RPA Publishes New Food-Safety Guidelines For Reusable Plastic Containers

By Sam Lewis

In response to denouncers, the Reusable Packaging Association has released science-based procedures for using plastic containers to transport fresh produce.

Recently, plastic cartons used to haul fresh produce have burgeoned across the food industry in spite of warnings from research proposing reusable containers could contain and promote the spread of foodborne pathogens. The Reusable Packaging Association’s (RPA) guidelines outline procedures for handling, washing, and using adhesive labels on reusable plastic containers (RPCs). These newly-published rules were created not only by RPA, but also received input from stakeholders and took more than a full year to complete.

On the farm, safety procedures for RPCs include wrapping containers stacked on pallets, hauling RPCs in covered trucks, and warehousing RPCs in covered conditions. “Creating stable and wrapped loads also helps prevent cross-contamination during transit and at the RPC provider’s facilities,” says RPC. In addition, RPA is asking that RPCs be handled just like any other packaged good.

For makers of RPCs, the most-important aspect of the new guidelines is best practices in sanitation and testing for microbes. The guidelines also address compliance with Hazards Analysis and Critical Control Points (HACCP) standards to prevent contamination, placing importance on a trained employee to oversee and ensure HACCP compliance.

Three different studies from universities in both the U.S. and Canada point to evidence that RPCs have the potential to become contaminated and spread pathogens from food product to food product despite RPCs being cleaned and sanitized. Further, studies from the University of California – Davis (UC Davis), the University of Arkansas, and the University of Guelph have found discrepancies and shortcomings in cleaning and sanitizing RPCs by manufacturers which doesn’t kill pathogens within the container.

RPA upholds its statement that there is no evidence of RPCs causing any instances of foodborne illness. In a recent statement, RPA Committee Chair, Paul Pederson, says, “Most RPC suppliers are already doing a thorough job of sanitizing and managing RPCs; however, they have different processes to achieve the end result.” Pederson continues, “Creating and documenting uniform best practices satisfies the need of users of reusables who need defined guidelines to share with members of their supply chains.”