffees Module 3.5 – The Codex General Principles of Food Hygiene – Transportation

14. Probe 1 35 cm D o o r s Probe 2 Loose coffee Transportation trials Container bulk transport trial from Kampala to Mombasa to Bremen (1) Module 3.5 – The Codex General Principles of Food Hygiene – Transportation

15. Transportation trials Container bulk transport trial from Kampala to Mombasa to Bremen (2) Module 3.5 – The Codex General Principles of Food Hygiene – Transportation

16. 4 Head space 3 D o o r s 2 1 Coffee bags 5 Transportation trials Container bag storage trial in Rotterdam harbour (1) Key: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 = Position of data loggers (temperature and humidity) Module 3.5 – The Codex General Principles of Food Hygiene – Transportation

17. 4 Head space 3 2 1 5 Transportation trials Container bag storage trial in Rotterdam harbour (2) Module 3.5 – The Codex General Principles of Food Hygiene – Transportation

18. Head space Head space 22°C 12°C 11°C 10°C 23°C 12°C 0.73 Aw 0.75 Aw 0.72 Aw 0.70 Aw 0.64 Aw 0.67 Aw 13.8% 14.4% Coffee bags Coffee bags Transportation trials Container bag storage trial in Rotterdam harbour (3) Temperature and Aw at the beginning and at the end of the trial Mar. 20, 1999 Feb. 19, 1999 Module 3.5 – The Codex General Principles of Food Hygiene – Transportation

19. Hygiene considerations inloading of containers • Stuffing of green coffee into a container is either done in-land, at the mill, or in the port before shipment • Container should have no holes, be dry and clean, free of odors and have a dry floor - check such by inspection • Records of cleaning programme and previous loads should also be inspected Module 3.5 – The Codex General Principles of Food Hygiene – Transportation

20. Hygiene considerations inloading of containers • Factors to consider in the shipment of coffee • Ensure that moisture content of green coffee is below 12.5% • There must be protection from rain during stuffing of container • Suitable material should be placed on the surface of the coffee (both bulk and bagged coffee) to avoid rewetting with condensation Module 3.5 – The Codex General Principles of Food Hygiene – Transportation

21. Shipment of coffee • Below deck placement of container is advised to reduce exposure to sun/cold/weather • Direct shipment to port of destination is preferred - intermediate storage for trans-shipment can cause strong fluctuations of temperature and Aw inside the container • Unload container upon arrival as soon as possible - at least protect from direct exposure to sun/cold Module 3.5 – The Codex General Principles of Food Hygiene – Transportation

22. Main conclusions • Fresh cherry should be transported to the processing unit without delay to prevent compromising quality - keep transport time short and avoid storage • Re-wetting of dry coffee during transport can lead to high risk of OTA-contamination • Use only clean, dry and odour-free containers with no holes - inappropriate or poorly cleaned containers and conveyances can lead to contamination or other damage, making the coffee unsuitable or unsafe Module 3.5 – The Codex General Principles of Food Hygiene – Transportation

23. Main conclusions • Coffee should contain not more than 12.5 % moisture • Appropriate liners should be used to insulate coffee from container walls • Strong inside fluctuations in temperature and r.h. occur when the container is exposed to full sun and cold at night, both during overland transport & storage - this can cause condensation Module 3.5 – The Codex General Principles of Food Hygiene – Transportation