Food Safety & HACCP
HACCP FOOD SAFETY MADE EASY
DAN data collection and alarm systems make maintenance of food safety for vulnerable people as easy as ABC.
Hospitals in NSW are currently completing the requirements for their HACCP audits with the need to use paper-based records.
everyone knows that record-keeping is an essential component of HACCP. ‘Paperless’ audits are now a reality.
TEMPERATURE MONITORING
Storage temperature is vital to so many products. Food, blood and some pharmaceuticals can all be susceptible to temperature damage and the consequences can be catastrophic.
Not only can poorly stored product by injurious or even fatal but it will cause your company and its reputation irreparable damage.
Contact DAN today on 1300 973 180 or email us at sales@danmonitoring to find out how you can achieve peace-of-mind and guarantee public safety with temperature monitoring.
TEMPERATURE DATA LOGGERS
DAN’s data logger range is capable of monitoring almost anything and the most frequent request we receive is to monitor temperature. Temperature data loggers record vital records for everything from food, to swimming pools right through to and including pharmaceuticals.
Recent developments by DAN enable efficient wireless monitoring over substantial distances. All data records from DAN temperature data loggers are sent to a website routinely so you will always have a record demonstrating your due diligence.
Temperature data loggers supplied by DAN have proven themselves absolutely reliable and durable as well as being inexpensive. Temperature data loggers send alarm notifications and enable corrective action to be noted.
Contact DAN today on 1300 973 180 to discover how easily and inexpensively temperature data loggers can be incorporated into your business.
TEMPERATURE DATA LOGGERS SAVE MONEY!
Most perishable items, particularly food, need to be stored at appropriate temperatures so as to maintain freshness and food safety.
Whenever a perishable food item held in storage goes outside acceptable temperature it is critical a temperature data logger sends an alarm AND records the level of temperature abuse and the time over which that abuse occurred.
Temperature data loggers supplied by Data Acquisition Networks provide this essential information. A microbiologist or laboratory can examine DAN data records and determine if the perishable food remains suitable for consumption, that is it is food safe and if so, whether it is advisable to reduce the remaining shelf life of the product.
Without this high quality of information, food needs to be thrown away.
Contact Data Acquisition Networks today to find out more about our wide range of temperature data loggers and to better understand how a little investment now can save a lot of money in the future.
Contact DAN on 1300 97 31 80
Temperature Monitoring for Food Safety
May 2nd 2011 – A major hospital within the NSW Hospital system has today passed its first paper-less food safety audit.
In late 2010 Data Acquisition Networks installed automated monitoring equipment into a major Sydney hospital and during the early part of 2011 has worked with hospital authorities to modify the system and data presentation to achieve a totally paper-less HACCP based food safety system.
The hospital has probes enabled on every cool room and freezer and through use of the DAN system, data is routinely collected and stored. Each day the hospital supervisor is required to logon to view the data. If either the supervisor does not logon or the cold room temperatures go outside preset levels, alarms are generated. In the event of an alarm the hospital is able to free-script corrective action.
Whilst the DAN system collects data 24/7 and makes the half hourly data available over the internet, the data can be presented in summary format and a sample is shown below.
|
Dan Server Data |
Hospital Coolroom | ||||
|
Date |
Time |
GMT |
Aver | Max | Min |
|
2011/4/30 |
11:55 |
+10:00 |
3.2 | 4.3 | 2.2 |
|
2011/4/30 |
23:55 |
+10:00 |
3.4 | 4.4 | 2.5 |
|
2011/5/1 |
11:55 |
+10:00 |
3.3 | 4.4 | 2.4 |
|
2011/5/1 |
23:54 |
+10:00 |
3.3 | 4.3 | 2.4 |
|
2011/5/2 |
11:54 |
+10:00 |
3.3 | 4.7 | 2.4 |
|
2011/5/2 |
13:54 |
+10:00 |
3.3 | 4.6 | 2.4 |
The table shows the average and the maximum and minimum temperature across 3 days, 2 reports for each day. If there is an issue of concern then the auditor and hospital officials can search behind the summary data and look at each half-hour interval.
Achieving a paper-less HACCP system does however require more than just collection of temperatures from probes in coolrooms. Receival temperatures from suppliers need to be monitored as does re-thermalised temperatures and sanitising details. Calibration records also need to be electronically maintained.
|
Log Reference |
Log Entry |
Product |
Cart # |
Start Temp |
Finish Temp |
|||||
|
Date |
Date |
Time |
deg C |
deg C |
||||||
|
11/05/02 |
2011/05/02 |
12:57 |
Lunch | Milk Based Dessert | 21 | 4.1 | 4.7 | |||
|
11/05/02 |
2011/05/02 |
12:56 |
Lunch | Potato | 21 | 4.1 | 73.1 | |||
|
11/05/02 |
2011/05/02 |
12:56 |
Lunch | Other main meal | 21 | 3.4 | 72.6 | |||
|
11/05/02 |
2011/05/02 |
08:19 |
Breakfast | Thickened Milk | 21 | 4.6 | 5.3 | |||
|
11/05/02 |
2011/05/02 |
08:19 |
Breakfast | Rolled Oats | 21 | 0.0 | 70.1 | |||
|
11/05/02 |
2011/05/02 |
06:44 |
Despatch/other | Vegetable Wash pH | N/R | 2.0 | N/R | |||
The table above shows a typical days input for meals served. Kitchen operators are able to enter data into the system with the minimum of training.
Recent enhancements by data Acquisition Networks allow for large numbers of recipes to be included.
Setting out on a journey to achieve world-class food safety is for some, a daunting thought! Electronically capturing data does not allow for manual modification of results however, when the challenge is accepted and DAN is working with you, the results can be outstanding.
