What is temperature control in the food industry?

Temperature control and monitoring are also critical in the home kitchen, said Sally McNeill, an Extension educator at North Carolina State University. She pointed out that “TCS” foods (those needing time and temperature control for safety and which used to be called “potentially hazardous foods”) need particular care in order to lessen the chance of someone getting sick.

Índice Show

Defining Food Safety and Quality Concerns
Meeting the “Cold Chain” Requirements
What is meant by temperature control?
Why is temperature control important in food?
Why temperature control is important in industry?
How do you keep temperature control for safety food?

“One of the top reasons for foodborne illnesses is not cooking TCS foods to their minimum endpoint cooking temperatures. Another reason is the improper holding of hot and cold TCS foods,” McNeill told Food Safety News.

TCS foods include meats (beef, pork, lamb), poultry, fish, shellfish and crustaceans, sprouts and sprout seeds, milk and dairy products, heat-treated plant foods (cooked vegetables and legumes) and cooked rice, cut melons, cut tomatoes and cut leafy greens, baked potatoes, untreated garlic-and-oil mixtures (mixtures without an acidifying agent), and tofu or other soy protein.

While home cooks typically rely on visual cues to tell whether some TCS foods are safely cooked, the only sure way to know is by using a calibrated food thermometer, she said.

“As far as holding temperatures, hot TCS foods should be held at 135 degrees F or higher, and cold TCS foods should be held at 41 degrees F or less. Doing this can greatly reduce the risk of foodborne pathogens from multiplying to unsafe levels,” McNeill said.

In response to ever-increasing threats to food safety, scientific ingenuity has developed approaches that use sophisticated technology to monitor, track and record temperatures while food is in storage or in transit, and even while it’s on display. These systems use specially designed software to monitor and gather data via sensors or smart labels using handheld devices and then store the information on a company server and/or the cloud (an Internet-based network) for later tracking or auditing purposes.

“Just turn the label on, place it on the cargo, and it will be read automatically upon its arrival at the destination – all without human intervention,” Oster said. “If there is a temperature concern, the QA director, or other appointed person, will receive an alert on their smart phone that will completely explain the alert issue at hand, allowing the decision-maker to act on the spot with real-time data.”

Walpuck said his company uses disposable thermometers in product pallets, which can then be tracked via global positioning system (GPS) technology. He related that a truck was recently delivering dairy products to a supermarket, and the tracking person reported that it was coming in at 54 degrees F.

“They had to take the internal temperatures of the truck and, as it turned out, only one zone had the problem and it wasn’t the zone the dairy was in, so nobody got in trouble,” Walpuck said.

To decide what type of temperature tracking and monitoring approach makes sense from a cost perspective, details of a firm’s operational requirements are considered, Edwards said.

“It also depends on how long of a trip, or how long the logger will need to monitor temperatures. What type of transportation: ship, rail, airplane, etc.?,” he explained. There are other financial aspects as well, such as software investment and the type of reporting needed.

The days of having someone check a pallet or box of perishable food (or a deli case) and then make a phone call or send an email about a problem haven’t gone away, but it’s clear that the high-tech approach is playing an increasing role in maintaining food safety.

Whether paper temperature logs are used, or a high-tech cloud-based system, the challenge for the food industry is to make sure that employees know how to use the equipment and do so regularly and accurately.

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Tags: Brian Edwards, cold chain, David Oster, David Walpuck, DeltaTrak Inc., food industry, food safety, food transportation, frozen foods, PakSense Inc., produce safety, Sally McNeill, temperature control

Under the new FDA Food Code, the businesses operating in the Food Industry are required to ensure appropriate control measures in order to eliminate or reduce the risk of foodborne illness at the consumer level. To ensure food safety, the perishable foods susceptible to spoilage by disease-causing microorganisms, such as bacteria, fungi, and viruses, must be kept in adequate containers, at safe temperatures during processing and transportation.

Defining Food Safety and Quality Concerns

Nowadays, food processing companies and logistics professionals are tasked with maintaining the necessary standards that ensure the safety and quality of food products. Without proper food safety practices, food products can be exposed to temperatures outside the recommended range and become dangerous.

Under controlled conditions, refrigeration and freezing preserve foods for extended periods, while also maintaining their quality and nutritional value. Conversely, accidental freezing or thawing may affect the appearance, structure, texture, and nutritional value of food products.

