Articles from SmartSense by Digi

Delano, California is grape country. The northern California town is located about 30 miles from Bakersfield, and is the home of grape growers. It's also the site of the 1965 Delano grape strike led by then activist Cesar Chavez of the National Farm Workers Association (NFWA). At the time he led the workers seeking improvements in farm workers wages and working conditions. Today, however, the region is thriving in grape production, and one company, smack dab in the middle of that grape production is Jasmine Vineyards. They're a major grower of grapes of all types with red, green, and bluish colored grapes bearing names like Summer Crunch, Sweet Globe, Great Green, Scarlet Royal, and Summer Royal. Jasmine vineyards rely on the cold chain to not only store their crops, but also to …

A road train, sometimes called a land train, is a configuration of truck and trailers that is able to carry large loads of cargo across challenging terrains. They are used in rural and sometimes remote areas in Australia, the United States, and Europe. Road trains are designed to move freight, and usually consist of a prime mover that pulls two or more trailers or semi-trailers. How road trains grew out of wagon trains The heritage of these unique transport assets dates back to the days when a single source of power (usually animals) pulled multiple wagons. They were first identified in South Australia in the mid 19th century, pulling such cargo as minerals to trading ports. Later, they were replaced by railways. Over time, the technology evolved to become a vehicle powered by a single …

In our previous post about expiration labels, we surveyed the history of open dating, its lack of standardization, and the subsequent consumer confusion about food safety that creates unnecessary food waste. In this post, we follow up with a discussion of the current (and inadequate) regulations for expiration dating, recommendations for change by the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC), current industry voluntary guidelines, and promising federal legislation now before Congress. Government Regulations of Expiration Dating The scope of federal laws governing food labeling is broad, and does not currently address expiration dating specifically. The federal government has the power to regulate date labels under the Commerce Clause in the U.S. Constitution. However, because Congress has …

Your fleet must be fully compliant with the FDA's Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA) regulations in order to maintain good standing. This requires recurring self-assessment. As a food transporter, it’s important to answer questions about your fleet practice to help you stay prepared and in line with the new regulations. We've outlined five basic questions that you can start with to ensure that your fleet is food safe. 1) How are you managing temperature within your fleet? This is one of the most important aspects of transporting perishable foods, especially if there is a high chance of foodborne illness. There are various ways to maintain temperature; however using the latest technology is often the best route to ensure that the temperature is not only maintained, but also monitored and …

Food retailers are gatekeepers to the U.S. food system. They influence what products travel from farms to shelves, and help determine consumer shopping trends. For these reasons especially, grocers are increasingly under pressure to prevent grocery food waste. For instance, the Center for Biological Diversity (CBD) recently took the industry by surprise, grading the country’s top 10 largest supermarkets on their waste reduction efforts. Only three got an A. The rest got bad publicity. That’s understandable. Supermarkets are responsible for 10% of all U.S. food waste – that’s 43 billion pounds annually. According to the Guardian, the food supply chain wastes 45% of all produce, 35% of seafood, 30% of cereals, and 20% of meat and dairy products every year. Additionally, the Environmental …

There’s a new convenience store in town. It doesn’t merely stock the old standbys, such as soda, energy drinks, snacks, and candy. No, this “multi-format” c-store is a hybrid that also offers fine wine and artisan beer, gourmet coffee, hot prepared foods, sandwich and salad bars, and upscale vending machines – even gas pumps in the parking lot. Not to mention that customers may also order online in advance or request delivery. Typically an urban phenomenon, these new-fangled stores appeal to real estate developers eager to fill spaces that see steady foot traffic by an 18-34 demographic accustomed to quick-trip shopping. In some cases, these “experiments” are startup companies, and in others, large national chains looking to supplement their traditional big box supermarkets with smaller, …