A curtain-sider carrying 33 pallets of spices packed in glass jars reached a UK distribution centre with five pallets leaning and stretch wrap torn after motorway braking. Glass jars fail quietly: one cracked jar inside a sealed carton spreads glass fragments and spice through everything around it. We rebuilt 27 pallets fully and 3 partially, screened the load for breakage, and all 33 pallets went on to the retail chain.
Situation
Spices in jars combine three risks in one load: glass fragility, food-contact product, and fine loose contents. When stacks lean, the danger is not just a falling pallet. A single jar cracking under pressure lets spice sift into the carton, and glass with it, so damage travels invisibly through cartons that still look sealed. The receiving centre halted the unload as soon as staff saw leaning stacks and torn wrap, because with this product an optimistic guess is how contaminated goods reach shelves.
What we did
Inspection mapped the trailer: stack stability, carton alignment, wrap condition and any sign of broken glass or spilled product. Then the rebuild: damaged wrap off, cartons re-laid layer by layer in the correct pattern, fresh wrap on. 3 pallets were untouched.
The critical step was the post-rebuild product check. Cartons from affected pallets were examined for cracked jars, spilled spice and glass contamination, and anything compromised was separated so it could not sit next to clean stock, let alone travel with it. The clean load was re-spaced in the trailer for a safe unload.
Outcome
All 33 pallets returned to distribution, with the small quantity of compromised product removed and documented. The delivery reached the retailers and wholesalers it was meant for, without glass riding along.
What this means for shippers
With glass-packed food, a load shift is a contamination event until proven otherwise. The rework is worth exactly as much as the screening that follows it. Both are part of the service described in pallet re-stow and load rearrangement. Glass-packed load in trouble? Use the contact form, we run 24/7 from Milton Keynes.
