Foods such as fruits, vegetables, seafood and meat are in increasing demand throughout the year to keep pace with the great demand for healthy and fresh products, and due to the short shelf life of these goods, the air freight method is used as a preferred method of transportation, although you need to avoid certain caveats and pay attention to specific risks that make products vulnerable to spoilage and increase waste levels. What are the prohibitions of air freight for food that should be avoided?
First, why does air freight for food need special attention?
Food is one of the types of goods that are prone to spoilage if their arrival is delayed or exposed to an inappropriate temperature and mishandling, and due to their short shelf life and the special storage and shipping requirements they need, they need fast and safe delivery through the air freight method to maintain their quality, for example, some fresh products need low temperatures to slow down the ripening process, and meat and fish should be frozen to avoid infection with harmful live mycobacteria.
The same considerations apply more or less to other foods, such as vegetables, fruits, cheese, dairy products, eggs, baked goods, sweets, as well as frozen foods.
7 of the most dangerous prohibitions of air freight for food
The following are the most important air freight prohibitions that should be guarded against, and what are the proper measures to be taken to ensure food safety:
- Neglect of packaging
Food is subjected to handling either on the ground or in the air and the accompanying strong vibration and shock should be taken into account, and if packaging is not given sufficient attention to take into account the harsh shipping conditions, it will become more vulnerable to spoilage.
They should therefore be packed in containers strong enough to absorb shocks and allow stacking.
For chopped fresh vegetables and fruits and ready-made salads, they should be packaged in flexible plastic containers and then put the bags in an outer package such as a box of wooden, fiberboard or metal to prevent damage, and sometimes fruits and vegetables may need to be covered with a fine plastic net to prevent pests, and you may need to be wrapped with polymer to protect them from getting wet and prevent leakage.
2. Delayed delivery of documents
Documentation plays a very important role in the customs process, so ignoring the pre-preparation of the required documents is one of the most serious prohibitions of air freight that hinders the steps of customs clearance, whether during import, export, quarantine and health inspection, which leads to shipment delays.
Therefore, it is necessary to familiarize yourself with the different requirements imposed by the customs authorities in terms of documents, permits and certificates, and the customs clearance company such as border support helps ensure compliance with the regulations governing food shipping and ensure a smooth transportation process.
An air waybill is one of the basic documents in the process of air freight for food, so its fields should be filled in completely, such as the shipper’s name, address, name and address of the consignee, as well as the nature and quantity of the goods.
3. Not tracking the shipment
The loss of communication between you and the shipping company means that you are unable to address any issues that may occur immediately due to the lack of information, so be careful to maintain good and continuous communication with the shipping partner to track the status of the shipment and ensure the flow of information smoothly, in addition to enabling you to think proactively to address any defect that may occur during delivery, thus reducing the risks that the food shipment may be exposed to and reducing the losses that may occur.
4. Absence of posters
Perishable food commodities need to be clearly labeled on the packaging indicating special instructions in handling them, and the absence of these labels will make them difficult to distinguish and thus become more vulnerable to mishandling and slow customs clearance procedures, so appropriate labels should be placed that indicate the ideal storage temperature, instructions for proper handling, expiration dates and any relevant necessary information.
For example, perishable shipments need a “perishable” label, and shipments that need caution in handling and transportation should have “this way up” label added.
5. Bad timing
Time plays a critical role in cross-border food safety, so the random choice of the timing of the shipping trip exposes the goods to loss of freshness and wilting, and therefore the shipping trip should be planned in advance and scheduled so that the time taken for delivery is reduced, with the choice of fast or direct flights whenever possible to avoid any delay or potential disruption.
6. Loss of temperature control
Since foodstuffs travel under different climates, losing control of their ideal temperature is one of the most important prohibitions of air freight, as it makes them more vulnerable to spoilage and deterioration of quality.
Ask the shipping company to ensure proper temperature control so that it provides an optimal temperature throughout the entire shipping process whether at the delivery stage or when the shipment is boarding on the plane, and freezers such as meat and fish in particular need to be stored in favorable refrigeration conditions.
7. Delayed delivery of the shipment
Delivery is the last stage that food goes through in the shipping journey, and although delivery is not always done in closed places that are easy to control their temperature, the shipping company should deliver the goods without delay between transports, ensuring that bacteria do not grow and thus spoil food.
This means that the freight forwarder must know in advance of the delivery time to arrange trucking, and ensure that the transport vehicle is prepared to the required temperature and that it is suitable for transporting food without contamination.
Finally, the transport of food products requires careful planning, attention to detail, selection of appropriate packaging, ensuring temperature control, and preparing important documents and labels, ensuring that the risk of air freight prohibitions is reduced and thus goods arrive fresh and sound.
