Freshness and Supplies Monitoring
Environmental sensors offer a low-cost solution for monitoring freshness and product exposure. This technology requires no power and was designed for markets where freshness is key to suppliers, consumers, and military personnel. By measuring the temperature range to which a product is exposed, the sensors allow immediate and accurate feedback for judging the freshness of the product.
Whether providing supply-chain accountability between growers, shippers, and grocers or offering consumers confidence in the product they are buying or using, environmental sensors can track cumulative exposure and provide vital information as to whether a product is fresh or has crossed into the temperature range that promotes bacterial growth, degradation, or spoilage.
Environmental sensors can be tailored to measure appropriate exposure levels for multiple products and systems:
- Frozen foods
- Energetic materials
Prolonged exposure to heat accelerates the aging process and reduces the shelf life of many consumer products and the service life of many military supplies. Tracking the temperature exposure over a period of days, weeks, or years provides essential information about the product and peace of mind in the product’s freshness or the system's reliability.
Environmental sensors are available in two versions: visual sensors and radio frequency identification (RFID) sensors.
- Easily integrated into packaging
- Appropriate for visual inspection
- Can be embedded
- Useful for scanning large-scale stores (hundreds or thousands at a time)
- Useful for tracking exposure of loads during and after shipping
- Useful for scanning warehouse storage
With the benefit of a 20-year lifespan, environmental sensors offer long-term exposure tracking. The technology can be tailored to measure a wide range of temperatures from -30°C to 240°C (-22°F to 464°F). Sensors can be designed to fit the product and the specific need for monitoring thermal exposure.