Page 57 - CIJ April 2024 - Digital Edition

HYGIENE

Food Safety & Sanitation automated alerts enable quicker
response to issues such as
Microbiologist-turned Hygiene equipment malfunctions
Manager of The St. Regis Mumbai, or temperature
Varsha Punjabi, runs a tight ship deviations,
enforcing compliance to food safety minimizing
and sanitation guidelines. She is downtime and
an APEC (Asia Pacific Excluding improving overall
China) advisory board member for operational
food safety for Marriott International. efficiency.
Food temperature monitoring, Hence the
vendor audit and various Quality reports generated
Assurance parameters like pH, from real-time
moisture, humidity and storage monitoring ensures
conditions are some of the prime compliances with
factors influencing food safety today. food safety regulations
Before the widespread adoption of and standards, reducing
IoT sensors in hygiene management, the risk of fines and legal
operations relied heavily on manual liabilities, thereby building
monitoring, periodic inspections, consumer trust and loyalty to the I DON’T THINK THE
and reactive responses to issues. brand. BENEFITS OF THE HYGIENE
The introduction of IoT sensors has By optimizing resource usage and MANAGER’S ROLE ARE
changed hygiene operations. minimizing waste through better TANGIBLE. BUT IF CAME
IoT sensors continuously monitoring and control, IoT sensors TO HAVING HYGIENE
monitor critical parameters such as contribute to sustainable practices
temperature, humidity, and sanitation, within the food industry. MANAGERS VS NOT
reducing the risk of foodborne Accuracy in decisions with real- HAVING ONE, I WOULD
illnesses by ensuring that food is time data, allows in depth analysis THINK HMS HAVE
stored, transported, and processed to identify trends, patterns, and BROUGHT IN HOLISTIC
under optimal conditions. Real-time opportunities for improvement, and IMPROVEMENT IN THE
data on food quality parameters like implement continuous improvement AREAS WE FUNCTION.
pH, moisture content, and oxygen in hygiene and food safety practices.
levels, is made available to maintain Predictive maintenance is Varsha Punjabi
consistency in product quality. simplified with sensors which
With real-time monitoring, monitor the condition of equipment
it is much easier to identify and facilities related to hygiene timetables. This ensures that cleaning
inefficiencies in processes, such as practices. By analyzing sensor efforts are targeted where they are
energy waste or product spoilage, data, hygiene managers can predict most needed, improving efficiency
allowing for targeted improvements when maintenance or cleaning and reducing resource wastage.
and leading to cost savings in tasks are needed, reducing the risk
the long run. of equipment failures or hygiene Similarly, remote monitoring and
Further the breaches. They can also track records management of hygiene practices
on compliance and reporting. By is enabled, allowing managers to
monitoring hygiene parameters oversee operations from anywhere
closely, the hygiene practices can be with internet access. This flexibility
consistently implemented, leading is especially valuable for managing
to improved product quality and multiple locations or sites.
reduced risk of contamination or Overall, the implementation of IoT
spoilage. sensors in hygiene and food safety

The data collected on the usage offers a wide range of benefits that
patterns of facilities and equipment, contribute to safer, higher-quality
allow hygiene managers to food products, reduced costs, and
optimize cleaning schedules based improved operational efficiency for
on actual usage rather than fixed businesses in the food industry.

Clean India Journal•APRIL 2024 57
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