FSMA and the Cold Chain: What You Need to Know about Temperature Monitoring
Food supply chains are increasingly becoming more complex. As regulatory demands, the threat of litigation, and criminal prosecutions increase, food businesses are becoming more accountable for how they operate their cold chains. Not only that, the consumer demand for fresher food is also increasing, resulting in even more food products that need to be kept fresh through every step of the supply chain. This means that end-to-end cold chain monitoring and temperature control to avoid spoilage and lengthen shelf life is more critical than ever.
As it is, roughly one-third of the food produced in the world for human consumption every year—approximately 1.3 billion tons—is wasted. Some say that foodborne illness may also be on the rise.[1] The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates that 1 in 6 Americans (48 million) get sick, 128,000 are hospitalized, and 3,000 die from foodborne illnesses each year.[2] And according to the World Health Organization, roughly 420,000 people die due to consuming contaminated food worldwide each year.[3]