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With the Climate Change Conference in Glasgow, COP26, and a lot of talk around the impact that different industries have on the environment, it’s important to understand what changes could be made quickly and easily to reduce our emissions and the waste we currently produce.

Temperature monitoring may not sound like it has much impact but when we investigate just a few aspects we can see what a difference it can make. A research paper by Lisa Kitinoja, “Use of cold chains for reducing food losses in developing countries” estimates that the amount of food that was wasted due to lack of refrigeration or in other words temperature damage, was 20% globally. Although it’s a very crude calculation, the total estimated CO₂ production for food globally was 17,318 billion tonnes per year, according to a paper published in 2021,  “Global greenhouse gas emissions from animal-based foods are twice those of plant-based foods”. That would mean if you could reduce food losses to 0% you could save 3.46 billions tonnes per year of CO₂. That is obviously unrealistic because there are always losses in everything we do as humans, we’re not perfect and neither is the environment we live in but if we monitor the temperature of our food during shipping and storage with low cost devices and have appropriate alerts we can definitely bring that 20% down to single figures.

It’s not just the saving of food waste, in situations where the food cannot be saved and it is already lost, the next best thing is to limit its further effect on the environment. For example, if a container refrigeration unit fails in the middle of the Atlantic ocean on a ship and the crew cannot repair it in time, there is nothing that can be done to save the contents. However, if the receiving party was notified that the shipment has spoiled they would be able to stop the container from being collected at the port and being transported to the first destination which would save fuel and reduce the number of vehicles needed for transportation. In this scenario, it is the saving in CO₂ from moving a worthless container from the port to the warehouse instead of directing it directly to a different facility for disposal, possibly biodigester, or better still another use such as for animal feeds. 

More significant savings are possible where a shipment has been mis-handled enroute to the port of embarkation or airport. With wireless temperature loggers, it is possible for shipping agents to ensure that a cargo is good to load before it is put on the ship or aircraft. Smashtag’s Chill temperature data logger has been shown to be capable of being downloaded using Bluetooth to a smartphone from outside a standard shipping container. The objective of using such technologies is not just to stop or re-direct spoiled shipments, but for everyone in the logistics chain to be able to put in place quality control and assurance processes to almost eliminate such losses. 

The purpose of temperature loggers in the cold chain industry is to firstly show whether or not the shipment is fit for sale and secondly, if it’s damaged by temperature, where in the cold chain did that problem occur and ultimately for the businesses involved who’s insurance company to make a claim with.

The UK’s country-wide vaccination programme is ongoing in order to protect the nation from contracting and suffering from the consequences of COVID-19. Now the Delta variant has been identified, it’s become a race against time simply because this mutation of the virus is known to spread faster. As the government stocks up on the vaccines that have been approved for use in the UK, there is an even greater need for proper storage facilities that can track and maintain stocks in their ideal condition using equipment such as data loggers for temperature to monitor the environment in which they’re held. The use of accurate temperature data loggers can help preserve the quality of doses until they are ready for use.

From the beginning of 2021 to early spring, the government targeted nine top-priority groups for vaccination. From January to Mid-February, vaccinations were carried out on care home residents and workers, people aged 80+ and frontline health and social workers; people aged 75 to 79; and then people aged 70 to 74 and anyone else who was considered clinically vulnerable.

In the second wave of vaccinations, which started at the end of February, the priority moved to people aged 65 to 69, followed by individuals with underlying health conditions aged between 16 and 64. Efforts were then concentrated on others aged 60 to 64, individuals aged 55 to 59, and people in the 50 to 54 age range.

As the programme continued to gain momentum, a number of problems needing to be addressed were flagged up. Most critical of these were the requirement for more and better storage for the vaccines; the requirement for temperature data loggers to ensure that the vaccine was being kept at the right temperatures; finding more people to join the vaccination teams; and opening new vaccination centres to accommodate more people.

