How to Keep Food Grade Facilities Safe from the Elements

Much of the success of food grade warehousing rests on the safety and sanitation of the facility. These facilities have to meet exceptional compliance standards to keep the products, employees, and consumers safe. Because food-grade warehouses provide a variety of storage types, they must take measures to ensure their environments are clean and well-secured.

There are a number of factors that play a role in food going from warehouse to table. Effective handling in food grade materials extends beyond what most companies might expect. At Nordock, we help food grade warehouses keep their dock areas safe and secure by reducing the risk of a high-traffic area compromising the safety of temperature-dependent products.

Considerations and Challenges Experienced in Food Grade Facilities

Food products require special handling across the entire supply chain. There are challenges beyond meeting regulatory compliance. Some of the most common issues affecting food grade warehouses are:
-Maintaining the physical condition of the facility – Keeping a clean and well-maintained warehouse can be a challenge, especially for busy warehouse teams. Areas like docks can be most susceptible to wear and tear as those spaces have high traffic volumes.
-Temperature control – From frozen to dry foods, temperature control plays a key role in the safety and quality of food storage. However, with doors opening and closing all day, effective temperature control can be a struggle for some warehouses as hot air comes in.
-Pest control management – Pests can be detrimental to any warehouse, but they’re especially challenging for food grade warehouses. Why? Because once they’re in, they can wreak havoc on food products. Not all warehouses have precautions in place to prevent an infestation.
-Sanitation and hygiene – Food products require a high level of sanitation and hygiene, both for the facility and its employees. Warehouses should have golden standards for regular hygiene and a routine sanitation schedule. Warehouses without these practices can struggle to meet compliance requirements.

How Reliable Dock Equipment Transforms a Food Grade Facility
Food grade warehouses can establish well-tempered environments for a variety of food types. However, those environments can be compromised by poorly supported docks. Roughly 70.5% of food in the US is still moved by trucks, and even those moved via rail or air require trucks to transport the goods to those trains or planes. Loading docks are the key to getting that product to its final destination. This makes loading docks a particularly important part of any warehouse, but especially food grade warehouses.

Dock seals
A sealed dock keeps out pests, debris, and other outside forces that can pose a threat to food products. Even a small leak in a dock could compromise the temperatures of a facility, or at the very least, require more energy to maintain temperature regulations for the building. Dock seals are a proactive approach to handling pests inside and outside of a facility, as ensuring seals in high-traffic areas can prevent infiltrations.

Constructed of the highest quality tear and abrasion resistant fabrics and ultra-resilient high-density foam materials, NORDOCK® dock seals will outlast and outperform the competition. They excel even under the harshest conditions. Creating a tight dock seal reduces energy costs while it improves safety and productivity. They’re also a great way to ensure that small pests aren’t slipping in through the cracks and feasting on food products inside.

TELESCOPING-LIP Levelers
Nordock’s TELESCOPING-LIP Leveler options can help even the most underperforming docks be secured without damaging product. Reduced product damage means that the food inside can stay temperature-controlled and sealed during loading and unloading. This unique style of leveler also allows for the dock to be sealed on the bottom with both the horizontal and vertically storing versions. A traditional flip lip leveler can only seal on the bottom with a vertically storing configuration. Nordock offers the only comprehensive line of telescoping lip dock levelers in North America.

NORDOCK® offers a complete selection of dock seal options and TELESCOPING-LIP Levelers. We offer solutions to suit every application and budget. At Nordock, our team is dedicated to optimizing dock safety solutions that last. We offer the right equipment companies need to protect their employees and products while maintaining excellent service to customers. If you’re interested in how our solutions can make a difference in your food grade warehouse, give us a call at 1-866-885-4276.

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