There are principally three ways in which companies ‘log’ or record storage temperatures for food. Two of the ways simply do not work!

The first is by asking or instructing a member of staff to routinely go to each storage area several times a day and write down the temperature of the storage area as shown on a dial above the door. There are many reasons why this does not work and is an absolutely unreliable process everywhere it is in use. Staff tend to do this when they have time which means that they record the temperature when things are not busy and these are also the times when people are not going in and out of the storage area and it is the ingress of warm are on these occasions that is one of the primary reasons for storage temperature corruption. Also some staff simply write down the temperature they believe their boss would like to see ot what history tells them will cause less disruption. General staff are not food safety experts and they do not know the impact of storage temperature on food product.

The second flawed method is to install a non-interactive data logger. A chart recorder or some other similar device which collects the information but sadly, as pressure builds for more productive output no one ever looks at it until there is a problem!

Data Acquisition Networks provides a range of interactive temperature data loggers for food storage take temperature readings all day every day whether the business is business or not and which send alarms when temperature goes astray. DAN temperature data loggers produce a log of alarms sent and through a website provide visibility to supervisory staff even if they are hundreds of kilometers away.

DAN provides temperature loggers for food storage that work! 

It is most often the case that what we need to monitor is remote to where we work. Data Acquisition Networks remote monitoring units bring the data to your desk routinely and reliably. Whether you want to monitor the temperature of a motor, the depth of a dam or the salinity of an estuary, DAN remote monitoring units can do the job for you inexpensively.

DAN monitoring units have been designed to be able to receive input from any industrial probe. Each unit has 6 analogue inputs and 1 counter input and offer battery back-up in case of a power failure. Each unit transmits data to a website where it can be viewed and stored.

Contact DAN on +61 2 8838 2358 or email sales@danmonitoring.com

What is TRUE data monitoring?

True data monitoring is in place when there is a system that is automated (i.e. it is not dependent on human action) and which collects data routinely and stores that data so it cannot be tampered with and it cannot be lost. True data monitoring also does not allow humans to interpret what they believe the data should be!

Data Acquisition Networks provides true data monitoring. Inputs are polled each second and the data averaged and a maximum and a minimum for the ‘reporting period’ transferred automatically to a website where it is stored for access by those with password authorisation. The data is accessed in much the same way as you retrieve your banking details.

Data Acquisition Networks provides true data monitoring solutions for minimal cost.

Contact Data Acquisition Networks
by email or if you prefer, Telephone +61 2 8838 2358

Food Standards Australia requires businesses to prepare and sell food that is safe to eat. Food causes illness because there are high levels of food-poisoning bacteria and these poisons are called toxins. “A way of preventing or limiting bacteria from multiplying or producing toxins in food is to control the temperature of the food by either keeping it cold or very hot”. Food Standards Australia requires potentially hazardous foods to be kept at 5degC or colder and prescribes that it is “safe for food to be between 5degC and 60degC for a limited time only”. Health regulators and inspectors commonly refer to the range between 5degC and 60degC as the DANGER ZONEfor perishable foods. Food Standards Australia defines potentially hazardous foods as foods that might contain food-poisoning bacteria and which will allow food-poisoning bacteria to multiply. Examples of potentially hazardous foods are listed as raw and cooked meat, smallgoods, dairy products, seafood, processed fruit and vegetables, cooked rice and pasta, foods containing eggs, beans and nuts and foods that contain these foods for example sandwiches and rolls. Many of these food types are also the foods that are inclusions in a balanced and nutritious diet.  Food Standards Australia also requires that potentially hazardous frozen foods are kept frozen when they are stored, displayed or transported. Whilst no specific temperature is specified for frozen food it must be kept frozen to remain safe. Temperature abuse of frozen food can also have a detrimental impact on eating quality. It is commonly accepted that -18degC is a safe temperature at which frozen food should be stored. It is also generally agreed that infrequent but consistent temperature abuse can have a detrimental impact on the shelf-life of food and with some foods temperature abuse can also affect its nutrient value. Food Standards Australia prescribes food that has been temperature abused for a continuous period of greater than 4-hours should be discarded. The NSW Food Authority recommends perishable foods should not be left in the danger zone for longer than 2-hours!

http://www.foodauthority.nsw.gov.au/consumers/keeping-food-safe/#How-can-I-make-sure-my-food-is-safe

 Data Acquisition Networks (DAN) provides cost effective temperature data loggers that automate data collection thereby enabling trained and experienced people to make jusgments on the suitability of food for human consumption. 

Contact Data Acquisition Networks
by email today and we will respond
quickly to your request.

If you prefer, Telephone +61 2 8838 2358

Temperature is critical to storage of a variety of items ranging from food to blood and a failure of storage temperature (temperature abuse) can result in problems ranging from simple spoilage (i.e. the product is no longer at its best) through to severe risk of safety to human health.

Temperature data loggers from Data Acquisition Networks can be fitted and operated for a fraction of the cost of the loss that will result from temperature abuse. DAN temperature data loggers also automate permanent record collection thereby enabling analysis of the likely severity of a temperature abuse incident.

Talk to Data Acquisition Networks (DAN) today about how automated data collection will ensure the safety of your product held in a temperature controlled environment.

Contact Data Acquisition Networks
by email today and we will respond
quickly to your request.

If you prefer, Telephone +61 2 8838 2358

Companies that develop plans and protocols and then fail to continuously monitor compliance fail the test of due diligence. In the event of a mishap they cannot produce any evidence they took the time or made the effort to care about what they are doing!

Data Acquisition Networks is able to use new-age data logging technology to monitor compliance and to collect independent evidence of your due diligence. In the unhappy event that you  ever need to produce that evidence, DAN clients are able to do so in what is a powerful and effective display of due diligence. Those that don’t have a day when the evidence needs to be produced just ’sleep more peacefully’ at night in the knowledge they have an independent and automatically continuous process in place that will alert them if things should ever go wrong.

Data logger

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

A data logger (also datalogger or Data recorder) is an electronic device that records data over time or in relation to location either with a built in instrument or sensor or via external instruments and sensors. Increasingly, but not entirely, they are based on a digital processor (or computer). They generally are small, battery powered, portable, and equipped with a microprocessor, internal memory for data storage, and sensors. Some data loggers interface with a personal computer and utilize software to activate the data logger and view and analyze the collected data, while others have a local interface device (keypad, LCD) and can be used as a stand-alone device.

Data loggers vary between general purpose types for a range of measurement applications to very specific devices for measuring in one environment only. It is common for general purpose types to be programmable however many remain as static machines with only a limited number of changeable parameters. Electronic dataloggers have replaced chart recorders in many applications.

A special variant of the autonomous data logger is the PDF-logger. This is creating, when plugging into a USB interface, automatically a PDF file with a text and a graphic part of the current measurement data. The PC operating system recognizes the unit then as a standard USB mass storage. This makes it possible for the recipient worldwide, to generate a report without additional software. These devices are used for the worldwide delivery of drugs (Cold Chain) or other sensitive products.

One of the primary benefits of using data loggers is the ability to automatically collect data on a 24-hour basis. Upon activation, data loggers are typically deployed and left unattended to measure and record information for the duration of the monitoring period. This allows for a comprehensive, accurate picture of the environmental conditions being monitored, such as air temperature and relative humidity.