21 U.S.C. § 350e — Sanitary transportation practices

(a) Definitions: (1) "Bulk vehicle" includes tank trucks, hopper trucks, rail tank cars, hopper cars, cargo tanks, portable tanks, freight containers, hopper bins, and any other vehicle where food is shipped in bulk and touches the vehicle directly. (2) "Transportation" means any movement of goods in commerce by motor vehicle or rail vehicle. (b) Regulations: The Secretary must issue rules requiring shippers, motor and rail carriers, receivers, and others who transport food to use sanitary practices, so food isn't transported in conditions that could make it adulterated. (c) Contents: These rules must (1) set appropriate practices for: (A) sanitation; (B) packaging, isolation, and other protective steps; (C) limits on which vehicles may be used; (D) information a person arranging food transport must give a carrier, and information a manufacturer must give a carrier or someone supplying a tank or bulk vehicle; and (E) recordkeeping. The rules must also (2) include a list of nonfood products that could make food adulterated if shipped in the same bulk vehicle afterward, and a separate list of nonfood products that could do the same if shipped in the same non-bulk motor or rail vehicle at the same time or afterward. (d) Waivers: (1) The Secretary may waive any requirement of this section for a class of people, vehicles, food, or nonfood products, if the waiver won't make food transport unsafe for humans or animals and won't go against the public interest. (2) Any waiver, and the reasons for it, must be published in the Federal Register. (e) Preemption: (1) A state or local rule about food transportation is overridden if (A) it's impossible to comply with both it and this section (or its regulations), or (B) the state or local rule blocks accomplishing what this section (or its regulations) requires. (2) This preemption applies to transportation happening on or after the regulations under subsection (b) take effect. (f) Assistance of other agencies: The Secretaries of Transportation and Agriculture, the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency, and other federal agency heads must, when asked and if they have the resources, help the Secretary carry out this section.