Key Takeaways from the National Restaurant Association Show

Recently, TempAlert exhibited at the National Restaurant Association (NRA) show in Chicago, IL. The NRA is the largest foodservice trade association in the world and supports over 500,000 restaurants. In addition to restaurants, in attendance at the show were e-commerce companies, technology companies, equipment manufacturers, and restaurant suppliers.

It was great to connect with other industry professionals to discuss digital food safety.

Digital Food Safety

The latest hot topic within the industry is digital food safety. It is important to ensure that food is safe for consumption. In the past, food safety processes have been primarily manual. Now, technology is taking over the foodservice industry and is fueling the shift from traditional to digital.

A primary way to keep food safe is to monitor temperature at every stage. Typically, restaurant employees have to manually check temperature and record it throughout the day. Automating temperature logs is an effective way to minimize human error, ensure food is being properly stored, and save the valuable time of employees.

Our Solution

While at NRA we showcased our suite of digital food safety solutions. We highlighted our wireless sensors, bluetooth food probe, and remote monitoring dashboard.

Our wireless sensors are great for monitoring walk-ins, freezers, lowboys,  makelines, and ambient environments. Our bluetooth probe is perfect for checking the internal temperature of ingredients instantly. And they both integrate seamlessly with our remote monitoring dashboard, making it easy for you to manage food safety across all locations.

The Connected Store

Another hot topic we kept hearing about was the “connected store”, the concept that all store equipment and operations are connected digitally. In a connected store, all the equipment would speak the same language and all the data would integrate into a single platform.

Not only were people interested in centrally managing food safety, but they were also interested in monitoring energy consumption, managing daily operations, and overseeing all store-level data in one place.

We saw a lot of interest in the connected store because it eliminates manual processes, creates efficiencies, ensures food safety, and enables businesses to make smarter, more informed decisions.

I Love Food Safety

Food safety is top of mind for everyone in the industry. It’s extremely important whether you are a small restaurant, a major chain, or a fine dining establishment. Throughout the 4-day show, we continually heard people say how much they love food safety. And they love the idea of using technology to automate temperature monitoring and digitize food safety within their establishments.

Supporting this theme, we offered a variety of food safety buttons at the show. Not surprisingly, the favorite by far was “I love Food Safety”. If you’re interested in getting buttons for yourself, visit our Food Safety website.

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