The first round of vaccinations was with Pfizer-BioNTech’s product. Once vaccines from AstraZeneca and Moderna were approved for use, there was a huge ramping up in vaccine operations.

So far, over 48 million people in the UK have received at least one dose of the COVID-19 vaccine. Over 90 per cent of people 16 years old and above have now had at least one jab, and now the country is now setting its sights on the twin goals of an autumn booster campaign and the vaccination of children below 16 years of age.

However, the government has needed to find ways to improve storage and preserve the integrity of the vaccines being stored for use. This has been one of the largest logistical operations ever to take place in the country, with millions of doses of the vaccine being transported country-wide and stored in critical areas. It’s crucial to ensure that vials are stored at the right temperatures, as any mistake can cause significant delays to the life-saving programme and result in wasted resources.

All three vaccines are administered in two doses, but the AstraZeneca vaccine is a viral vector, while the two others are RNA vaccines. Storage temperatures for each of the three types vary, however, which means strict temperature monitoring is required. The AstraZeneca vaccine can be stored at regular fridge temperatures, while the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine has to be kept at -70°C. The Moderna vaccine, on the other hand, should be stored at -20°C. Data loggers for temperature monitoring are key to detecting any potential risks of deterioration in the as-yet unused stocks.

Reliable temperature data loggers

Maintaining the right temperatures can be important where goods are stored generally and is especially critical for a product as sensitive as vaccines. To do this, you need the right equipment. Smashtag Ltd manufactures reliable temperature data loggers that can help track possible variations in temperature efficiently and with a high degree of accuracy. Because our data loggers are portable, they can be used both in storage facilities and while transporting the goods.

As well as monitoring temperatures for vaccines, drugs, and other pharmaceutical products, our temperature loggers can also be used in a host of other industries. For instance, this impressive piece of kit can be highly beneficial when monitoring storage temperature conditions for fresh produce, refined foodstuffs, and frozen foods, for instance.

For top-quality temperature data loggers, call Smashtag at 01223 881881 or send us a message through our Contact Us page for more details.

Smashtag has launched a range of wireless Bluetooth temperature data loggers to complement its low cost temperature logger ‘Chill’ and now offers devices suited to more applications and environments. Smashtag Chill is still its leading product and this has also been enhanced by updated Apps for both Android and iOS which provide a full service system to users. The new App means that the tags are always transmitting and can be read by any device within radio range with the App installed and open. This means that anyone for example  in the cold chain, can interrogate the tags, but the data is then automatically transmitted to the cloud and can only be viewed securely by the authorised users. This means that all parties can check that their responsibilities have been fulfilled, before passing over shipments to the next link in the chain. Tests have shown that tags can be read from outside steel containers for example, without the need to open them and break the security seals. The App is free to download from the Apple store and Google Playstore.

The range has been developed to meet the needs of other users that have requested different packages and specifications. A larger rugged device, Extreme, with suitable lithium batteries offers -30°C performance and a 5 year lifetime. Essential is more consumer focussed and is being used in greenhouses, fridges and ambient room monitoring. Extensive testing has shown that continuous -30°C operation can be  achieved and although many devices claim this, tests have shown that many battery chemistries, including lithium button cells, fail very rapidly under long term exposure at low temperatures.

The “Chill” was launched in April 2019 and the extended product range is the next big part of the Smashtag system. Matt Sims, MD says, “We’re constantly developing our products and system to improve the experience and make it easier than ever for our customers to use. We have been surprised by the range of applications that customers are using the loggers for and the range has been developed in response to customer requests. The loggers can be purchased directly from the company’s website or from Amazon.

For more details and to purchase, visit https://smashtag.global

Congratulations to our neighbours on the science park, AstraZeneca and Oxford University for their success in developing a COVID-19 vaccine. It’s great to see British science excelling and in these difficult times, we’re now able to see a way out of the pandemic.

