Rules for transport

Rules of transport for bulk transport of liquids and raw materials (bulk tankers, Hoyer cont., IBC)

1. Scope

This quality system procedure provides a minimum set of rules that need to be respected during loading and unloading of bulk transports of liquids and powdered raw materials / intermediates in order to ensure we maintain our high quality standards and guarantee the health of the consumer, to avoid food safety risks, to assure the shelf life of the goods and to avoid visual adverse defects.

The rules are based on the GFSI Logistic requirements.

All legal requirements for transport, as well as regulation (EC) 852/2044 for hygiene, regulation (EC) 178/2002 and resulting national laws have to be fulfilled.

In general individual agreements differing from these rules of transport are exceptional possible, if agreed upfront with the local Baronie site.

2. Field of application

All sites where liquid raw materials and/or bulk deliveries are handled at Stollwerck GmbH (sites in Berlin, Norderstedt, Veitshöchheim and Saalfeld), Chocolat Alprose SA Caslano, Baronie Belgium NV (sites in Veurne and Bruge), Baronie-de-Heer B.V. Rotterdam, further named as Baronie Group
All up- and unloading of foodstuffs e.g. raw materials delivered to Baronie Group or chocolates loaded at Baronie Group
All transports in bulk tankers, Hoyer™ container and IBC by order of Baronie Group sites and / or supplier of raw materials

This policy is applicable for all liquid raw materials, solid raw materials delivered by bulk, fillings, liquids and chocolates.

These rules apply in addition to the requirements of the raw material specifications.

3. Requirements

3.1. Company

Companies transporting the goods must always maintain a license for food transports and preferably be GFSI certified.

There must be a traceability system in place.

3.2. Condition of the vehicles and cleaning

Used trucks and tankers have to comply with legal requirements of the EU as well as from Switzerland. Local laws are always prevailing. The vehicles provided for loading are appropriate for transport of foodstuffs and goods. Inspections are performed before loading/unloading a vehicle via a documented process. Maintenance measures are performed regularly and demonstrably.

The transport companies used will only transport foodstuffs and never be used for the transport of animal feed, waste, bodily fluids, chemicals etc. Trucks and container need to be labelled "For foodstuffs only".

The truck or tanker must always have no breaches or leakages.

If temperature control is required, there must be a documented procedure to guarantee that temperature is correct. The temperature of the vehicle must be checked and documented before loading. When heating with water or steam there cannot be contact between the product and heating agent.

Tankers (including product contact materials like chambers, flexible tubes, lids, pump, pipelines, outlet, outlet cover and manhole cover) shall be washed before arriving at any site of Baronie Group or supplier's facility for loading. Same applicable for Hoyer™ and IBC. An original washing ticket shall be provided and presented to the Baronie Group inspector mentioning the elements that have been washed and dried. Washing of the inside of the tanker shall be done by foodstuff dedicated washing bays only and evaluated by site technical teams. Cleaning of the tankers shall include at minimum the following procedures with documentation of EFTCO cleaning codes in the EFTCO cleaning document:

cleaning with warm potable water (e.g. C01/C30/F50) (T>60°C)
disinfection with steam (P40)
flushing with ethanol (for Hoyer™ only)
drying with filtered air (e.g. P30/E36)
visual and odour inspection (e.g. T01)

If detergents need to be used they should be of food grade (e.g. C01/C30/F50). Any deviation from the above cleaning procedures must be approved in advance by Baronie Group. The washing ticket shall not be older than 24 hours.

In case of transporters arriving at site on Friday afternoon, not being loaded before Monday morning, the washing ticket shall be at least not older than 72 hours on Monday and the tanker still has to be sealed with leads. It is mandatory that after cleaning and loading the tanker gets sealed with certified seals and that on delivery note the seal number is mentioned in the accompanying documents by “seal number: number”. On cleaning certificate the last three pre-loadings have to be documented.

Vehicles must always be free of odours, neutral in smell and free of foreign bodies.

