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Oakland sets up checkpoint for contaminated food loads

[ June 19, 2017   //   ]

Load reconditioning specialist Oakland International has set up a 24 hour border checkpoint just off the M20 in Kent, offering an ‘amnesty’ service for hauliers whose trucks may have been entered by stowaways.

Operated by Oakland Invicta, a new company formed by Oakland International and Robert Hardy, it carries out a five-point check including thermal imaging and CO2 detection.

Robert Hardy, who is Oakland Invicta’s operations director, explains: “We’re not particularly looking for stowaways but we are looking for the contamination they have caused. Our clients rely on us to help protect their supply chain.  Clean cargo is given a HACCP certificate of compliance, to be presented on delivery, and contaminated cargo is quarantined.  It takes just 15 minutes to check a vehicle and many clients are considering making it a mandatory process for all inbound cargo.”

Oakland says that Border Force can only check around 10% of the 5,000 trucks a day that move from the Continent to the UK, although they still detected more than 23,000 migrants in a six month control period.  “Nobody knows how many more get through or how many import loads are affected by stowaway incursion. Cargo may be contaminated and should be professionally assessed before being allowed to enter the supply chain.,” Hardy said.

He says that drivers and or hauliers are under no obligation to inform their client when an incident has occurred, and if they are able to clean up the mess en route the client might never know.

Oakland International has re-conditioning loads contaminated by stowaways for more than 15 years and its Distress Load Management service is the preferred provider for many insurance companies, largely due to its 90% recovery rate.

The new Checkpoint is in recognition of the need for a more pro-active and preventative process.

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