New remote monitoring sensor for the food industry will cut risk of food contamination

Published 23rd June 2009

- In 2008 the Food Standards Agency dealt with 1,298 incidents of food contamination

Sensormetrix is today announcing its innovative remote monitoring system for the food and restaurant industry. The Sensormetrix ‘Poseidon units’ are a range of process monitoring systems offering a safeguard for food storage, detecting if a pre-set temperature is consistently met as well as detecting if a fridge or freezer door has been left open.

Sensormetrix’s Poseidon operates in line with the Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Points (HACCP) system, which identifies any possible risks that result in food being contaminated so that these risks can be minimised. The Poseidon sensors monitor the environment of the fridge or freezer on a 24x7x365 basis, eliminating human error and providing a timed log of results on a continuous basis.

Another feature of Poseidon includes ‘Active Feedback Path’, for the closed loop control of food storage and processing. This means that if the conditions differ then an alarm can be set to alert a manager or administrator via an SMS text or email as a method of preventing food contamination. By preventing food contamination in this way, it could significantly reduce costs for restaurateurs.

Nick Lidington, managing director at Sensormetrix, comments, “Bacterial growth is one of the most significant dangers to food safety from incomplete cooking, or a storage temperature which is too high. Temperature is an important measurement for food safety, but we believe that temperature logs alone, especially manual logs, are not sufficient to guarantee food safety because they rely on human interpretation of the results to trigger remedial action.

Food poisoning is a restaurateur’s worst nightmare, but how many restaurants currently have equipment in place which monitors food temperature through the night as well as during opening times? Sensormetrix Poseidon offers reassurance that the food’s environment is controlled and monitored continuously, so that if, for instance, a fridge or freezer shuts down at 3am but then fixes itself by 8am, there will be a detailed log of this occurring. Without Sensormetrix, this problem would not have been detected, the risk of food being contaminated would be high and also a breach of health and safety. Sensormetrix’ solutions take the HACCP system one step further.”

Poseidon systems can be cabled or wireless and customised to the size and nature of the environment. Powerful software is also part of what Sensormetrix offers for records of historical data. This data can also be recorded and presented in graphical or spreadsheet form for analysis or regulation requirements.

A typical example of the Sensormetrix equipment needed for a three fridge/freezer monitoring system
It is possible to use any of the Poseidon family to monitor a single or multiple fridges or freezers. Every appliance can have its own designated name and alarm threshold, independently of the others.
A simple system would comprise of the following:
• A Poseidon unit
• 3 temperature sensors (3 fridges)
• Power Supply
• GSM Modem Kit + SIM card (if SMS alarm is needed)

For Further information about Sensormetrix, please visit www.sensormetrix.co.uk or please call 0118 976 9000

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About Sensormetrix: www.sensormetrix.co.uk
Sensormetrix is an operating division of Sequoia Technology Ltd; a technical manufacturer specialising in remote monitoring and wireless machine to machine technologies.
Sensormetrix offers remote monitoring and wireless sensor technology for use in restaurants, building management, goods transportation, data centres and drugs storage. The technology helps to ensure that a preset temperature, humidity and pressure in a specific environment is maintained and recorded. The sensors and dataloggers work over a wireless connection via the internet or SMS connection and trigger an alarm message warning if conditions differ from a preset parameter.

About Sequoia Technology Ltd www.sequoia.co.uk
Sequoia was founded in 1986 as a technical representative for manufacturers of the latest generation of innovative electronic components, systems and test equipment. The company now concentrates on applying the latest techniques for practical electronic solutions and project managing their implementation.
In particular, Sequoia specialises in remote monitoring, Public information terminals and solutions and wireless, machine-to-machine communications technologies. Sequoia continues to introduce innovative, high quality products to its direct customers and through its subsidiaries; Siretta Antennas, Kiosks4Business, Sensormetrix, SMS2printer. Technologies available through Sequoia Include:
• GSM and GPRS related solutions
• GPS based products
• SMS printer solutions
• Wireless antennas and cables
• Remote monitoring equipment, including concentrating software
• Asset and vehicle monitoring
• Public information terminals and solutions