CFP Releases Best Practice Guidance Document for Direct-to-Consumer Delivered Foods

A guidance document was recently released for food delivery business. The regulations covering such operations can be viewed as nebulous since they ship product directly to consumers via a delivery service. This document, written by the Conference for Food Protection (CFP) Direct-to-Consumer Delivery Committee, provides food safety best practices for direct-to-consumer and third-party food delivery services that meet Food Code requirements.

That document can be found at this link: http://www.foodprotect.org/media/guide/guidance-document-for-direct-to-consumer-and-third-party-delivery.pdf

Also included below is the USDA's document, Mail Order Food Safety, which is also a nice reference for those shipping food to consumers.

Food Safety Magazine
https://www.food-safety.com/articles/8233-guidance-on-food-safety-best-practices-for-food-delivery-businesses
Guidance on Food Safety Best Practices for Food Delivery Businesses

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration recently highlighted a voluntary guidance document on food safety best practices for direct-to-consumer and third-party food delivery services.

The guidance features several updates from the original draft, such as recommended practices for transportation directly to a consumer of perishable products, to include proper packaging; temperature control during shipping, receiving, and storage; return of compromised and abused products; and other food safety related topics.

The primary intent of the document is to provide best practices for preventing the biological, physical, and chemical contamination of foods, as well as the growth of harmful bacteria and the formation of toxins within food being transported. Specifically, the guidance includes parameters relevant to:

• Preventive controls
• Mechanisms to assess risk
• Validation and verification practices
• Recommendations for proper packaging
• Temperature control
• Receiving and storage
• Physical and chemical contamination control
• Allergen control
• General food safety information
• Suggestions for the return of compromised and abused products.

The guidance is not intended to provide a one-size-fits-all approach; rather, it aims to review some of the essential parameters that any company should consider in providing safe foods to consumers. Companies are encouraged to research, understand, and test the methods best suited to their specific operations.

The guidance was prepared by the 2018–2020 Conference for Food Protection (CFP) Direct-to-Consumer Delivery Committee, and the document’s presentation at CFP was postponed to 2021 due to the COVID-19 Pandemic. The document is based on an earlier draft from the 2016–2018 CFP Mail Order Foods Committee. Collaborators on the document include regulatory, nonprofit, and industry stakeholders.


UDSA
https://www.fsis.usda.gov/food-safety/safe-food-handling-and-preparation/food-safety-basics/mail-order-food-safety
Mail Order Food Safety

Convenience means many things to many people, but anything that helps save time is always high on everyone's list of conveniences. With more Americans working and being more time-crunched than ever, the ultimate time saver and convenience is home delivery of mail order foods.

While the mail order industry enjoys a good safety record, ordering food through the mail may cause concerns about food safety, shelf life, and distribution. It's imperative to develop some mental checklists for how both food and packaging should look when perishable mail order foods arrive. This is especially true for meat, poultry, fish, and other perishable foods such as cheesecake, which must be carefully handled in a timely manner to prevent foodborne illness.

The following food safety tips will help the purchaser and recipient determine if their perishable foods have been handled properly:

• Make sure the company sends perishable items, like meat or poultry, cold or frozen and packed with a cold source. It should be packed in foam or heavy corrugated cardboard.
• The food should be delivered as quickly as possible—ideally, overnight. Make sure perishable items and the outer package are labeled "Keep Refrigerated" to alert the recipient.
• When you receive a food item marked "Keep Refrigerated," open it immediately and check its temperature. The food should arrive frozen or partially frozen with ice crystals still visible or at least refrigerator cold—below 40 °F as measured with a food thermometer. Even if a product is smoked, cured, vacuum-packed, and/or fully cooked, it still is a perishable product and must be kept cold. If perishable food arrives warm—above 40 °F as measured with a food thermometer—notify the company. Do not consume the food. Do not even taste suspect food.
• Tell the recipient if the company has promised a delivery date. Or alert the recipient that "the gift is in the mail" so someone can be there to receive it. Don't have perishable items delivered to an office unless you know it will arrive on a work day and there is refrigerator space available for keeping it cold.

Americans also enjoy cooking foods that are family favorites and mailing these items to family and friends. The same rules that cover the mail order industry also apply to foods prepared and mailed from home. Make sure perishable foods are not held at temperatures between 40 and 140 °F, the "Danger Zone", for longer than 2 hours. Pathogenic bacteria can grow rapidly in the "Danger Zone", but they may not affect the taste, smell, or appearance of a food. In other words, you cannot tell that a food has been mishandled or is unsafe to eat.

For perishable foods prepared at home and mailed, follow these guidelines:

• Ship in a sturdy box.
• Pack with a cold source, i.e., frozen gel packs or dry ice.
• When using dry ice:
• Don't touch the dry ice with bare hands.
• Don't let it come in direct contact with food.
• Warn the recipient of its use by writing "Contains Dry Ice" on the outside of the box.
• Wrap box in two layers of brown paper.
• Use permanent markers to label outside of the box. Use recommended packing tape.
• Label outside clearly; make sure address is complete and correct.
• Write "Keep Refrigerated" on outside of the box.
• Alert recipient of its expected arrival.
• Do not send to business addresses or where there will not be adequate refrigerator storage.
• Do not send packages at the end of the week. Send them at the beginning of the week so they do not sit in the post office or mailing facility over the weekend.
• Whenever possible, send foods that do not require refrigeration, e.g., hard salami, hard cheese, country ham.

(Miniature deep freeze packaging chart)

Use the handy chart, compiled by the USDA Meat and Poultry Hotline and FDA Outreach and Information Center, to plan your purchase, send a home-prepared item, and store popular mail order foods.

If mail order foods arrive in a questionable condition, you may contact the following organizations for help:

USDA Meat and Poultry Hotline 1-888-MPHotline, weekdays 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. ET (1-888-674-6854) or MPHotline@usda.gov
(meat, poultry, and egg products)

FDA Outreach and Information Center 1 (888) 723-3366 weekdays 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. ET
(any foods other than meat, poultry, and egg products)

Direct Marketing Association, Consumer Affairs Department
1615 L Street NW, Suite 1100, Washington, DC 20036

Direct Marketing Association (DMA) offers a free consumer service and acts as an intermediary between consumers and direct marketing companies to resolve complaints on a timely basis. Consumers may register complaints with DMA by writing to the above address or e-mailing to Consumer@the-DMA.org; phone calls are not accepted.

Consumers requesting assistance through DMA should include the complete name and address of the company involved in the complaint, photocopies (not originals) of any canceled checks, order forms, other relevant documents, and a letter summarizing the facts of the complaint.

DMA will refer the letter to the company on the consumer's behalf and ask that the company resolve the matter. The majority of DMA complaints are resolved successfully within a 30-day period.

Safe Handling of Mail Order Foods

These short but safe time limits will help keep refrigerated foods from spoiling or becoming unsafe to eat. Because freezing keeps food safe indefinitely, recommended storage times are for quality only.