Monitor the cold chain
Ensuring food safety
Perishable foods react sensitively to changes in temperature. While fruit and vegetables ripen quickly and barely survive the journey to the supermarket if they are stored and transported too warm, bacteria can multiply in meat and dairy products when they are warm. These in turn can cause serious illnesses. The cold chain must therefore be completely closed at all times, but this can only be ensured by continuous monitoring. This monitoring reveals weak points that must be eliminated immediately. Particular attention should therefore be paid to areas where ambient temperatures can fluctuate due to unchangeable influences: Windows and doors as well as transport vehicles or containers must be absolutely temperature-resistant. Testo measuring instruments ensure that the cold chain for foodstuffs is maintained.
The following devices are available for this purpose:
Thermometer for monitoring temperatures
Hygrometer for monitoring humidity
Data logger for storing and evaluating the measured values
Transport logger for logistics
Measuring devices for the cold chain
Storing and transporting food safely
Almost all countries must adhere to the HACCP concept, which stands for an internationally binding quality concept designed to ensure the safety of food. These guidelines also deal with the storage and transportation of food as well as the temperature to be maintained, which is not only relevant to safety but also influences the quality of the products. Food inspectors are responsible for checking the cold chain and ensuring that it has been fully maintained. They must repeatedly check the temperatures in the warehouse and during transportation and document the data. This provides proof of the cold chain and compliance with it.
This is a preventative measure, as food whose cold chain has been interrupted once will spoil. The interruption and its effects can no longer be reversed. It is important that critical control points are particularly noticed and inspected. Every company that deals with food must therefore have a self-monitoring system that scrutinizes critical points in advance. Within the control system, there are fixed limit values that must be adhered to and monitored.
This is where the measuring instruments from Testo come into play. Thermometers and hygrometers ensure consistent monitoring of the cold chain and can even be operated wirelessly via smartphone.
Examples of such measuring instruments are:
Insertion thermometer
Infrared thermometer
Data logger
Hygrometer
Transportation of food: Do not interrupt the cold chain
During transportation, meat, vegetables and fruit are removed from their previous storage location and placed in containers, crates or nets. They are loaded onto the transporter and run the risk of the cold chain being interrupted. It is also not only during loading that the cold chain can break. The transport vehicle's refrigeration unit can fail, which would result in the entire delivery spoiling. It is therefore essential that the transport driver receives immediate notification of a malfunction as soon as it becomes apparent. If the temperatures in the transport area rise, action must be taken before critical limits are exceeded. Temperature data loggers make food transportation safer and ensure an unbroken cold chain thanks to immediate countermeasures in the event of a fault or error.
Downloads: Measuring methods and devices for the cold chain
Overview: The most important measurement methods
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Brochure: Measuring technology cold chain
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