Tanker Cleaning Guidelines and Wash Facility Audit Program

Transport routierThe Juice Products Association (JPA) and representatives of the juice industry developed tanker wash guidelines for tankers hauling juice and juice beverages. The “JPA Model Tanker Wash Guidelines for the Fruit Juice Industry” were developed to assist the fruit juice industry in maintaining the sanitation and safety of its products during transport. The JPA Tanker Wash Guidelines are available through the documents section of this website or a copy may be obtained via the JPA website. The Guidelines define terms, describe wash protocols in terms of the most recently hauled product type and include a list of acceptable food materials that may be transported by food-grade tankers. These Guidelines are strongly supported by the fruit juice industry. To continue doing business with juice industry, tanker transportation companies, and tanker washing and sanitation facilities will need to comply with tanker washing and sanitation procedures specified in the JPA Guidelines.

In an effort to provide a standard method for auditing tanker wash facilities, members of the Florida Citrus Processors Association (FCPA) developed a program for implementing standardized audits of tanker wash facilities using the JPA Tanker Wash Guidelines. Key elements of the standardized audit program are the Standardized Audit Form, Standardized Audit Protocols, list of audit firms and the list of successfully audited washing facilities. The Standardized Audit Form is available on this website in the documents archive. The list of designated audit firms and wash facilities are also available. Tanker washing/sanitation facilities will be required to achieve a “Meets Requirements” or “Meets Requirements with Conditions” rating using the standardized audit process. Facilities will be required to obtain successful audits at least every twelve months. The use of the audit firms and standardized audits are seen as a mechanism for minimizing audit redundancy by multiple juice and beverage companies.

A white paper, “Standardization of Tanker Wash Protocols and Wash Station Audits,” developed by FCPA describes the necessity for utilizing the JPA Tanker Wash Guidelines and standardized audit program to continue to produce and transport safe, sanitary, and secure juice products. The white paper is available in the documents portion of this site.

Standardized protocols for washing tankers and wash facility auditing, coupled with voluntary industry compliance with these programs, are seen as keys to meeting regulatory requirements for safe juice and beverage transportation. These programs will be identified to both state and federal regulatory agencies as effective mechanisms that provide the necessary oversight for monitoring safe liquid foods transportation.

The management of this website has transitioned from FCPA to JPA. JPA will maintain the website and serve as an information resource to its members, tanker wash facilities and the juice industry. For additional information on JPA, please visit the JPA website, www.juiceproducts.org.