Call Data Acquisition Networks today on 1300 973 180 to find out more about how you can achieve outstanding food safety through the adoption of paper-less HACCP monitoring systems.
TEMPERATURE MONITORING
Temperature monitoring for a whole range of materials is critical to usable life and stability.
Data Acquisition Networks provides cost effective and reliable temperature monitoring equipment and temperature data loggers that are easily calibrated and that routinely collect data for presentation and ease of access even without the need to visit the site.
DAN systems send alarms and allow free-scripting of corrective action messages and so intotal provide a data base of information and record-keeping that will satusfy the most meticulous of auditors.
Contact DAN today on 1300 973 180
CHANGES TO DAN TECHNICAL TEAM
During late 2010 Data Acquisition Networks made some important changes to the technical team as a part of our ongoing commitment to improve the quality of service to our valued customers.As we have moved into 2011 DAN now has a technical team in place with improved application understanding, a heightened awareness of the need to work closely with customers to achieve monitoring goals established by the customer, a commitment to ‘urgent customer response’ and a broader base of general technical experience and understanding.
We are now more confident than ever before that whilst the original thinking that led to the development of our revolutionary monitoring and data logging products remains in place, it has been supplemented with dedicated technical practitioners that will deliver outstanding results for our customers both now and into the future.
If the comments thus far coming from our customers are anything to go by, the changes we have made have been universally agreed to be outstanding!
If you would like to talk to us about your data logging needs please do not hesitate to contact us through sales@danmonitoring.com
Data Acquisition Networks supplies a range of monitoring units and data loggers that have application in food safety/HACCP, swimming pool monitoring, tank monitoring, temperature monitoring as well as a large number of other commercial uses.
FOOD SAFETY – 100% paper-free HACCP Records!
The DE20 developed by Data Acquisition Networks provides food businesses with the first-ever opportunity to totally replace paper-based HACCP recording systems with automated and electronic data collection.
Early prototypes of the DE20 have been significantly upgraded in 2011 to provide enhanced features and functionality. With easy installation of only one single wall-mounted unit a food business is now able to routinely collect temperature data for food storage as well as input data relevant to others critical control points. Summary reports and other new and ‘special features’ are available through use of the system. Data is accessed via the internet through security password and logon identification.
Contact DAN today on 1300 973 180 to find out more about this revolutionary, paperless instrument that takes away all the problems associated with manual based HACCP data collection systems.
Temperature Recording
Why is Temperature so critical to so many items?
Storage temperatures are critical to items such as food and blood. Food for example can have two sorts of temperature abuse.
QUALITY: The quality of some foods is severely lessened if storage temperatures are not maintained at the correct levels. Some foods are not freeze/thaw stable meaning if their storage temperature is too severe and they freeze, they will not have the same consistency in use after being thawed. Some made-up gravies and sauces are good examples. Conversely, some food that should be kept frozen will deteriorate if allowed to thaw and then re-frozen. Ice cream is the classical example used by most people to illustrate this temperature problem. Ice cream is produced with over-run or aeration and then immediately frozen. If allowed to thaw or melt the aeration collapses and when re-frozen the product does not have the same consistency and mouth feel most consumers associate with a perfect ice cream product.
SAFETY: Of greater importance are the safety issues for food not stored at correct temperatures. The degree of safety concern can vary from food type to food type depending upon a number of factors but specifically depending upon the nature of the food and its ‘friendliness’ to bacteria. Tomato sauce for example is an acid-based product that is an unfriendly environment for bacteria. If left unrefrigerated, tomato sauce will suffer from what is commonly referred to as ‘black-neck’ but the product itself is unlikely to carry and grow high levels of harmful bacteria on the basis the acid naturally occuring in tomatoes provides a hostile environment for bacteria. Milk, fresh seafood and chicken however are examples of food products that provide an environment conducive to the growth of bacterial or microbial contamination. At certain temperatures food products can incubate bacteria resulting in rapid growth of sometimes deadly toxins.
Temperature recording for food storage is an essential part of any food safety or HACCP plan. Not only does temperature recording provide a permanent record of when temperature abuse occurs but if abuse occurs it is the relationship between time and temperature that becomes critical in determining the suitability of the food for human consumption.
Temperature recording for food is also critical at the cooking or re-heating stage where the core or deep-meat temperature of the food needs to reach certain temperatures to eliminate bacteria in some instances.
Data Acquisition Networks (DAN) is one of the very few companies that provide a means for routine and continuous collection of data records and in the event of a mishap, provides a record of both time and temperature.
Visit www.danmonitoring.com to find out more or better still . . . . . .give DAN a call on 1300 973 180.
HACCP
Every HACCP program requires attention to record-keeping. Data enables operators and those that certify HACCP programs to be certain critical control points are being monitored and that performance is within specified tolerances.
The problem with manual records is that people instinctively put them last when things are busy and it is when things are busy that achievement of specified tolerances comes under pressure. Automated data collection systems have historically suffered from the problem that ‘no-one looks at the data’. . . . . . . . . until now!
Data Acquisition Networks has developed a data collection system for HACCP that both automatically collects routine data and also facilitates the manual entry of data when no automated system is appropriate. Unlike other systems however the DAN HACCP system has fail-safes that ensure compliance. If supervisers do not login daily to view data alarms are generated. If manual data is not entered by prescribed times then alarms are generated. If CCP’s go outside prescribed tolerances . . . . . . alarms are generated. For each alarm DAN has inbuilt into the system the opportunity for a corrective action to be noted and if no corrective action is noted within a designated interval from the alarm being generated . . . . . . an alarm notification notifying the absence of a corrective action is generated.
The DAN HACCP system is all about ensuring food safety and not tolerating neglect or indifference to HACCP.