In our recent post outlining the widespread outbreak of E.coli originating from romaine lettuce, we noted that the FDA has been unable to identify how or where...
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The supply chain, a series of product transfers between manufacturers, distribution centers, and retail locations, is a complex network of transactions. From raw material to finished product, every transfer throughout the chain requires documentation to ensure that product quality is not compromised, items are en route to their correct destination, and a number of other parameters that require monitoring to...
In our recent post outlining the widespread outbreak of E.coli originating from romaine lettuce, we noted that the FDA has been unable to identify how or where the contamination occured in the supply chain. Since mid-March, more than 200 people across 35 states have become ill – and at least three have died. This outbreak is only one of the two outbreaks linked to leafy greens in the past six months whose source of...
In our previous post about food safety at farmers markets, we ended our discussion by noting that current regulations try to balance the needs of both farmers and consumers. The Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA) excludes many small farmers from intensive restrictions to protect their economic interests. On the other hand, federal agencies recognize that many farmers and market managers do in fact implement their...
One of the most important aspects of facilities management is to optimize the efficient use of assets, whether it be a process or a physical piece of equipment. Ensuring optimal use of these assets is near impossible without visibility into equipment performance and a task management system to improve productivity.
Finally, it feels like spring all over the country. Farmers markets are opening their stalls to customers who are hungry for local and organic fruits and vegetables. Goodbye to tasteless tomatoes and dry melons at the supermarket, and hello to heirloom apples and fresh-picked corn from family farms.
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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
As we all know, outbreaks of foodborne illness have become newsroom fodder throughout the last few years. They make great headlines: Everyone eats, and most everyone eats prepared foods. It’s no wonder the public takes great interest in following these stories.
Here at SmartSense, we understand the complexity of the food supply chain at every link. Making sure that our food arrives fresh, safe, and at the right temperature is the responsibility of everyone working in processing, packaging, distribution, and sales. It’s not always easy—and if anyone knows that, it’s the truckers who haul our goods from coast to coast.
We are Excited to Announce Our New Name: SmartSense
The excitement of getting your brand-new temperature monitoring solution up and running can quickly meet its demise when your initial setup doesn’t go as smoothly as planned. The easiest way to avoid this dilemma is with proper preparation for setting up your new units. A typical first-time setup should only take a few minutes. In this post, we’ll explore best practices to ensure you not only get yourself up and...
Most non-refrigerated pharmaceuticals come with the recommendation on the package that you store them in a “cool, dry place.” Continuous and automated temperature monitoring makes it easy to follow the “cool” part of these recommendations by changing the temperature of a cooler or freezer when alerted. Wisconsin’s Board of Pharmacy has recently become the first to make a recommendation on how to interpret the “dry”...
You may have seen the headlines about the crisis at Cleveland’s University Hospitals Fertility Center. It is every safety manager’s nightmare. Between the overnight hours of March 3 and 4, one of the facility’s liquid nitrogen storage tanks began to warm up. Undetected by both the hospital staff and its monitoring system, more than 2,000 embryos and eggs have most likely been compromised during the excursion.
Even if you’ve never had spoiled milk (and we hope you haven’t), you probably have a good idea of just how unpleasant the experience is thanks to popular media. Milk spoils very easily, turning everyone’s favorite milkshake treat dangerous thanks for foodborne illness. Temperature monitoring in the food industry is crucial, but to what extent?
Real-time Temperature Data Is Essential
You almost know everything you need about preparing your business for the Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT). IIoT entails connecting and monitoring equipment, vehicles, and other hard assets within a company’s aggregated information network to enable additional organizational insights, efficiency, and control.
We’re back for round two in a series offering practical advice to prepare your business for the Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT). In this context, IIoT entails connecting and monitoring equipment, vehicles, and other hard assets within a company’s aggregated information network to enable additional organizational insights, efficiency, and control.
The Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT), also known as Industry 4.0, has received a lot of media hype in recent years. This movement entails connecting and monitoring equipment, vehicles, and other hard assets within a company’s aggregated information network to enable additional organizational insights, efficiency, and control.
When Chipotle opened its first restaurant in Denver almost 25 years ago, it set the standard for the modern Quick Service Restaurant (QSR) model. But what really distinguished the chain was its innovative mission, “Food With Integrity,” that tapped into the rising consumer demand for healthy, fresh, locally sourced food.
