DOT clarifies hours of service rule for fresh-cut produce
Fresh-cut fruits and vegetables, as with whole fresh produce commodities, will be eligible for the agricultural exemptions that apply to the Department of Transportation’s hours-of-service regulations for truck drivers.
A Nov. 24 interim final rule, effective Dec. 9, clarifies the definition of “non-processed food” used to define “agricultural commodities” for the purposes of hours of service regulations.
Under current regulations, drivers transporting non-processed agricultural commodities, including livestock, from their source to a location within 150 air miles, during harvest and planting seasons as defined by each state, are exempt from the hours of service requirements.
The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration clarifies that “non-processed food” includes fruits, vegetables, and cereal and oilseed crops which have been minimally processed by cleaning, cooling, trimming, cutting, shucking, chopping, bagging or packaging to facilitate transport by commercial motor vehicles.
The rule is a win for the produce industry, Tracey Chow, federal government affairs specialist at Western Growers, said in an e-mail.
“The rule resolves one of our biggest concerns we’ve long conveyed to FCMSA, which is that commodities like bagged lettuce, baby carrots, or sliced apples are treated differently than ‘whole’ commodities under current regulations,” she said. “This new rule affirms that commodities that undergo minimal processing will also be considered ‘non-processed’ and eligible for hours-of-service agricultural exemptions.”
Chow said that will better align FMCSA’s treatment of fresh produce with the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s policies and ensure shipments of perishable product are delivered timely and efficiently.
Fruits and vegetables that are jarred, canned, dried or frozen, don’t qualify under the agricultural commodities exemption provision in the hours-of-service regulation.
The agency said said it doesn’t track how many drivers use the agricultural commodity exemptions now, but said the new rule could increase the exemptions claimed.
