Covid-19 has brought with it a significant change to the way people have lived in the past. You would be frightened to see someone not wearing a mask or using a hand-sanitizer. A lot of money is being spent to desperately find a vaccine.
Just around a week or so ago, two cities in China found traces of the new coronavirus in cargoes of imported frozen food, Shenzhen local authorities said on 13th August in a briefing, although the World Health Organization downplayed the risk of the virus entering the food chain. The risk and uncertainty still remain whether Coronavirus can be spread through and into the food chain too.
It’s debatable whether coronavirus can be spread through frozen foods or not but there are few other viruses that do get spread and remain in the frozen foods. Viruses can survive up to two years at temperatures of -20C, directly affecting your Cold Chain.
There is one other microorganism that needs attention and most definitely spreads through the Cold Chain – Salmonella!
- Salmonella is part of a group of bacteria causing salmonellosis. Commonly found infecting frozen meats, it is also very prevalent in eggs.
- Salmonella contaminates frozen foods in the supply chain when there is a rise in the temperature during storage or transport.
- Warmer weather and unrefrigerated foods create ideal conditions for Salmonella to grow. Symptoms of Salmonella usually appear 6 hours to 6 days after consuming contaminated food – diarrhea, fever, and stomach cramps.
The other microorganism that you need to be worried about which can cause problems for you in the supply chain is Norovirus.
- Norovirus is a very contagious virus that causes vomiting and diarrhea. Food, drinks, and surfaces can become contaminated with Norovirus.
- Norovirus contaminates fresh produce, shellfish, ice, fruit, and ready-to-eat foods.
- Anybody can be sick from this virus but the illness can be really severe for young children and older adults.
The slightest rise in temperature can make your entire shipment suspect – you simply cannot afford that! You need to track your temperature every minute.
The Fleetview Control Tower covers your imperative, non-negotiable needs to manage your Cold Chain effectively:
- A control tower to alert you to possible vulnerable situations, with alarms and dashboards
- Monitor temperature minute-by-minute across your supply chain
- Complete incident management and response platform
- Full compliance and process audit trails
In today’s environment, you need to not only comply with FDA regulations, you need to demonstrate that you have done so!
An end-to-end visibility solution like FleetView gives you complete control over your Cold Chain – a tool that is indispensable for effective operations today.