Ensuring safety in the food industry is imperative. So how do restaurants keep track of their operations? The answer lies in digital food safety. Read on to find out more.
Overview
The modern era has seen a rapid advancement in technology, with businesses in practically every industry opting to use machines to simplify their operations.
The food industry is no stranger to this. One of the most crucial parts of this industry is ensuring the quality of its products to avoid the spread of food-borne diseases.
Food safety refers to controlling all aspects of the cooking process to guarantee that ingredients are handled, prepared, and stored according to global health guidelines to prevent cases of food poisoning.
With digitization prevalent in practically all business operations, food safety has also started relying on automation to verify that all the steps involved in maintaining food sanitation are observed. This revolution in the industry is termed digital food safety and plays an essential part in following globally set health guidelines for human nutrition.
What is Digital Food Safety?
Digital food safety is the automation of manual food safety operations to create a centralized, digital solution that ensures that all the conditions involved in producing healthy nutrition are met.
Digital food safety entails using software designed specifically to automate the previously manual food safety process. Due to this, the solution eradicates human error and makes for a far more accurate and efficient option than the traditional food safety method.
A digital food safety solution has the following three components:
- Temperature measurement and monitoring with the aid of probes and sensors
- Automation of all data related to all the ingredients used in preparing the food
- Digitalized regulation of food safety and sanitation checklists
Digital food safety consists of using software specifically designed to incorporate all three components of the digital food safety solution. Not only does this reduce the risk of spreading foodborne illnesses, but it also helps restaurant owners pass health inspections.
Why Digital Food Safety Features are Important
Digital food safety comprises several features that help in automating the food safety process. Here we have compiled some of the features involved in digital food safety along with their importance.
- Digitalized temperature monitoring is accurate, efficient and helps protect your inventory
With digital food safety systems, accurate real-time temperature monitoring can be done through devices like remote sensors and Bluetooth pyrometers.
Computerized, wireless temperature sensors can be placed in freezers and storage sites to record the surrounding temperature as well as the temperature of your inventory. In the case of a power shortage, these sensors have an in-built alarm system that alerts you of any anomaly in temperature so that you can protect your inventory.
Bluetooth pyrometers can also sync to other devices and transfer recorded temperature information to your food safety software so that you can automate your system instead of keeping paper records. This digitalization helps make temperature monitoring more accurate and efficient.
- Automation of checklists creates transparency
Automating your data collection and storage process helps workers store information in one centralized location instead of recording it on multiple books and papers.
The transparency in digital checklists makes stored information more authentic and reliable and reduces human error. It also helps in making well-informed financial decisions as up-to-date, accurate information is provided.
- Digitalized safety reports make clearing inspections easier
Since digital food safety systems automate record-keeping, it is easier to review the information before an inspection and point out any discrepancies.
Along with this, digitalized information is easier to store, analyze and share across different devices. This means the process requires little to no manual labor, which reduces the human error margin and makes the process more efficient and accurate, ensuring that you are ready to meet all your inspection criteria.
- Computerized labeling of ingredients make inventory more accurate and efficient
Computerized labeling of ingredients and inventory items is far more effective than traditional manual systems involving handwritten labels.
Automating the labeling process also helps you keep track of expiration dates so that the ingredients you use are guaranteed to be healthy.
- Incorporation of corrective actions means that global health standards are met
Digital food systems have in-built corrective actions that alert you whenever a task is not performed or there is an anomaly in the system.
This helps in risk mitigation and ensures that your products meet global health guidelines.
Benefits of Food Safety Programs
Almost all food safety programs are now automated to some extent. This means that you can oversee your inventory, products, and entire cooking process and address any concerns in the system through food safety software.
Food safety programs have an in-built system that alerts workers of an anomaly in part of the process through computers and mobile devices. This means that workers have access to up-to-date information and can immediately address an issue.
Since food safety programs sync information gathered through sensors and probes with food safety software, all your data is through computers and phones and is easily accessible. This makes information more accurate and reliable and helps business owners make correct analyses for better decision-making.
Conclusion
Working in the food industry means that incorporating digital food safety practices in your business is a great way to ensure the quality of your food.
Digital food safety is a valuable asset in automating the food safety verification process and ensuring the sanitation of ingredients to limit the spread of food-borne illnesses.
