Food quality and safety monitoring system

• US 20030208333A1
• Filed: 05/27/2003
• Published: 11/06/2003
• Est. Priority Date: 02/21/2001
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Emerson Climate Technologies Retail Solutions Incorporated (Emerson Electric Company)
• Original Assignee: Abtar Singh, Neal Starling, Paul Wickberg, Thomas J. Mathews
• Inventors: Singh, Abtar, Mathews, Thomas J., Wickberg, Paul, Starling, Neal
• Granted Patent: US 7,069,168 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 702/135
• CPC Class Codes: G01K 13/12 combined with sampling devices for measuring temperatures of samples of materials

Abstract

The present invention provides a food quality and safety monitoring system and method for evaluating food characteristic management for improving the safety of perishable food products for human consumption and the shelf life of perishable food product. A sensor within a refrigeration case may be continuously monitored by a controller to calculate a food characteristic index. The food characteristic index can be monitored over time to evaluate the food characteristic management of a particular store or group of stores.

Claims

1. A refrigeration system controller comprising:

a controller in communication with at least one sensor and operable to continuously receive data, said controller calculating a food characteristic index indicating at least one of food safety and food quality.

2. The controller of claim 1, wherein said sensor is a temperature sensor.

3. The controller of claim 1, wherein said sensor is a simulated product temperature sensor.

4. The controller of claim 1, wherein said food characteristic index includes:

an unscaled food product index;

a maximum food product index; and

a function of said unscaled food product index and said maximum food product index.

5. A refrigeration system comprising:

at least one refrigeration case;

at least one sensor; and

a controller in communication with at least one sensor and operable to continuously receive data, said controller calculating a food characteristic index indicating at least one of food safety and food quality.

6. The system of claim 5, wherein said sensor is a temperature sensor.

7. The system of claim 5, wherein said sensor is a simulated product temperature sensor.

8. The system of claim 5, wherein said food characteristic index includes:

an unscaled food product index;

a maximum food product index; and

a function of said unscaled food product index and said maximum food product index.

17. A food characteristic index calculated according to the method of claim 7.

18. The food characteristic index of claim 17, wherein said food characteristic index includes:

an unscaled food product index;

a maximum food product index; and

a function of said unscaled food product index and said maximum food product index.

9. A method for calculating a food characteristic index comprising:

collecting first product data;

determining a first food characteristic index as a function of said first product data;

collecting second product data;

determining a second food characteristic index as a function of said second product data; and

comparing said first food characteristic index and said second food characteristic index.

10. The method of claim 9, improving food characteristic management as a function of said comparing said first food characteristic index and said second food characteristic index.

11. The method of claim 9, further comprising:

adjusting performance of a cooling system as a function of said comparing of said first and second food characteristic indices.

12. The method of claim 9, wherein said collecting first and second food product data includes collecting product data representing a plurality of product types.

13. The method of claim 9, wherein said first and second food characteristic indices are food quality indices.

14. The method of claim 9, wherein said first and second food characteristic indices are food safety indices.

15. The method of claim 9, further comprising determining a food characteristic index for a food product industry as a function of said first and second food characteristic indices.

16. The method of claim 15, further comprising comparing either of said first and second food characteristic indices with said food characteristic index for said food product industry.