From NASA to food storage T&D unveils data logger

The Japanese company, whose clients include NASA Kennedy Space Center, Pepsico, Tyson Foods and Honey Baked Ham, has launched the product in growing response to working in ‘the cloud’ (running an application on many computers at the same time).

Minoru Ito, head of European sales, T&D Corporation Germany, told FoodProductionDaily.com the technology monitors temperature management in industrial situations including pipes, ducts, boilers, cooking equipment and chilled goods storage areas.

Refrigerated and frozen goods​

For example, it records temperatures in cooking equipment such as pans, fryers, and ovens and temperature management of refrigerated and frozen goods.

“In today’s climate of FSMA (Food Safety Modernization Act​) monitoring, quality assurance, error free data and food recalls it is important staying connected to your data​,” said Ito.

“We make instruments for quality assurance and the reports are sent to the cloud as data management​.

“Cloud computing is becoming more popular, our competitors are starting to use it but they make their customers pay. Ours is free of charge​.”

The MCR-4TC data logger, which can cost from €300-€600, can be coupled together with up to four units, making it possible to measure and record up to 16 channels simultaneously.

Wireless technology​

T&D has wireless and network connected technology for monitoring all aspects of food preparation, transportation, storage, and service.

The battery operated temperature monitoring data logger runs on two AA batteries and supports thermocouple types K, J, T, S and R, for measurements between -270 °C to 1760 °C.

Recorded data can be relayed to a PC via USB connection or saved to an SD card and transferred to a PC. Data can also be viewed and checked on the logger’s LCD display.

“Our Thermo Recorders were used for monitoring temperature and humidity conditions inside NASA’s Space Shuttle Atlantis​,” added Ito.

“Even though the Space Shuttle has finished its voyage, Atlantis is now on display at the visitor section of the Kennedy Space Center and we at T&D are proud to be a  part of that​.“

The MCR-4TC data logger is water resistant and can be used in semi-wet conditions.Wireless communication is possible at -30°C.

Europe and US sales​

T&D Corporation has a European sales office in Niddatal near Frankfurt and distributors across the US.

For example, US-based, CAS DataLoggers, recently provided the temperature and humidity monitoring for a winery in Ohio which was waiting for winter temperatures to drop low enough to harvest an acre of grapes to make ice wine.

The winery installed eight T&D RTR-53 Wireless Temperature/Humidity Data Loggers throughout the vineyard, tied to posts at optimal coverage points.

A T&D RTR-57U Wireless Data Logger Handheld Data Collector was also selected to display all the loggers’ data at once. Each compact datalogger was housed in a water-resistant case providing protection from the winter weather.

The T&D data loggers monitored temperatures from 0°C to 55°C (32°F to 131°F) with their external temperature sensor, as well as recording humidity across a 10% to 95% RH range.