Continuous measurement, documentation, and analysis of temperature conditions throughout frozen food production, storage, transport, and delivery operations. Effective monitoring combines sensors, data logging, real-time alerts, cloud connectivity, and historical analytics to provide complete visibility into cold chain performance. Modern systems detect temperature excursions immediately, trigger automated alerts enabling rapid intervention, document compliance for regulatory requirements, and provide forensic data for root cause analysis when problems occur. In South Africa, R638 compliance requires temperature records retained for at least one year, while ISO/TS 22002-5 mandates continuous monitoring demonstrating products maintained at -18°C ±3°C throughout transport. Cold chain monitoring distinguishes professional operators committed to product integrity from providers offering vague promises about “temperature control” without documented verification. The challenge isn’t collecting temperature data – any data logger can record numbers. The challenge is converting raw data into actionable intelligence that prevents failures before they compromise products. Most “smart fleet” monitoring systems report what already happened rather than predicting what will happen, making them thermometers documenting failures rather than intelligence systems preventing problems.
Related Terms: Temperature Monitoring System, IoT Monitoring, Temperature Excursion, Coldwatch, Smart Fleet (Telematics)
Related Articles: Maintaining the Cold Chain