In order to ensure the quality of the milk at origin, it is essential to adopt the maximum hygiene measures to avoid sources of contagion and this involves maintaining the health of the cattle, the cleanliness of the animals and of course the hygiene of the machinery and milking parlors as well as pitchers and utensils. The temperature of the milk in the farm will be lowered to 6º C in the two hours following milking, when the germicidal phase of the lactenins is still active.

The proliferation of germs is so great that at a temperature of 22°C the number of germs/ml increases from 6,500 to 25,000 in only 4 hours, reaching 11 million in 24 hours.

On the other hand, at a temperature of 6º C, in the first four hours the germs are reduced to 5,000 and in 8 hours they increase to 12,000.

When milk contamination is high, it is easy to detect it with pH indicator paper due to the acidification of milk during the transformation of lactose into lactic acid. This milk will not withstand boiling or pasteurization so there is no choice but to discard it.

It is common for farms to have cold storage rooms for the immediate preservation of milk, but in any case, the milk must be stored in a cooler for a longer period of time.

The temperature at which it is stored will determine the speed with which the milk must be collected for transport to the factory. In cases where it is stored at 8 to 6º C, we will collect the milk in a maximum of 12 hours, and if it drops to 2º or 4º C, the milk can be collected the day after milking.

For all these reasons, it is vital to control the temperature from the origin and to transport the milk as soon as without breaking the cold chain in order to apply treatments in the factory that will make it more stable and suitable for mass consumption.

The Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food together with the Ministry of Social Rights, Consumption and Agenda 2030 have modified Royal Decree 1528/2012, which establishes the rules applicable to animal by-products and products not intended for human consumption.

This affects, among other aspects, the requirements for the transport of SANDACH and will establish a greater regulatory definition, greater control and a more effective supervision of processes and sanitary regulations by central government authorities.

First, the traceability of by-products not intended for human consumption will be ensured with the creation of a Registry of SANDACH Establishments and a National Registry of SANDACH Movements, where the data declared by operators involved in the movement of these materials will be verified.

Commercial documents must detail information on the origin, loading, transportation, and destination of by-products, and operators are held responsible for ensuring the accuracy of the data provided.

In addition, the possibility of electronic signatures on commercial documents will be introduced, and administrative management processes will be simplified to adapt to the foreseeable growth in movement documentation.

The incorporation of alternative official numbers assigned by EU regulations, such as the Register of Livestock Farms (REGA) and the Register of Establishments that Deliver Products for Animal Feed (SILUM), will also be permitted. These measures will ensure compliance with the regulations that establish the mandatory use of tankers, trailers, and containers exclusively for the transportation of food liquids for human consumption, separating those intended for the transportation of products and by products not intended for human consumption in order to avoid risks to public and animal health, as well as cross-contamination between different types of consumer materials.

This regulation strengthens our way of working and consolidates our commitment to a way of understanding quality based on traceability, computerized process management, and excellence in quality control.

This week is the end of the extension to upgrade to the second generation intelligent tachograph for all trucks engaged in international transport. Therefore, this is the end of analogue and digital tachographs for this routes.

This device is mandatory for all vehicles registered after August 2023 and all trucks in Rios Sangiao's food liquid transport fleet are already equipped with second generation smart tachographs.

What is new in second generation smart tachographs?

Positioning

The new smart tachographs are EGNOS compatible with the European global positioning network Galileo, in addition to any other systems that may be available, and autonomously record country changes and loading or unloading points. Previous tachographs only recorded the position at the beginning and end of the day and every 3 hours of driving.

Loading and unloading

The driver shall be able to confirm in real time information that the vehicle is being loaded or unloaded or that a simultaneous loading/unloading operation is taking place. This information shall be entered before the vehicle leaves the site.

New interface and symbology

Higher storage capacity of up to 56 days.

Increased security

The tachograph incorporates anti-tampering measures such as satellite signal authentication and internal sensors.

Versatility

New changes to the legislation will be implemented through software updates.

In short, the end of analogue and digital tachographs and the new second-generation intelligent tachographs will improve safety and competitiveness by ensuring responsible driving and compliance with legislation by all players in the sector. Aware of this improvement, we have already adopted this system in our fleet in which the optimisation of routes, breaks and traceability processes are essential aspects for our quality control and compliance with our objectives.

The transport of glucose is a product in our catalogue that a priori is not associated with the transport of a food liquid; probably due to its viscosity or its specific industrial use, but the use of this sweetener by the food industry has made its implementation in our fleet a success.

The transport of liquid glucose in tanker trucks requires special care due to the characteristics of the product and the conditions necessary to maintain its quality and safety. Liquid glucose, being a sweet and highly hygroscopic solution, is susceptible to changes in its chemical composition if not handled properly. Therefore, tank trucks must be designed with materials that do not react with the substance, such as stainless steel or specific plastics that prevent contamination.

