Temperature monitoring forms an essential part of quality control in the food and pharmaceutical industries and ensures that all temperature-dependent products remain safe as they are being stored or transported.
TMSA offers time and temperature monitoring solutions for both the food and pharmaceutical industries, which are globally sourced from the most reputable suppliers worldwide.
To fully appreciate the need for temperature control in both industries; we need to understand the importance of quality control.
What does quality control mean in the food industry?
Food quality control is extremely important to ensure consumers are eating and handling safe food items. It not only protects customers from the risk of contaminated foods but also ensures they receive the quality of food they have paid for.
Temperature-sensitive foods are known as TCS (Time/Temperature Control for Safety) foods and therefore need time and temperature control for safety. TCS foods include milk and dairy products, eggs, meat (beef, pork, and lamb), poultry, fish, shellfish and crustaceans, baked potatoes, tofu or other soy protein, sprouts and sprout seeds, sliced melons, cut tomatoes, cut leafy greens, etc.
How does temperature affect food preservation?
Microorganisms, both spoilage and pathogenic, can grow rapidly at room temperature. To slow this microbial growth and the enzymatic and oxidation processes, foods need to be stored at lower temperatures. By controlling the temperature, you can control the levels of bacteria that spoil foods and cause illness. Heat kills bacteria, while cold temperatures slow down the growth of bacteria to prevent it from reaching harmful levels.
What does quality control mean in the pharmaceutical industry?
Quality control is a crucial function of the pharmaceutical industry. Drug manufacturers must thoroughly test materials, processes, equipment, techniques, and environments in order to ensure their final products are consistent, safe, effective and predictable. Pharmaceutical products must be both safe and effective. They should therefore be of a consistent composition and be free of unwanted by-products and contaminants. Medical practitioners and consumers will then have confidence in the efficacy and safety of the products.
Pharmaceutical products made from high-quality ingredients, using consistent processes will prevent contamination and be compliant with relevant legal requirements. Rigorous quality control methods are essential and beneficial to both companies and patients.
How does temperature affect the stability and efficacy of medication?
When a drug is stored in temperatures that are too high or too low, the drug’s chemical stability will possibly be impacted. The drug may degrade and form impurities.
Extreme temperatures will almost always affect medication stability. In extreme heat, medicines begin to break down. The impurities that form, as a result, compromise the medication’s potency or efficacy. On top of this, impurities could potentially harm the person who uses the medication. Keeping pharmaceutical products at the correct temperature during the entire storage and distribution lifecycle is critical to helping medical patients maintain their health.
Refrigeration and temperature monitoring are the most widely used methods to date to slow the bacteria growth that leads to food deterioration, and for pharmaceutical products to maintain their effectiveness, sterility or physical form.
All of our products would work in the quality control environment. In pharmaceuticals, the most sought after would be those that are WHO approved – ITAG 4 WHO, Fridge Tag 2, Fridge Tag 3, IKhaya VM100 Real-time system and Freeze Tags. In the food range it would be those that carry PPECB approval such as the Real-Time loggers from DeltaTrak 22362 and 22367.
Contact us today to find a solution for your quality control needs.