Pharmacies have an obligation to store, deliver, and administer life-saving medications and vaccines. Since patients depend on them and costs are high, maintaining pharmaceuticals at their optimal temperature is paramount to both ensure their efficacy and minimize risk.
At SmartSense, we go beyond monitoring the temperature of your assets—we also monitor our own system of sensors to ensure that we get all of the temperature readings when they’re expected.
Food safety and pharmaceutical storage are two applications where knowing the temperature of the storage area for a product is critical to ensuring its safety and viability. Produce will spoil quicker when it’s not cooled during storage, which can lead to quality issues in the freshness and taste of the final product.
Technology is causing swift transformations in the methods that pharmacies now use to manage and dispense drugs and medications. Advances in diagnostics, automation, and analytics help pharmacists provide better customer service, while also improving patient outcomes and logistical efficiency.
Act with confidence based on actual product temperature.
We love to build new things, and we love to apply those capabilities to customer challenges. It takes time to get to know each customer’s challenge and to get to why they are interested in a remote monitoring solution.
Another year has come and gone, and IoT has allowed us to accomplish more than anyone ever thought possible. New technologies are revealed daily, making once complex tasks easier and more manageable. Disasters such as the hurricanes taught us at how important connectivity is to keeping people safe during emergency situations.
As 2017 is coming to a close, we wanted to take a look back at our top pharmacy blog articles of the year. This year, we have seen a rise in stricter regulations for storage and handling, stricter regulations for the Vaccines For Children (VFC) program, and a larger shift to continuous monitoring. Check out our top posts from 2017 as we move into the New Year!
Beginning January 1, 2018, all Vaccines for Children (VFC) providers will be mandated to meet new storage and handling requirements. Are you prepared?
In an article in the New York Times, journalist Walecia Konrad reported a personal story concerning her 10-year-old son’s medication. While vacationing in New Hampshire during a heat wave, the boy’s allergies kicked up. As usual, she gave him a dose of an over-the-counter remedy that usually brings him quick relief. However, this time the drug had no effect—day after day.
If your stores are still using paper logs to monitor temperature, you may not have a full understanding of how your equipment affects your products. With traditional twice-daily temperature logging, there’s no way to know what’s happening inside of coolers and freezers throughout the day.
The hurricane season of 2017 has been one for the record books, and it’s only half over. Harvey and Irma both made landfall in the U.S. as Category 4 hurricanes—the first time this has occurred in the Atlantic since 1851. Both were then followed by Jose, yet another Category 4.
Pharmacy temperature compliance is inherently complex. That probably doesn’t come as a surprise. But, there’s a historical reason for this complexity. Currently, at least four different regulatory and non-regulatory bodies govern all of those rules and regulations: USP, CDC, FDA and State Boards of Pharmacy. Not only that, but the rules, regulations, and guidelines are constantly evolving.
The FSMA Rule on Sanitary Transportation is one of seven foundational rules proposed by the FDA to create a risk-based framework for food safety. The overall objective of the rule is to prevent practices during transportation that create hazards, such as failure of refrigeration, inadequate cleaning of vehicles, and inappropriate packing materials. Ultimately, the rule was put in place to minimize the potential of a...
When the Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA) passed in 2011, it shifted U.S. food safety policy from a reactive afterthought to a proactive mission. That is, rather than responding to contamination after the fact, the law mandates preventing problems during manufacturing and transport before they occur. FSMA also provides the FDA with new enforcement authorities to achieve higher rates of compliance and tools to...
The FDA recently released its final FSMA rule, which applies specifically to food transportation. FSMA covers many aspects of food production, transportation of that food being one of them. While many food safety professionals have implemented HACCP or similar plans, they’ll need to review their current plans to ensure they comply with FSMA.
The FDA has been releasing final rules to govern various links in the food safety chain since 2015. Their latest announcement, the sixth set of rules, covers food transportation safety. While food transporters have been aware of these changes and taken proactive steps to move toward compliance, many may not be ready for some or all of the changes, which includes documenting temperature controls.
Do you know where your food has been before you ate it? No? You’re not alone. For many consumers, the questions of where their food originated from (and the travel route it took), was processed, or was handled, is not a consideration. There is a faction of consumers that will research the country of origin, but recent action by the U.S. Congress on meat products now discloses that information to the public.