3.3. Uploading, previous loads and re-loading

Tanker with different compartments shall make sure that the to be delivered goods are uploaded in the dedicated compartment. If there are different goods loaded in one tanker, the plan of loading has to be written on the delivery note. Seals must be documented properly on shipping documents. Truck company needs to make sure that cross-contamination will be prevented. Ideally the multi-chamber truck has compartments with separate discharge pipes for amount of chambers.

Discharge pipes must be clean and stored in closed piping cases. During connect and disconnect the connecting piece must be laid on to an out leak bin, if they cannot be held. This is to avoid any contamination.

If the same pump is used for unloading and there is a risk for cross contamination, especially for milk, nuts and soy, the pump needs to be cleaned in between the deliveries. If deliveries go to different customers and/or different locations removed seals need to be replaced by new ones and documented on shipping documents.

The previous load shall never be one of the following products:

Food acids (acetic acid, gluconic acid, citric acid)
Egg
Fish oil, its derivatives and other derivates from fish
Milk and its derivatives (only allowed for transport of “milk” raw materials) especially milk in case of dark chocolate, cacao mass or cocoa butter
Animal fat or lard
Peanut Oil (highly refined) and other peanut derivates
Honey
Soy lecithin, soy milk, soy oil (only allowed for transport of “soy” containing raw materials [e.g. chocolate liquids with soy lecithin] and there only if soy is GMO free and if available an IP certificate) and other soy derivates
Liquid yeast (bakery yeast, brewer’s yeast etc.)
Nut paste and other nut derivates (only allowed for transport of “nut” raw materials)
Cereals containing gluten (wheat [spelt and khorasan wheat], rye, barley, oats)
Sesame seeds and products thereof
Molluscs and other derivates of molluscs
Lupin and derviates of lupin
Sulphur dioxide if concentration of sulphur dioxide is more than 10 ppm (e.g. in wine)
Crustaceans and derivates of crustaceans
Celery and derivates of celery
Mustard and derivates of mustard

Exception: The previous load and the load are from the same kind (e.g. nut paste or milk powder etc.).

Cross Contamination of allergens needs to be excluded.

Re-loadings are allowed under the following conditions:

Tankers having transported as previous load an identical product coming from the same supplier do not need to be cleaned under the condition that the tanker was resealed at the last unloading address and arrived on the supplier site with sealed men holes, material boxes, valves and holes containing the tubes (tube cases). Seal number have to be documented.
The washing ticket of the latest cleaning shall be available for inspection upon arrival at Baronie Groups site and seal numbers mentioned on delivery notes at any time.
A maximum of 5 re-loadings without intermediate cleaning and a maximum reloading period of 14 days may be carried out with a maximum of 72 hours between reloading.

Exception for sugar bulk deliveries: trucks carrying exclusively sugar may be reloaded for two weeks without intermediate cleaning. The latest cleaning certificate must be available at any time. The truck shall be sealed at any time and seals needs to be documented.

Exceptions to the aforementioned regulations are rare and must be defined between the raw material team and the supplier as far as possible during the approval process of the raw material.

Failure to meet these requirements will lead to automatic rejection of the tanker.

3.4. Sampling of liquids

It should be avoided to take a sample from the top of the manhole at any time because of

food safety risks when opening the top lid and exposure of the content of the tankers to the environment and foreign bodies
contamination of the sample caused by improper handling by the driver
safety risk for the driver or our own employees

Most of the tankers are by now equipped with a special installation to take samples from the bottom via a special valve. This is the preferred method of the group. If sampling from the bottom is not possible, the sample may also be taken from the top. This must be approved by technical and compliant with site health and safety rules. The driver must always be under the supervision of Baronie staff. The driver must be instructed accordingly by the factory staff.

The following aspects shall be considered:

All safety rules, in particular occupational safety, must be observed
Sampling must be carried out in such a way that external contamination of the raw material cannot take place and the raw material is protected from environmental influences
Use sterile utensils
The sampling staff must be trained regularly

In many cases the supplier of the goods gives a retain sample to the driver. This is not accepted as a sample for analysis.

