This year, World Food Safety Day (June 7th) is about preparing for the unexpected. With an estimated 600 million people falling ill after eating contaminated food annually, the foodservice industry should understand why connected restaurants are no longer a concept for the future but a movement taking shape today.
IoT (Internet of Things) solutions are a key ingredient for food safety initiatives and other operational enhancements. In this article, we’ll discuss how IoT empowers foodservice management to take proactive measures to improve food safety—from leveraging IoT sensors to ensure proper cook times and monitor hot holding temperatures to promoting better health and hygiene through connected restroom and smart pest control solutions.
Advancing Food Safety Through Digital Temperature Monitoring
Food safety remains a challenge for foodservice operators and is fueling the growth of the digital food management solutions market, which is forecasted to hit $2.4 billion by 2026—a CAGR of 15.55 percent.
Digital temperature monitoring is typically the first foray into solving for food safety, given the multiple areas it impacts—from automating temperature monitoring and logging processes to reducing energy costs and preventing food loss.
Let’s consider an overnight power outage. With a digital temperature monitoring solution in place, wireless IoT devices inside refrigerators and freezers continuously record temperature data at predefined intervals. Even in the absence of power, the devices continue capturing readings, creating a backlog of data that’s transmitted once the power is restored. The data provides insight into temperature conditions during the outage, which informs how operators proceed with food safety protocols (e.g., if the data indicates unsafe temperatures for an extended period, the food can’t be served). Plus, with the use of a food simulant probe, operators can capture internal food temperature data to further validate whether the food is held within safe ranges. Without an automated solution, workers don’t know if, or for how long, the temperatures deviated from safe zones to determine whether to dispose of the food.
Additionally, with real-time alerts, when temperatures exceed predetermined thresholds, digital temperature monitoring solutions can help operators proactively identify problems with routine operations, such as refrigeration failures or doors left ajar. This enables swift remedial action, which can decrease the chance of food spoilage or loss.
Lastly, temperature data captured automatically via IoT is a more effective way to inform whether food is held at the proper temperatures for the right time to prevent bacterial growth in the danger zone of 40°F and 140°F. By ensuring specific temperature thresholds are met, foodservice operators avoid costly repercussions associated with food spoilage while maintaining quality, efficiency, and safety protocols, which are vital to their bottom line.
Safeguarding Against Operational Hazards with IoT
Recognizing the benefits of automating temperature monitoring, restaurateurs are seeking new ways to leverage IoT to enhance other aspects of food safety operations, such as ensuring staff adhere to proper hand washing practices and quality standards.
According to a CDC report, sick employees, followed by salmonella, were cited as the leading causes of food poisoning at restaurants—at 40 percent and 19 percent, respectively. IoT can help reduce the risk of outbreaks by remotely extracting data from cooking appliances, such as fryers and ovens, providing centralized visibility into key performance indicators that impact food safety. For example, using IoT devices, restaurant operators can remotely monitor conditions like oven temperatures, cook times, and fryer oil quality to ensure that—even during peak demand—food safety and quality processes are being adhered to.
Additionally, adherence to strict hygiene practices reduces food safety incidents from occurring. For example, with a smart restroom solution, store operators can reduce the spread of germs among staff and prevent cross-contamination of food to promote better food safety overall. Employees can benefit from improved handwashing with sensor-activated faucets and soap dispensers to reduce the chance of germs lingering on handles. Further, with real-time monitoring of soap, sanitizer, and paper towel levels, store managers can ensure the availability of these supplies at kitchen handwashing stations and in restrooms. An added benefit is optimizing cleaning schedules based on real-time usage data to ensure restrooms are hygienic and fully stocked.
Finally, pests, like rodents, have always been a major source of concern in foodservice establishments. They put food safety at risk, from transmitting diseases to contaminating food and making facilities unsanitary. With connected pest solutions, trap activity can be remotely monitored 24×7 to prevent infestations, which can have a considerable monetary impact, including revenue loss and irreparable harm to the brand.
Advancing Food Safety: A Proactive Approach
IoT technology empowers foodservice management to take proactive measures and drive better food safety throughout all areas of their restaurants—from kitchens to restrooms and beyond. As we are nearing World Food Safety Day, it’s an exciting time to consider all the benefits IoT offers.
Tom Woodbury is an IoT Solutions Consultant at MachineQ, an enterprise IoT company within Comcast. He also serves as a committee member with the Conference for Food Protection and is responsible for helping author recommended technology-related Food Code. Tom brings an extensive background in foodservice and IoT to these roles. He advises enterprise leaders on how to maximize their ROI by understanding their use case and providing a secure, efficient, and cost-effective IoT solution that yields a maximum return on investment.
