Food spoilage is an urgent problem in the global supply chain. In fact, a third of all food produced globally is lost or wasted, totaling more than $35 billion a year. A considerable share of these food losses is caused by ineffective cold chain processes and management. As spoilage becomes a big threat to safety and profitability, companies are beginning to embrace new technologies and alternative methods.
How Does Food Spoilage Occur?
As food makes its way through the various stages of the cold chain, it becomes more challenging to keep produce at optimum conditions. Each stage can lead to a potential change in condition, which may significantly reduce the shelf life of the produce. Fresh fruits and vegetables coming from a diverse range of climates demand attention to safety. Due to their temperature sensitivity, fruits and vegetables make up around half of food waste. If stored in a truck with broken or uneven refrigeration, the quality and safety of the perishable items can be compromised. If the product was over the required temperature for a certain amount of time, the entire shipment would be declared unsafe and documentation of destruction logged. This would likely cost a trucker’s insurance company more than $100k.
Reducing Food Spoilage
Maintaining proper temperatures during the handling is critical in ensuring the quality of perishable products. To prevent possible losses in product quality, new technologies, models, and applications are needed. Embracing new technologies will not only reduce food spoilage, but it is proven to increase profitability as well. Temperature monitoring systems allow companies to monitor quality and mitigate losses in real time.
Learn More About Our Real Time Temperature Monitoring
It’s critical to monitor in-transit temperatures for virtually all perishable food products in order to prevent safety issues and ensure quality. If you’d like to know more about our real time temperature monitoring and how it can protect your food shipment, give us a call. We offer free consultations and can be reached at (800) 338-8134.