3.5. Scraping of tankers

Background:

Liquid cocoa products are rather viscous even at higher temperatures. When tankers containing these cocoa products are emptied, a considerable amount of the product sticks to the walls. If this chocolate is not removed, it may either be lost during cleaning or may contaminate the chocolate that is next loaded into the truck or one of the compartment.
Cleaning stations calculate an additional environmental cost for the remaining amount of chocolate in the tank. For high viscosity chocolates the remaining weight in the tank can be up to 400 kg. The logistics department calculates with a loss of 60 kg for chocolate and 40 kg for compound coatings and fillings per compartment (180 kg per truck).
Increasing number of customers want to ban the scraping of the tanks for food safety reasons, although strict procedures do exist. For the company it means costs for the loss of product, the cleaning and a growing environmental fee because of the huge amount of chocolate left over.

Procedure:

In order to minimize these costs following rules apply:

Baronie Group allows to scrape the inside of the tankers done by the driver of transport company.

Exception: In rain or snow, it is forbidden to scrape the tankers if the tanker cannot be roofed. However a number of precautions and measures need to be considered to guarantee food safety as well as the safety of the driver.

The following measures must be observed:

The driver ensures his own work safety and uses appropriate equipment
The scraping equipment is provided by transport company and must be clean and disinfected
The employees of the Baronie Group check the cleanliness of the equipment for scraping equipment and, if necessary, provide cleaning agents and disinfectants

Any additional special local procedure to be followed when scraping a tanker needs to be described in the local quality systems of the Baronie Group sites and is also valid.

3.6. Pallecons

Pallecons should be clean inside and outside, with neutral smell and free of foreign bodies. The inner foil must be suitable for food stuff.

3.7. Hygiene and safety rules

Drivers and personnel of the transport company need to adhere to the hygiene and safety rules of Baronie Group factories while loading or unloading of chocolate or raw materials or sample taking. They have to wear suitable, clean and hygienic clothes. Rules are available on site. Drivers and personnel also follow the instructions of the Baronie Group staff.

The vehicle will never be left unguarded or stored without the permission of the site. The haulier has to ensure the vehicle is secure, especially during brakes and stops. The risk of theft or alteration of the goods should be kept to a residual risk level.

3.8. Quality guarantee of transport

It is strongly recommended that transport companies have documented procedures in order to guarantee the specifications mentioned in this procedure.

The transport company needs to respect the given order slot. If this is not respected, this can cause a delay in the unloading or be refused during peak times. Baronie Group will charge the transport company for any additional costs coming from these delays.

Baronie Group has the right to check the quality of the equipment and to refuse material that does not comply with this procedure. In case of "refused equipment", the client will not be charged with any extra costs by the transporter.

The transporter agrees that the QA department can perform audits on the contents of this instruction.

INCO terms will be adhered to and responsibility for the haulage will be as per the rules of ownership detailed in the contract (this should also be shown on the delivery note) for example EXWORKS orders that the customer collects will not be the responsibility of the Baronie Group.

In the event of any accidents, vehicle breakdown or any other incidents or unplanned delays Baronie Group has to be informed immediately. Local site procedures are followed to ensure product safety, legality and quality. Any incident must be registered and corrective measures must be documented.

If the above conditions are not met, the Baronie Group will refuse loading and unloading. We will not accept any associated penalties if the reason for the rejection was due to failing to comply with this policy and we reserve the right to pass through costs associated from the failure to comply with this Policy.

Rules of transport for raw materials (not transported in bulk tankers)

1. Scope

This quality system procedure provides a minimum set of rules that need to be respected by all sites and transport companies for loading and unloading solid raw materials being transported in trucks and containers in order to guarantee the health of the consumer, to avoid food safety risks, to assure the shelf life of the products and to avoid visual adverse defects.

The rules are based on the GFSI Logistic requirements.

All legal requirements for transport, as well as regulation (EC) 852/2044 for hygiene, regulation (EC) 178/2002 and resulting national laws have to be fulfilled.

In general individual agreements differing from these rules of transport are exceptional possible, if agreed upfront with the local Baronie site.

2. Field of application

All sites and warehouses of Stollwerck GmbH (sites Berlin, Norderstedt, Veitshöchheim and Saalfeld), Chocolat Alprose SA Caslano, Baronie Belgium NV Veurne, Baronie Belgium NV Bruges, Baronie-de-Heer B.V. Rotterdam, further named as Baronie Group
All loadings and unloadings of raw materials
All transports of raw materials delivered to Baronie Group

3. Requirements

3.1. Company

Companies transporting the goods maintain a license for food transports and should be GFSI certified.