The vaccine has had a bumpy road with rumours of deaths around their trials and suspected side affects but thankfully none of these were true and finally on 30th December 2020 it was given MHRA approval and 100 million doses are now being produced for the UK.

AstraZeneca and Oxford University should be highly praised for their efforts over the past year in developing a vaccine which is effective and produced at cost, not making a large profit from such a global crisis.

It’s been a long road and a tough Christmas for everyone but the end is coming, lets hope we can celebrate Easter normally.

With discussions about a vaccine being available as early as September, something we all hope happens, if not sooner, once the vaccine is available in large quantities it will need to be distributed. Forgetting about the politics of where the vaccine is manufactured and where it is to be distributed, there are logistics issues to be addressed when moving vaccines around.

Vaccines usually need to be kept at between 1 – 8°C and sometimes much tighter controlled temperatures such as 2 – 5°C. Specialist packaging normally is used to ensure the temperature does not exceed these strict limits and a temperature logger is included with shipments to provide assurance that this has been the case.

Once delivered, the vaccine is stored in fridges for longer term storage until it can be used or reaches its expiry date. Fridges are also monitored using temperature loggers which can be designed for longer durations than those used for shipping. Infrequent checking with a USB device or real-time monitoring is normal, so that if a problem occurs and the fridge is showing a rise in temperature, staff are alerted before the contents of the fridge are damaged.

Temperature monitoring is of vital importance for vaccines because if the vaccine has exceeded its temperature limits it can be damaged. Further, there is no way to tell from the naked eye if this has happened, it will still look exactly the same and if used, the patient will live their life believing they are safe from a dangerous disease when they are not.

Hopefully, it is a question of when, not if, there is a Covid-19 vaccine and it will be one of the most sought after medical products ever. As such, it will require a huge volume of medical shipments, packaging and the services that go with it for many months if not years. The distribution challenge will be huge, given the millions of people who will need to be immunised to kill off this virus for good and the difficulty of reaching some regions, achieving this successfully will be no small feat.

Certainly, from the camaraderie we have seen across the globe in efforts to suppress coronavirus so far, it gives us great hope that everyone will work together when a vaccine is available to distribute it as quickly and safely as possible.

Like all businesses in the UK we are following Government guidelines and our staff are working from home where possible. We are still here to answer your calls, emails and enquiries and are still able to fulfil orders.

We are working with our partners to try and keep our stock available during this time. Shipping of fresh produce and pharmaceuticals will continue throughout the lockdown and we will do our best to support our customers through this time.

From all of us at Smashtag, keep safe!

Smashtag which manufactures a Bluetooth temperature logger for temperature monitoring sensitive products through the cold chain industry has teamed up with LINKFRESH, the leading global provider of supply chain ERP solutions for the fresh produce industry.
Smashtag has recently launched its low cost wireless temperature logger, ‘Chill’ which uses Bluetooth to download the recorded temperatures to a smartphone, making it much easier for customers to get their temperature data back securely without expensive custom radio equipment.

The partnership with LINKFRESH will allow customers to integrate the recorded temperature data directly from Smashtag Chill into their ERP system.  The temperature data can then be attached to the appropriate consignment, quality control or traceability record and enable rapid identification of any shipment at risk of temperature damage, as well as building a complete traceability picture for that shipment.

Matt Sims, Smashtag MD says “It’s great to find a local partner where we can maximise the usefulness of shipping temperature data with a customer’s internal ERP system. We know that linking both systems will be of great benefit to customers, reducing the time and effort required to ensure the highest quality of products.”

Richard Jones CIO at LINKFRESH says, ”At LINKFRESH we are always looking for ways to innovate and increase the value of data to our customers.  For many years LINKFRESH has electronically captured traceability data throughout the fresh produce supply chain; this partnership with Smashtag adds another dimension to the data.  We are very excited about the possibilities the partnership with Smashtag will provide.”

For more details, visit our homepage at https://smashtag.global and https://linkfresh.com