In our second blog post about the trucking industry, we observed some of the causes of the truck driver shortage in the U.S. One major factor is the unhealthy lifestyle comprised of poor nutrition, lack of exercise, and sleep deprivation that can make the occupation unappealing to potential new recruits and force current drivers into early retirement for health reasons. In this post, we look at how some innovative...

Written by SmartSense | May 29, 2018 | Supply Chain

Hospitals have an obligation to ensure that their patients are healthy: from the medication they take to the food they eat, the last thing a patient should experience is an illness caused by a lapse in safety precautions. With many legacy technologies still in use today, the likelihood of a temperature excursion affecting food or medication should be taken seriously. Despite new regulations mandating the use of more...

Written by SmartSense | May 25, 2018 | Pharmacy Safety

The National School Lunch Program (NSLP) has been an important source of nutrition for public school children and has provided business opportunities to the food industry for more than 70 years. For the last few generations, NSLP has been taken for granted, but over the last decade, advocates of the program have had to defend its costs and policies, struggling to keep it viable and dealing with controversies ranging...

Written by SmartSense | May 22, 2018 | Food Safety

With headlines announcing foodborne illness outbreaks almost weekly, it’s pretty much common knowledge to those in the food industry that just one negative event at a restaurant can result in devastating losses including money, market share, and brand reputation. Now, with a recent study from Johns Hopkins University, research data not only confirms these common sense fears, but provides financial calculation of the...

Written by SmartSense | May 17, 2018 | Food Safety

In a previous post, we reported the recent update to the ELD Mandate for livestock truckers, an urgent issue that pits recommendations for the transport of live animals against the new federal regulations. In fact, some trucking industry authorities claim that the ELD sanctions may result in drivers leaving the field, contributing to an already challenging driver shortage. In this post, we summarize some of the...

Written by SmartSense | May 14, 2018 | Supply Chain

As you may have read in the news recently, an outbreak of Escherichia coli, more commonly referred to as E. coli, has affected states all across the nation. Most strains of E. coli are harmless, and actually provide a benefit to our gut, but there are some strains that can cause illness. Primarily transferred through fecal matter, E. coli can spread through manure, infecting both vegetables and meats alike. Close to...

Written by SmartSense | May 7, 2018 | Food Safety, Supply Chain