Meat is a perishable product and therefore requires the highest standard of care while in transit. There are numerous risks that meat suppliers need to consider and mitigate when shipping pork. Food-grade containers must be used to ensure pork meat’s safety and quality when shipping cross country. If the meat is frozen during transit, dry ice must be used.

Container requirements

A meat supplier needs to conform to international rules revolving around food transport. Here are a few tips to help you know how to ship food overseas through the various stages, including packaging, shipping and timely delivery. According to a reputable international shipping company, the container must meet the following requirements:

• The container has never carried or transported toxic chemicals.
• The food does not come in direct contact with the container.
• The structural condition must be IICL-5 (International Institute of Container Lessors) and with a valid CSC (Convention for Safe Containers) Plate. Essentially, the IICL has created a standard of inspection that ensures that an ISO Storage Container is in adequate condition to be long-term leased for cargo transportation. IICL-5 standard is the benchmark against which container condition is measured.
• Scratches must not exceed 2mm in depth.
• Waterproof
• No daylight visible
• It must be a special-grade container.
• Cargo-worthy containers have been inspected and carry a damage-free certification.
• Shipping container grades are based on external and internal conditions (structure and aesthetics). A container could be structurally sound for shipping purposes but may have rust and paint degradation, causing it to look unsightly.

Risks meat suppliers face

• If the meat doesn’t adhere to the health and safety requirements, shipping pork can result in contamination with fungi and bacteria.

• The meat needs to be packaged correctly to ensure a shelf-life that can withstand deterioration due to transit delays.
• Suppliers must ensure they use reputable export companies because containers are required to be climate controlled when transporting meat.

According to the International Forwarding Association (IFA). The correct shipping process begins with storage at the point of origin, loading in refrigerated trucks, and shipping to the container terminal. The following stages are the storage of consignments in warehousing facilities, stuffing containers, shipping containers to the terminal for loading onto a feeder ship, and so on until trucks deliver products to the consignee’s warehouse. Van Wyngaardt’s delivery policy Our delivery policy requires a minimum order depending on the shipping region. You may order between Monday to Thursday. If you order before noon, we guarantee next-day delivery. If you order after noon, you will receive the order the following working day. This is only valid for Gauteng stores. The delivery time for outer-Gauteng stores may vary. At Van Wyngaardt, we pride ourselves on always providing exceeding good meats! You are welcome to contact us if you have any queries or require more information about our export policy. One of our sales representatives will happily assist you.