testo 176 T2 - Temperature data logger

Monitoring and documentation of the temperature in cold rooms

Many foods and drugs have to be stored within a specific cold temperature range. This can be done in individual cooled store rooms, but also in specialised cold stores or cold warehouses with high-rack facilities. The temperature must be continuously documented in all these cold storage facilities, because strict rules apply to quality management in both the food and drugs industries.

Data loggers are usually installed at the so-called critical control points (CCPs) of the cold room, in order to identify any possible temperature deviations and to introduce appropriate countermeasures. Critical points are for instance doors or passages through to other temperature areas within a warehouse.

Temperature monitoring in deep-freeze rooms for foods

There are a huge number of facilities where (deep-)frozen food has to be stored. These range from individual deep-freeze rooms on small food producers' sites (e.g. butchers), at restaurants and supermarkets, via deep-freeze rooms in the food industry, through to specialised cold stores / deep-freeze warehouses with high-rack facilities. The temperature must be continuously documented in all these facilities. In Europe, only temperature loggers may be used in this process which are approved according to EN 12830.

Typically, data loggers are used to measure the air temperature in storage facilities of this kind. The measuring instrument is installed in the deep-freeze room – as far as possible at critical points such as doors or cooling plants – and records the temperature data at defined intervals (typically: 15 minutes).
The recorded data can then be analysed and archived using special software.

Monitoring and documentation of storage temperature

Correct compliance with storage temperatures is an important prerequisite for the quality assurance of many products, e.g. in the area of food and pharmaceutical products.

As a general rule, data loggers are used to do this. They automatically check and document the profile of the ambient temperature and thus make a crucial contribution to verifiable preservation of product quality.
Viewing breaches of limit values directly on the display means you can respond quickly to temperature deviations. In addition, with the help of the configuration and read-out software, customer-specific measurement configurations can be carried out and recorded measurement data can be both analysed and archived.
The use of external penetration probes means that the core temperature of goods can also be reliably monitored.

Monitoring and documentation of transport temperature

For all goods which react sensitively to temperature fluctuations or have to be stored within a predefined temperature range, uninterrupted measurement data recording and documentation play a major role.
Incorrect temperature conditions during transport can lead to major losses of quality, including the total loss of value of the products that require monitoring.
Using a data logger, shipments can be checked for compliance with the specified temperature ranges and the data can then be read, analysed and archived by means of special software.