The Food and Drug Administration is proposing a new rule to prevent the contamination of food during transit, Reuters reported.

The rule will require food companies who ship, hold and otherwise transport food, to properly refrigerate food, clean vehicles between loads and protect food during transportation to prevent contamination.

The new rule is a part of the 2011 Food Safety Modernization Act, which attempts to prevent contaminations from source to market "as food is often sent out to hundreds of points in a matter of hours or days," the AP reported.

The rule is the "seventh and final plank" of the sweeping food safety initiative created to reduce food-borne illnesses, Reuters reported.

The new sanitation standards will be applied to vehicles and transportation equipment, transportation operations, information exchange, training and records.

"This proposed rule will help reduce the likelihood of conditions during transportation that can lead to human or animal illness or injury," Michael Taylor, the FDA's deputy commissioner for foods and veterinary medicine, told Reuters.

The rules will not apply to shippers, receivers or carriers whose operations generate less than $500,000 in annual sales. Food that is fully packaged and stable, and live food animals and raw agricultural commodities transported by farms are also excluded from coverage.

The proposed new food safety rule is open for public comment through May 31, Reuters reported.