Technical, process-related and sustainability requirements for IoT-based temperature monitoring in fruit and vegetable supply chains

Abstract Wireless and continuous temperature monitoring in fruit and vegetable supply chains facilitates predictive shelf-life modelling and shelf-life driven distribution, helping to reduce food waste. Such wireless monitoring can be realized with Internet-of-things (IoT) technology. However, imple...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Anna Lamberty, Judith Kreyenschmidt
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Springer 2025-05-01
Series:Discover Food
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Online Access:https://doi.org/10.1007/s44187-025-00427-1
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Summary:Abstract Wireless and continuous temperature monitoring in fruit and vegetable supply chains facilitates predictive shelf-life modelling and shelf-life driven distribution, helping to reduce food waste. Such wireless monitoring can be realized with Internet-of-things (IoT) technology. However, implementation of IoT technology in the fruit and vegetable sector faces technical, process-related and sustainability challenges, and deeper understanding about the implications in these dimensions is needed. Thus, the objective of this study was to identify technical, process-related and sustainability requirements for IoT-based temperature monitoring that are applicable to real-world fruit and vegetable supply chains. Systematic literature review was used for identifying the requirements. A practical test with two IoT-based temperature monitoring systems in four different supply chains was conducted to underpin the findings related to data transmission reliability, temperature accuracy, location accuracy, battery life and sustainability characteristics with real-world insights. A comprehensive set of technical, process-related and sustainability requirements were identified from the literature research, including amongst others a battery life of at least 3–4 weeks, a data loss rate of < 2%, a measurement interval of ≤ 10 min, and a robust and reusable hardware design. In the practical test it was found that the data transmission and measurement accuracy constrained reliable data provision. Battery life and location accuracy showed sufficient performance, while the sustainability characteristics of the IoT devices should be improved. The results of this study provide a decision aid for actors to choose the right technology for their application and development impulses for IoT providers, to facilitate easier integration of IoT-based temperature monitoring in fruit and vegetable supply chains.
ISSN:2731-4286