Packaging

Wireless Temperature Monitoring

Wednesday 04. March 2009 - On the 1st of January 2006, HACCP (Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Points) guidelines came into force as a systematic preventive approach to food and pharmaceutical safety.

The HACCP principle essentially requires that a producer identifies product safety hazards and critical control points where controls can be applied. Since one of the major hazards, especially in food and pharmaceutical product safety is bacteria, it is evident that temperature and in many cases also humidity levels, in any process, must be closely and carefully monitored and recorded to reduce the possibility of bacteria proliferation. For this reason, Cheops, a German company, is offering a wide range of monitoring and datalogging systems that enable its customers to achieve their monitoring goals with minimum effort and disruption to their process. Already successfully widespread in many EU countries, this year Cheops will present its product highlights at the Anuga FoodTec fair in Cologne (Hall 5.1, Booth K 40). One of the highlights will be the RadioPrinter device. This is a wireless receiver with an integrated thermal printer that collects data from up to 32 wireless temperature transmitters and is able to generate immediate reports without the need of a PC at hand. If any of the sensors indicate that the temperature has exceeded preset thresholds, an acoustic and LED alarm will inform the user of the anomaly. The large integrated display shows the most recent readings, and also displays the menu by which you may configure the device with ease. Various modes of operation tailor the unit for particular applications, for example transportation of goods, where a report can be printed at every delivery point, and handed to the customer, and a final report holding all the data of the delivery can be printed, verified and filed once the vehicle returns to base.
Another product highlight will be the FridgeLog Wireless System. This system allows you to monitor various points by means of wireless temperature transmitters and collect the data on the PC in real time. The system is made up of 1. The TempStick Radio transmitter (at least one) that measuring and transmit the temperature data, 2. The WTMC, an ethernet enabled device that collects the measurements, stores them and prepares the data for transfer to the PC and 3. the FridgeLog software package on your PC, for storing, displaying and managing the data as well as providing for printing periodical reports. The FridgeLog system can also be used to interact with other Wireless FridgeLog installations over the a company network. FridgeLog also manages ISO9000 non conformities and provides for the input of corrective actions.
Cheops will also present their increasingly successful range of high temperature dataloggers and wireless transmitters – especially suited for the dairy and cooked food industries. These devices monitor the high temperatures found in pasteurization and sterilization processes. The so called SterilDisks(140°C) and PasteurDisks (100°C) are compact, food grade units that can be directly inserted into the product or autoclave. After the process you simply transfer the disks’ data to a PC using the Disk Interface. There you can view the measurements as a table or graph, store and print them in the form of reports.