AQUIO explains the difference between a clean shipping container and a food quality shipping container.
As Australia is a net exporter of food material, we have some of the toughest guidelines required to ensure transportation of these foodstuffs does not result in a loss of cargo.
In order to facilitate the export process, guidelines have been put together for what would constitute a container capable of carrying consumable foodstuffs. This standard has been a collaborative work between the Department of Agriculture and Shipping Australia.
What’s the Difference?
In order for a shipping container to be declared food quality, it must not have obnoxious odours, no flaking paint or rust, no transferable stains (in particular from spilled previous cargoes soaked into wooden floorboards) and no animal or insect infestation.
A clean shipping container which is unable to transport food only requires to be clean and dry, no previous cargo residue, and no animal or insect infestation. Because the majority of shipping container floors are made out of wood material that is porous; any materials and previous cargoes that have been spilled during transport can remain in the wooden floorboards resulting in tainting of food cargoes.
| Clean Shipping Container | Food Quality Shipping Container |
|---|---|
| clean and dry | no obnoxious odours |
| no previous cargo residue | no flaking paint or rust |
| no animal or insect infestation | no transferable stains (ex. previous cargo spills) |
| no animal or insect infestation |
How can I upgrade to Food Quality Shipping Containers?
At AQUIO™, we have been working with shipping container owners to help them upgrade their general cargo containers to food quality since 2012. The major reason for a shipping container not being deemed food quality is due to transferable stains on the floor from previous cargo.
There are various methods to treat these transferable stains in order to render the floor back to a food quality standard however these treatments are often expensive and time-consuming.
How Can NutriSkin Help?
With this in mind, we set about to develop a product that would allow shipping container owners to easily upgrade their container floors to food quality with a product that was fast drying, allowed quick turnaround, and could mask and entrap previous cargo residues with minimal preparation and treatment of transferable stains.
Our product, NutriSkin™, can be applied directly over transferable stains using a roller in less than 15 minutes and once cured, meets not only Australian Department of Agriculture and Shipping Australia food quality standards but also US FDA Food Standards and New Zealand Assure Quality Food Standards. (See the NutriSkin™ application process)
Our customers have been delighted with the performance of our product as it has helped them meet all food quality demands over the past nine years that had previously been a major bottleneck for their operations.
With an increased demand in customised containerised shipment of grains from Australia, we look forward to continuing to help our customers meet their food quality demands with as lower investment cost as possible.
