For anyone involved in the cold chain, a system for carefully and conveniently monitoring perishable food is essential. That’s why the right temperature recorder is so important. Not only does it help you comply with food safety standards, it also saves money and hassle by preventing spoilage, and can be used to settle costly disputes between suppliers and receivers.
However, choosing the right recorder isn’t easy. There are many different options out there. Here’s a few things to consider before you make your choice.
- Know your situation
The better you can describe your situation and your company, the easier it will be the pick the right recorder. Are you a supplier yourself, or are you recommending a certain type of recorder to your suppliers? How often will the recorder be used? How big is your company? What products are being shipped, and when? What level of precision do you need for the type of products you handle?
You’ll also want to know what system is currently in place (if any) and whether it will be compatible with your new recorder.
- Know your options
Once you understand your shipping situation as thoroughly as possible, you’ll be ready to choose a recorder. These are some of the types you’ll see one the market:
- Single use recorders: If you are shipping goods on a one-way route, a single-use recorder may be your best bet. It’s the most inexpensive, since there’s no cost-effective way to return the recorder to the supplier after it’s been used. Cargo Data offers several single-use recorders for different circumstances, like the Lightning NFC, a smartphone-enabled recorder, or the Quality USB, which is perfect for slipping into shipping cartons.
- Reusable recorders: Reusable recorders are often the better choice for “closed loops” where the shipment involved is a round trip. If you’re monitoring inter-company transfers, this is probably the right choice for you. Cargo Data’s Boomerang 2 is a powerful reusable recorder that can be used for both shipments and temperature-controlled warehouses.
- Real-time monitoring choices: If you’re carrying products that need to meet FSMA compliance standards, you’ll want to consider a choice that offers real-time monitoring. These “set-it-and-forget” systems monitor the temperature of your product constantly while it’s being shipped. You can then review any data point from any time. Our brand new real-time system, The Streamer, even streams your temperature data directly to the cloud while your product is in transit, so you analyze it while the shipment is still happening.
We hope this information has been useful. If you’re still not sure what temperature recorder is the right choice, feel free to reach out to us at information@cargodatacorp.com or 800-338-8134. We can review your situation and help you find the best solution.