Efento / Applications / Food & agriculture / Warehouses and cold stores – proper storage of products According to the European Commission (FUSIONS, 2016), about 20% of food produced is wasted every year in the European Union, and losses are up to 30% globally (FAO, 2019). This is one of the biggest problems in the food industry that causes social, economic and environmental damage.
Improper handling of the product not only causes financial losses for producers, transport companies, sellers and their customers, but can also be dangerous to human life or health. Control of ambient conditions is particularly important in meat processing, where due to the increased ambient temperature, harmful bacteria multiply faster, the consumption of which may cause food poisoning.
During storage and transport, two basic factors must be observed: technical parameters of storage conditions and requirements regarding hygiene and sanitation, while ensuring that food products will be delivered to the consumer before the date of minimum durability. Storage is of great importance for the health safety of manufactured products due to the need to ensure appropriate storage conditions.
Efento Cloud is a solution designed for food warehouses and cold stores with the need to monitor temperature and humidity in tens or even hundreds of points, as well as for smaller facilities situated in dispersed locations e.g. chain of stores. The platform can gather information from any locations, and the authorized staff can access it via a web browser. The functions include viewing the data, generating reports from any period of time, configuring SMS/email alarms.
The loggers are accurate and reliable, durable and easy to maintain.
Secure software with encrypted connections – proven in over 300 large installations with up to 1000 sensors.
Manufacturer’s warranty 2 years.
Refrigerated food warehouses are a set of cold rooms designed for storing perishable foodstuffs like meat, poultry or dairy.
The most important factors affecting the so-called food deterioration undoubtedly include temperature and humidity. Temperature influences the intensity of life processes occurring in foodstuffs and the development of microorganisms. In accordance with sanitary and epidemiological regulations all perishable food should be stored below 7°C.
Excessive humidity causes moisturizing, heating and clumping of food, and reduces the quality of packaging by sealing bags and rusting cans.
In turn, too low humidity leads to drying out, shrinkage of raw materials and formation of excessive losses. Indirectly, humidity also negatively affects stored food, creating favorable conditions for the development of microorganisms.
Freezing food is considered the most appropriate way to preserve it. As a result of this process, maximum durability is extended. A characteristic feature of frozen products is the presence of water contained in them in a predominant percentage in the crystalline state (above 80% of its content). The concept of frozen food is used for a limited group of products (mainly meat and poultry), which are kept at a constant temperature of -10°C and lower during storage and sale. Products with a temperature of –18°C or below, with minimal fluctuations, to maintain their quality during storage, transport and sale, are referred to as deep-frozen products (storage in -30°C or below).
Uncooled food warehouses are used to store raw materials and products that can be stored in ambient conditions (temperature, humidity) without visible quality changes. The following warehouses are separated in this group: dry products, wines and spirits, beer and beverages, potatoes and root vegetables.
Equally important factor affecting the proper storage of food is the air quality in which the products are stored. Sensors allow remote measurement of all these values and wireless data transmission directly to persons supervising warehouses.
In the companies there are rooms such as server rooms, archives and as well as boiler rooms and technical rooms. These places must be secured against water, which may result in data loss as well as financial and image losses.
These rooms can be monitored using remote systems such as flood sensors, both the entire surface and the designated area.
Products:
Temperature and humidity monitoring during preparation and storage of food products.
Check it yourself. The starter kit includes all you need to test our solution:
- Efento Gateway
- Bluetooth Low Energy temperature and humidity sensor
- Unlimited Efento Cloud access
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