FoodTransport is a free new app from the University of Florida postharvest experts; it gives out brief but dependable recommendations for shipping perishable foods via truck or rail. The user-friendly app is the next step in a years-long project that started in 2017 when the UF/IFAS scientists began working on revising and digitizing a USDA handbook last updated in 1995. That work resulted in an authoritative smart document for food transportation industry professionals, “Protecting Perishable Foods During Transport by Truck and Rail,” and was completed in 2019. It serves as the source material for the new app.
Jeffrey Brecht, UF/IFAS professor of horticultural sciences, who assembled the project team: “The FoodTransport app helps users quickly filter to the guidelines for the exact commodity they’re transporting. It covers all perishable foods, and for the most part, the information provided in the app is the recommendations portion of the larger guide.”
The app is categorized by commodity type: fruits and vegetables, canned foods, dairy products, meat and seafood, and poultry and eggs. Food safety considerations are also featured.
Source: blogs.ifas.ufl.edu