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Protect Your Catch: Best Practices for Safe and Secure Seafood Transport

Fish is a global vital source of natural protein. Its highly perishable nature requires an efficient shipping supply chain to ensure it reaches the customer before spoiling. Unfortunately, around 20% of fresh fish products sold worldwide spoil before reaching their destination. To maintain the quality and freshness of seafood, it must be frozen or cooked within a few days of catching and shipped under continuous cold chain conditions. Properly securing and protecting seafood shipments is also crucial to minimize losses. These challenges continue to pose significant issues for the seafood industry, which is working tirelessly to implement robust solutions to preserve the quality and freshness of their products.

A CNBC article from March 2023 highlights the increase in cargo theft across the US, with food and beverage products being the most targeted items. Seafood has emerged as a hot commodity for cargo thieves, along with meat, electronics, alcohol, and clothing. According to FBI statistics, cargo theft costs the trucking industry and retailers an estimated $15 to $30 billion annually. CargoNet data reveals a 50% rise in beverage and food cargo theft in January and February 2023, resulting in an average loss of $214,000. This alarming trend underscores the importance of implementing effective security measures to safeguard high-value shipments and reduce losses.

In today’s feature, TydenBrooks, as leading industry experts, details our top-tier strategies for safeguarding seafood shipments. Read on to learn about our proven methods for monitoring temperature fluctuations, detecting unauthorized door access, and tracking cargo to ensure secure delivery to the final destination.

Best Practices

Maintaining the seafood cold chain is critical to ensure that fish and other seafood products arrive fresh and of the highest quality at their destination. This involves maintaining a consistent temperature from the moment the seafood is caught, typically at 32°Fahrenheit (0°C), until it is delivered to the customer. Proper temperature monitoring and shipment security are crucial components of the cold chain process, helping to prevent spoilage and reduce the risk of contamination or theft.

To prevent cargo theft, contamination, and loss of seafood, shippers and carriers should follow these best practices:

1. Verify the identity and credentials of carriers and brokers before hiring them or releasing cargo to them.
2. Use encrypted communication channels and secure data storage to protect sensitive information from cyberattacks.
3. Choose the right packaging and labeling materials that will protect your seafood from damage and contamination.
4. Monitor the temperature of your seafood during transit to prevent spoilage and bacterial growth, but do not solely rely on the refrigerated trucks temperature monitoring system.
5. Use connected GPS tracking systems that will allow you to track your shipments and verify their location and status.
6. Avoid leaving loaded trailers unattended, especially in high-risk areas such as truck stops, unsecured parking lots, or drop yards.
7. Implement security measures that will prevent unauthorized access or interference with your shipments.
8. Report any suspicious activity or incidents to law enforcement and insurance companies as soon as possible.

TydenBrooks' Solutions

  1. Utilize our KTC void security tape on cartons to prevent pilferage and keep frozen seafood insulated to maintain its temperature.
  2. Designed for use in cold chain and asset monitoring applications, include our TydenTrackers, the TB-HGD4 or TB-HGR4, in conjunction with our E4BL TydenTags for all your shipments.
  • Through our TrackSecure platform you have 24/7 access to the refrigeration stats throughout a shipments entire route. Learn more here: https://youtu.be/fx2Wf5Msc8s
  • Any breaches are easy to detect, as is the length of time the temperature or humidity was affected with ‘live’ seamless reporting of location, temperature, humidity, light, movement, and shock levels.
  • These “active” devices can be embedded into the freight including cartons to provide instant visibility when a breach is made at the case level.
  1. Round-out your barrier security measures with our industry gold standard ISO 17712 high security 1/8” Ez Loc Plus or our high security SnapTracker Bolt seal.

Securing the World

By following these best practices, shippers and carriers of seafood can reduce the risk of cargo theft and ensure their shipments reach their destination in optimal condition and quality. With a TydenBrooks multi-layered security solution, you can remove the “blind spots” in your supply chain to actively curtail incursions, and proactively respond should there be a breach. To implement a TydenBrooks cargo security solution, contact us at 1-800-458-7325 (SEAL) or [email protected] and speak with one of our supply chain security experts today.

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