Advantage Good Agricultural Practices Manual

7.4 Loading and Unloading

If food, livestock or inputs are not properly loaded or unloaded, damage, contamination or spoilage can occur.

This Good Agricultural Practice applies to:

All farms.

What needs to be done

Load and unload food, livestock/poultry and inputs in a manner that prevents damage, spoilage and contamination from occurring.

How to do it

Food and inputs

Assemble each load in such a way as to prevent the final products from being crushed, broken and/or scattered during transport.

If products are being loaded into refrigerated transport vehicles, arrange them to allow for proper circulation of cold air.

Do not load fresh produce with incompatible inputs (e.g. pesticides or fuels).

Livestock and poultry

Take steps to minimize the amount of stomach fill and the amount of manure on hides/feather for livestock and poultry that are shipped for slaughter. To do this, consider:

• The amount of bedding used during housing and transportation
• Feed withdrawl periods prior to shipping
  

Minimize the shedding of pathogens from livestock by reducing the amount of stress during loading and unloading:

• Use ramps
• Handle animals in a calm, quiet manner
• Discourage the use of electric prods
  
  

Do not load downer/non-ambulatory animals. Refer to Canadian Food Inspection Agency requirements for downer animals.

Follow proper withdrawal times before loading and shipping.

If a needle has been broken and remains in the animal, pass this information on to the next stage of production.

In general

Prior notification of shipments to the next stage may be required. Ensure the appropriate documentation requested by the buyer accompanies the load.

Keep the information required for traceability of the product that has been shipped, and be prepared to share it if necessary. Refer to 7.1 Traceability and Recall in this manual for the data that will need to be recorded.

Did you know?

For livestock loading densities and weather charts, refer to the "Recommended Code of Practice for the Care and Handling of Farm Animals - Transportation."

To receive a copy of the code, contact Canadian Food Inspection Agency's Senior Staff Veterinarian responsible for the humane transport of animals at 1-613-221-4620.

If you need an audit

Be prepared for the auditor to review:

• Production records (e.g. Pesticide Use Records, Animal Health Product Use Records) to verify shipping requirements are met
• Shipping documentation where required by the buyer
  
  

Laws and regulations that apply

There are few laws that directly impact on food safety regulating loading and unloading practices for agricultural production. However, there are various laws that prohibit the transport of certain plants or animals or require permits or Movement Certificate Labels. These are often part of disease management or control regulations. As many of these do not have a human food safety implication, such as plant diseases, they are therefore out of the scope of this document.

The Health of Animals Regulations (Canada) Part XII defines conditions for the humane transport of all animals in Canada, including appropriate conditions for loading and unloading of animals. S.138 (2) prohibits loading or transporting an animal that, by reason of infirmity, illness, injury, fatigue or any other cause, cannot be transported without undue suffering during the expected journey.

The Milk Act, R.R.O. 1990, Reg. 761, s. 12 (3) specifies that milkhouses have a milk hose transfer-port that shall be located near the outlet valve on each farm bulk tank, maintained in good condition, equipped with a self- closing device and used only for the passage of hose in the transfer of milk from a farm bulk tank to the tank-truck.

The Livestock and Livestock Products Act, R.S.O. 1990, c. L. 20, Eggs Regulation, R.R.O., 1990, Reg. 724, s. 5 (5), s. 31 and s. 32 provide that no person other than a producer shall sell, ship or transport ungraded eggs or eggs that have been in storage unless they are in specifically marked containers and they are being shipped to an egg-grading station or a first receiver of eggs.

The Pesticide Act, R.S.O. 1990, c. P. 11, Regulation 914, R.R.O. 1990, s. 127 specifies that no person shall transport or cause or permit the transportation of any Schedule 1, 2, 3 or 5 pesticide together with commodities that are food or drink intended for human or animal consumption by a vehicle operated on any highway or road unless the pesticide being transported is separated from such commodities in a manner sufficient to prevent their contamination or likely contamination by the pesticide.

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