FAQs About Monika & Food Safety
Considering introducing a temperature monitoring and compliance management system to your business, but no idea where to start? In this blog we answer some frequently asked questions to help you understand what you need.
What is Monika?
Founded in 1992, Monika is an industry leader in the compliance management arena. We revolutionised food safety with our wireless temperature monitoring technology, which evolved into the complete, cloud-based system we offer today.
You can visit our Food Safety or Clinical pages to learn more about how our services can be applied to your business, but in summary, we offer three core modules; Equipment Management – making sure your refrigerators and freezers are working at optimal performance. Team Management – to guarantee no essential tasks are missed and streamline training staff. And Enterprise Management – ideal for multisite managers looking to compare performance and eliminate unnecessary call outs.
When should food temperature be monitored?
Food safety is vital and should be monitored at the delivery, storage, cooking, reheating, and serving stages. Storage is particularly vital, as it impacts large quantities of stock. Our sensors cleverly simulate the temperature of perishable food, rather than simply recording the air inside cold units for greater accuracy unaffected by frequent door openings.
Operators can program a predetermined safe temperature range for each unit, and should an appliance move outside this zone, the Monika system sends escalated alerts to enable staff to take corrective action. Whether that’s a knocked switch, like University of East Anglia Head Chef Mattie Crooks experienced, or an underlying technical issue that can be flagged for maintenance to avoid expensive repairs, like Elysian Residences’ The Denton Head Chef, Enrico Lizzio noted.
Not only do these alerts guarantee safety, they also help prevent unnecessary and expensive waste, and give operators peace of mind that their kit is operating efficiently.
Managers can also use Monika’s Team Management capabilities to create a unique list of tasks for staff to work through, including the various points food temperature readings should be taken. From the central dashboard, they can view which tasks have been completed, when, and by whom. This way, no essential check is ever missed or duplicated unnecessarily.
What temperature should food be stored at?
To maximise food safety and ensure refrigerators are not overexerting themselves, operators should store different food products at different temperatures where possible. This also maintains optimal food freshness, helping products last longer and minimising food waste. Chilled food should be stored between 0oC and +5oC.
What is the danger zone for food?
As determined by the Food Standards Agency, food should always be kept out of the danger zone of +8oC – +63oC wherever possible. At this temperature, perishable items are much more susceptible to bacterial growth. For this reason, it’s particularly important to ensure food was properly stored during transportation, which can be quickly verified with our handheld probes, which automatically log the data to your central Monika dashboard for a fully auditable log.
For more information about FAQs specifically about Monika software and hardware, head to the FAQs page of our website.
Still have questions? Get in touch with our friendly customer service team or set up a commitment-free demo to learn about how Monika could help your business.