The loading and unloading of liquid glucose into a road tanker must be carried out carefully and according to specific procedures to ensure the safety of the product, personnel and the environment. The following are some of the most important precautions to be taken:

Cleaning and disinfection of the truck.

Before loading liquid glucose, the road tanker must be completely clean and free of contaminants. This is especially important if the vehicle has previously transported other products, to avoid unwanted chemical reactions or crosscontamination.

It is very important to remember also that vehicles intended for the transport of liquids for foodstuffs may not transport liquids not intended for human consumption.

Temperature check

Liquid glucose for transport must be within the appropriate temperature range, which shall be between 15°C and 25°C. If the temperature is higher or lower, it may affect the quality of the product and make loading or unloading more difficult.

Inspection of valves and connections

Before loading or unloading, we check that all valves, hoses and connections are in good condition. The hoses are corrosion resistant and are specifically designed to handle food liquids of this type.

Use of personal protective equipment (PPE)

As in any other industrial activity, personnel involved in loading and unloading are provided with adequate protective equipment in compliance with the regulations on risk prevention.

Spill prevention

Before loading or unloading glucose, we check that the connections are tight and that the pumping equipment is working properly. This minimises the riskof spillage, loss of material and unnecessary time.

Pressure control

Maintaining the proper pressure inside the tanker during the process is key. Pressure must be monitored to avoid accidents or malfunctioning of valves and hoses.

Traceability and documentation

The entire loading and unloading process is recorded, ensuring product traceability. This includes verifying the exact quantities, temperature and other important parameters, as well as having documentation to certify that the procedure has been carried out correctly.

During the transport of liquid glucose

It is crucial that it is carried out under controlled temperature conditions. Liquid glucose is sensitive to heat and may suffer alterations in viscosity or quality. It is generally transported at temperatures between 15°C and 25°C, to avoid alteration of its properties. At temperatures above 30°C, liquid glucose may start to become more viscous, which makes it difficult to handle and may affect its quality. In
addition, excessive temperatures can cause partial caramelisation of the glucose, which changes its composition and makes it unsuitable for use in food or industrial applications.

Rios Sangiao's tankers are adequately insulated so that temperature variations do not exceed 2° in adverse external conditions such as heat waves or cold on long journeys of several days.

For all these reasons, liquid glucose manufacturers have in Rios Sangiao an ally to take their products to their customers with all the guarantees of quality preservation.

On our website we have plenty of information about the qualities and service we provide for the transport of olive oil, of which Spain is the world's leading producer, exceeding one million three hundred thousand tonnes per year. However, the truth is that for some time now, most probably influenced by the rise in olive oil prices, sunflower oil has closed the gap in sales and consequently this change in consumption has also been felt in transport.

In the sunflower oil scenario, we are left with just under half a million tonnes per year, with Ukraine as the world's largest producer. However, as we said before, the movement of sunflower oil experienced a very notable growth during 2024 due to the rise in prices following the poor olive harvest.

The care to be taken into account when transporting sunflower oil is quite similar to that of olive oil, as it is an oil for food use, in which we must avoid certain scenarios such as oxidation of the product, which undergoes chemical changes on contact with air that could cause deterioration in its quality. In this way, we load, transport and unload the oil, minimising its exposure to air and at a low temperature so that its resistance to oxidation is greater. It is also important throughout the process to avoid exposure and contact with metals such as copper or iron, which would also increase the oxidation process.

The stable maintenance of the temperature and the complete cleaning and drying of the tanks are essential to avoid processes such as hydrolysis (decomposition of fats into fatty acids) or the proliferation of microorganisms.

All the washing tasks carried out before and after each load guarantee the absence of cross-contamination and at Rios Sangiao we keep a record of the cleaning carried out in each tank, its location and its certification.

In our stainless steel isothermal tanks exclusively for food products, the transport of sunflower oil is carried out maintaining the quality of the product that enters the tank until it is unloaded.

We have landed in 2025 and we already have all our tanks on the road after the Christmas break during which we have been doing so many things that we really shouldn't call it a break.

First of all, we have taken advantage of the fact that many of our trucks were at home to carry out more exhaustive maintenance and overhauls than usual so that they could start the new year in perfect condition. We have also gathered them together and we have done a photo session to show you part of our fleet, our new isothermal tanks reinforced with new temperature measurement systems and IR homologation.

And these photos are in addition to the second and no less important part of our news, which is nothing more and nothing less than our brand new website. We are delighted with this new version, more complete in the description of all the services we can offer you, with a blog in which we tell you our news and adapted to mobile devices. This redesign is a clear step forward in modernising and facilitating our corporate communication.

