As you might expect, there’s a lot of legislation relating to the transport of food in the UK and any business that is involved in this sector needs to adhere to some pretty strict regulations.
If you are just starting as a supplier of perishable goods like preprepared meals, meats, fish and poultry or frozen products, this can be something of a minefield to navigate.
At FridgeXpress, we’ve got a great deal of expertise in providing refrigerated vans for the food and drinks sector and our team knows practically all there is to know about safe and efficient transportation.
Transit Time and Temperature
Whether you transport food over short distances or travel across the UK, maybe even into Europe, how long certain goods are in your vehicle is important.
- The van must be cleaned and safe to use before each delivery.
- Businesses need to also ensure there is no cross-contamination between different foods and that the cargo is kept at the right temperature.
- Raw food should be kept away from cooked food and the container should be kept at the right temperature.
- For chilled food, the legal maximum temperature should be 8°C but, in practice, 5°C is recommended.
For frozen foods, -12°C is acceptable but good practice generally means keeping a temperature of -18°C.
The Challenges of Transporting Food for Small Businesses
In recent years, we’ve seen a rise in the number of small food businesses that are supplying niche markets and customers.
One of the major challenges these, often online businesses, have is optimising delivery for more than just a local market. The options here are to use their own delivery vans or hire the services of a logistics company that specialises in transporting frozen or chilled goods. The problem with the latter is that it can mean a loss of control in the handling of the food and the potential for sanction if things go wrong.
Highly perishable goods such as seafood and fish present bigger challenges where maintaining the right temperature during delivery is even more critical. It’s important to work with the right partners when developing your food transportation infrastructure and that includes where you hire or buy your vans from.
Hiring the Right Fridge or Freezer Van
Whether you are a small business or a large corporation, maintaining your fleet of fridge or freezer vans is probably one of the most important parts of your operation. Finding the right transport can be challenging, with many providers not specialising in this area at all.
The good news is that FridgeXpress are only focused on refrigerated and freezer vans and with 20 years’ experience behind us we’re able to offer food businesses all the support they require, exactly when they need it.
- We can respond to an emergency in your business with rapid hire for a range of different vehicles.
- We also offer long-term contract hire which means you can develop your fleet and grow your business without worrying about issues such as regular maintenance.
- We can create bespoke solutions for your food delivery service which means you get exactly the right sort of van for your needs at all times.
- We also provide a range of fridge and freezer vans for outright purchase.
- We’re an approved converter of Mercedes vans, one of the most popular makes for food transportation.
We aim to be as flexible as possible for our customers in the food and drinks sector and can add in extras such as breakdown support to help keep you on the road 24/7. Whether you need support for your current fleet or you are expanding and need to add vehicles that meet your exact specifications, our expert team is here to help you find solutions.
If you’re searching for the best partner for your refrigerated van fleet, whether you’re a small business or larger enterprise, contact our team today.