Keeping food at temperatures higher than the recommended range during processing, transportation, or loading and unloading may also accelerate microbial growth. This is particularly dangerous because it can be difficult to discern when certain foods—especially packed food items—have gone bad and could cause foodborne illness.

As food products can be compromised at any point of the supply chain, preserving their freshness, quality, and safety depends on how food processing companies, carriers, wholesalers, and retailers maintain proper storage and transportation temperatures during operations.

Meeting the “Cold Chain” Requirements

Nowadays, new technologies can help companies improve compliance with the latest food laws and regulations. But the efficiency of these technologies largely depends on a basic refrigeration component: the compressor.

Whether you’re running a food processing facility, a restaurant, a grocery store or a refrigerated trucking company, selecting the right refrigeration solutions is extremely important to make sure that your systems remain stable and efficient irrespective of thermal loads.

Because refrigeration systems typically undergo significant temperature fluctuations as a result of varying ambient conditions and activities, considering the type of compressor used in a refrigeration system is a key prerequisite for minimizing or preventing food contamination and spoilage.

Since not all refrigeration applications have the same requirements in terms of efficiency, capacity, and operating range, refrigeration compressors are typically divided based on the characteristics that meet the specifics of certain food processing and related activities.

Single-stage compressors – Although single-stage compressors have been standards in refrigeration systems for decades, there are several factors that limit their efficiency in commercial and industrial applications. Basically, a single-stage compressor operates at 100% every time it turns on. As soon as the refrigerated compartment reaches the desired temperature, the compressor turns off completely. As a result, the compressor cycles on and off repeatedly throughout the day. Besides creating more wear and tear on system components, frequent on/off cycles lead to uneven temperatures and increased energy consumption. Compressors Unlimited offers a few great single stage refrigeration compressor models including the 4DL1500, 6DL2700, 06ER150, 06ER175 and the 06DR3376.
Dual-stage compressors – As their name suggests, dual-stage compressors fill the gap between single-stage and variable-speed compressors. Also referred to as two-stage, these compressors offer two capacity levels: high (100%) and low (60% to 70%). Because dual-stage compressors have a low-speed option, they cycle on and off less frequently than single-stage compressors, which reduces energy consumption. The low-speed option also provides more even cooling and conserves energy when there isn’t a high cooling demand.
Variable-speed compressors – Having different speed levels, these compressors run continuously and are able to modulate their operation up and down to match various thermal loads. Modern variable-speed compressors can provide up to 750 different speeds of operation and have the capacity to change speeds in increments as small as 1/10 of 1%. This provides precise temperature and humidity control, which is critical to food safety. Since a variable-speed compressor doesn’t turn on and off repeatedly, it can also increase the efficiency of the entire refrigeration system. In systems that use single- or dual-stage compressors, continuous operation could lead to considerably higher energy consumption. That’s because the part load efficiency of these two compression configurations is lower than that of variable-speed compressors. At 50% capacity, for instance, variable-speed compressors use 50% of the power; whereas, single-stage compressors use 100% and dual-stage compressors use about 70% of the power.

The decision on the best type of compressor for a specific application should weigh the advantages and disadvantages of each compression configuration. As a general rule, single- and dual-stage compressors should be used in refrigeration applications with load demands that don’t exceed -25°F, while variable-speed compressors can serve low-temperature freezing systems that operate at and below -40°F.

What is meant by temperature control?

Temperature control is a process in which change of temperature of a space (and objects collectively there within), or of a substance, is measured or otherwise detected, and the passage of heat energy into or out of the space or substance is adjusted to achieve a desired temperature.

Why is temperature control important in food?

Controlling the temperature of food is extremely important in ensuring that food is safe to eat, and you must ensure that food is always cooked, cooled, chilled or reheated properly to minimise the risk of harmful levels of bacteria in the food that you sell.

Why temperature control is important in industry?

If temperatures are allowed to stray too high or too low then not only can it ruin the end product, but it can also interfere with the manufacturing process as well. A lack of temperature control is detrimental to your machines and to your workers, which ultimately affects your bottom line.

How do you keep temperature control for safety food?

TCS food must be cooled from 135°F to 70°F within 2 hours and completely cooled to 41°F or below within 6 hours. TCS food prepared from ingredients at room temperature must be cooled to 41°F or below within 4 hours.