With all this we continue to move forward in the modernisation of our company in all areas (marketing, management, media, traffic, quality...) that results in the best service and an optimal experience for our customers from the first contact with us.

You can see that after the draw we are still here 🤩. And the truth is that we see as difficult that any draw will make us stop doing what we at Rios Sangiao have been doing for three generations.

We feel fortunate to be able to dedicate ourselves to the same thing that our grandparents and parents dedicated themselves to and that we are passionate about today. And obviously none of this would be possible if our customers were not there, placing their trust in our work every day.

So, taking advantage of these Christmas 🎄and New Year's Eve dates🎆, we would like to congratulate all the teams we work with, the people who collaborate with us, those who make up Rios Sangiao and of course all our customers.

Happy Holidays and Happy 2025 🌟.

We are about to end the year and at this time it is time to take stock of what 2024 has meant for Rios Sangiao and for the transport of liquid foodstuffs in general.

This year has seen a reduction in the alcohol rate for transport professionals and for our part we have reduced it to zero by not allowing our drivers to consume alcohol during working hours.

We have seen the first hydrogen trucks, still in testing, from Daimler and Toyota, which we believe can be the real alternative to fossil fuels. And this brings us to another missed milestone of 2024 which is the electrification of fleets and the very poor geographic spread of electric charging points for trucks that has yet to get off the ground.

The sector has been in turmoil this year, with strikes on several occasions, and is still hovering over our heads with early retirements looming.

The shortage of professional drivers has been a constant in 2024, which looks set to continue in the coming year and brings value to companies that are committed to retaining talent with committed people.

Finally and on a positive note, the market trend in the road transport sector is positive and is expected to grow by 0.4% in the coming years.

The new Internal Market Information System (IMI) platform has been mandatory for posted drivers since Wednesday, February 2. Who is legislating this application? Which companies are obliged to use it? What are the characteristics of this system? Keep reading, because in this post we tell you all about it!

Legislation of the new IMI platform

Previously, transport companies making international trips from Spain had to register with the national platforms of each European country.

With the implementation of the Mobility Package approved in July 2020, this registration is now managed by the European Commission. As of February 2, each company will have to register in the IMI European Platform and complete all the data related to each trip. All previous national registers will also be repealed as of this date.

Which companies will have to use the new IMI platform?

Companies performing transport services in European countries and holding an EU license will be obliged to use the new platform. The obligation is independent of the country of origin, whether it is a Member State or a European Economic Area country, and whether or not it has transposed the European Parliament's Directive 1057/2020 on the posting of drivers. From May, it will also be mandatory for companies with vehicles weighing 2.5 tons or more.

In total, the 33,000 Spanish companies that carry out international transport will start using the new IMI platform. In this way, they will no longer have to register their trips on the national platforms of most European countries.

What is the IMI platform like?

The new registration platform is multilingual and intuitive. In addition, they will be able to receive requests for documents, electronically, from the control authorities of the countries, in case of possible inspections.

The movement declarations registered from the application can have a duration of up to 6 months and can be modified, cancelled or renewed. Each driver must have a copy, physical or digital, of this declaration, together with the supporting document for the transport in question and the corresponding tachograph records. It is possible to print the declarations from the platform or send them by e-mail to the driver.

In the registration of each trip, the company must enter in the application the data related to:

• The transport authorization
• The vehicle
• The driver
• The start and end dates of the trip
• The transport manager's data

What are the implications of the new registration system?

This new way of controlling international transports, together with the new cabotage rules, affects letterbox companies and competition from offshore companies with more advantageous wage conditions. Thanks to the new legislation, these drivers will be paid the minimum wage of the countries in which they carry out each transport. Transit and bilateral transports are excluded.

Thanks to the mandatory registration of each transport on the IMI platform, the control of the activity is more effective than with the previous national platforms imposed in countries such as Germany or France.

Now that we have done this review of the main aspects of the IMI platform, we can establish that its objectives (along with the other measures of the EU Mobility Package) are to improve the European transport market. By means of:

• Fairer and more harmonized rules in the social, labour and fiscal fields.
• The reduction of the distortions that until now occurred among the competition.

It’s well known that every food liquids transport company, including us, makes a huge amount of kilometres. The transport of milk, juices, wines, water or even the transport of glucose offers a big quantity of fields to work on and business opportunities in a very productive territory with that type of food liquids.

For you to have an idea of the quantity of the services that we cover: if we sum the kilometres that make each day every single one of our trucks, we could go around the Earth covering its 44.000kms of circumference. Only in one day!

Our fleet of more that 80 trucks works every day around Europe and that translates as a huge distance travelled each day.

And now thinking in galactic distances, only one of our tanks would take only two years to reach the moon. At the time when there is a road to the moon there we go! (because it’s not going to be an isothermal tank…).