Monitoring and Documenting Fruit and Vegetable Transportation

CLEVELAND - Oct. 23, 2019 - PRLog -- SwiTrace I-Plug Temperature Logger Protects Food Shipments

The customer was growing and exporting fruits and vegetables to distribution centers and markets. Almost all varieties of fruits and vegetables in demand were temperature-sensitive, making them highly vulnerable to contamination and spoilage. Maintaining the temperature of these products throughout the cold chain took the highest priority to avoid any health risks, including food poisoning. To ensure maximum product shelf life, the fruit and vegetable transportation needed to be shipped under optimum conditions from the time of harvest until finally being sold to the consumer.

Installation

The customer installed a SwiTrace I-Plug IPST8 transit temperature data logger inside each of their shipping containers. During shipments, the I-Plug recorded temperatures using an internal temperature sensor at a range of -40°C (-40°F) to +65°C (149°F). Monitoring was performed at a resolution of 0.1°C (0.2°F) and at high accuracy of ±0.3°C (0.5°F). The I-Plug's internal memory stored up to 8,000 readings at a sampling frequency of every 30 seconds to every 60 minutes. After each delivery was completed, the client simply plugged the I-Plug into a USB port on a PC to generate a complete pdf report.

Usage

Designed for fruit and vegetable transportation, the I-Plug proved to be a low-cost solution for the customer, and very affordable compared with other temperature loggers on the market. The loggers offered customizable alarm settings and a programmable start function and high and low alarm LEDs. Users could program the logger in either Celsius or Fahrenheit. Additionally, the I-Plug was downloadable via USB with no special interface hardware required. With a durable IP51 rating, the logger was tough given its small size at 73 x 15 x 33 mm.

Benefits

The client realized several key benefits from installing the SwiTrace I-Plug data loggers in all their perishable product shipments. The loggers easily performed all the monitoring needed for the fruit and vegetable consignments, so the customer would know exactly if and when the temperatures had gone out of specification, and could identify which parties were accountable. The cold chain transport was confirmed on every printout of the logger's temperature record, providing further proof of the client's due diligence, to support the customer's HACCP program.

The I-Plugs also provided the complete history of the temperature conditions relevant to the products' post-harvest condition, so the client was fully confident that the shipping risks had been significantly minimized or reduced.

For further information on SwiTrace I-Plug temperature loggers, or to discuss your specific application with our specialists, contact a CAS Data Logger Applications Engineer at (800) 956-4437 or visit us at https://www.dataloggerinc.com