3.2. Condition of the vehicles and other equipment

The equipment has to comply with the legal requirements of the EU as well as the ones from Switzerland. The vehicles provided for loading are appropriate for transport of foodstuffs and maintenance measures are performed regularly and demonstrably. The equipment will be technically well maintained in a professional way. The vehicles are designed in such way that loading and unloading can take place without problems or impact on the quality of the products. This also applies on existing climate control unit. The equipment is always clean and suitable for the transport of palletized and un-palletized raw materials.

To avoid strong odours which may cause taint to product following goods must not be shipped in one truck with Baronie Group products:

Soaps and detergents
Colors and solvents
Perfume and other toiletry
Herbs and spices
Coal oil
Gum products
Fertilizers
Products with strong odour
Tobaccos
Diesel engines
Chemicals
Pesticides, insecticides, biocides
All other products which could have a negative influence on the pallets, the products, the packaging or might do them harm

Trucks / vehicles ready for loading have to be:

Clean
Without odor
Dry
Without damages
Free of pest
Cooling fluid lines cannot be inside the loading space

Trucks / vehicles have to be constructed and designed (optimum = isolated or chilled/heated box bodies) so that the transport will provide the following during complete duration of transport and at each season:

At an ambient product compatible temperature ideally between 12 – 18 °C, in case of consolidation 2 - 8 °C are accepted (exceptions for very sensitive products will be advised in advance)
Protection against damage by heat, frost, condensation, humidity etc.

Guarantee a secure vehicle especially during brakes and stops, that stealing or alteration of the goods is impossible.

3.3. Products and Pallets

The outer packaging of the products has to be clean and shall not be at risk with foreign bodies (hair etc.). Loading / unloading of the pallets has to be done carefully to avoid damage.

Pallets must meet at least the pallet quality class B and meet the following minimum requirements:

Suitable for storage, transport, machine-accessible, suitable for conveyor technology, suitable for high-bay storage
The palettes must not exceed a height of 1.80 m
Pallet dimensions 120 x 80 cm
Maximum gross weight 1000 kg
No overbuilding on the sides
Big bags with dart must be dimensionally stable on Euro pallets dimension, maximum incline of 3 %.
Palette has already been used
Color: light / dark / mixed
Traces of wear and wood darkening permitted
Max. 22% residual moisture
No twisted blocks
All prescribed corner markings must be legible
Licensed repair allowed
No spalling resulting from use
no adhesions, e.g. Cardboard, foil, ribbons, label

The pallets are loaded in such way that they cannot be damaged because of "shifting" during transport, they are therefore loaded closely. Pallets with *** goods are not allowed to be placed on top of each other. Double decker Lorries can be used. ***

Preferably, airbags and / or crossbars shall be used to secure the load.

On the exchange system of palettes, Euro palettes will be needed to change at arrival. We do not agree to any palette accounts. If a one-by-one exchange at supply isn´t possible, the palette move into our ownership.

3.4. Hygiene and safety rules

Drivers and personnel of the transport company need to respect the hygiene and safety rules of Baronie Group factories. They have to wear suitable, clean and hygienic clothes. Rules are available on site. Drivers and personnel also follow the instructions of the Baronie Group staff.

Transport Company has to train their employees on hygiene rules.

3.5. Quality guarantee of transport

It is strongly recommended that transport companies have documented procedures in order to guarantee the specifications mentioned in this procedure.

The transport company needs to respect the given order slot. If this is not respected, this can cause a delay in the unloading. Baronie Group will charge the transport company for any additional costs coming from this delay.

The transporter agrees that the QA department can perform audits on the contents of this instruction. In case the customer insists on organizing the transport on his own responsibility Baronie Group will be released from any accountability.

In case of any accidents, vehicle breakdown or any other incidents or unplanned delays Baronie Group has to be informed immediately.

If the above conditions are not met, the Baronie Group will refuse loading and unloading.