Sensor Networks and The Food Industry
Fergus O’Reilly, Cork Institute of Technology
Martin Connolly, Sykoinia Limited
REALWSN'05 - Workshop on Real-World Wireless Sensor
Networks, Stockholm, Sweden
June 20-21 2005 1

Overview
 The Food Industry & its Scandals
 Software in the Food Industry
 Sensor Networks for Food Processing
 Sensor Networks for Growers
 Self Inflicted Barriers to Entry
 The Sykoinia Solution
June 20-21 2005 2

The Food Industry and its Scandals
 Several scandals have shaken consumer
confidence.
 Worldwide problem – Japan, China, EU and USA
all affected in recent years.
 Affects all sectors of the industry from
production to retail and distribution.
June 20-21 2005 3

The Headlines
 “Shellfish company devastated by 'bug'
report”, Irish Examiner, 26th March 2002
 “U.S. to block EU poultry, pork due to dioxin
scare”, CNN 3rd June 1999
 “Premier Foods faces £100m bill for Sudan 1”,
The London Times 26th February 2005
 “One Sweet Mess”, Time Magazine, 21st July 2002
June 20-21 2005 4

The Oyster Farm
 In 2002, a Hong Kong restaurant
suffered an outbreak of the
‘Winter Vomiting Bug’.
 Traced back to oysters bred in
Ireland.
 Oysters fed on waste from a
hospital…
 …suffering from an outbreak…
 …transmitted to the food chain.
June 20-21 2005 5

The 1999 Belgian Dioxin Scandal
 Cancer causing dioxins found in
animal feed for pigs and chickens.
 High economic,legal and political
cost.
 Ban on Belgian food exports to
several countries.
 EU Legal action against Belgian
government.
 Ousting of outgoing government in
national elections.
June 20-21 2005 6

Can these incidents be prevented?
 Many incidences of negligence and even fraud…
 …but more are due to error and sheer misfortune
 Wireless Sensor Networks can potentially help to
alleviate these incidents.
 Can be used for monitoring production
conditions, detecting presence of agents etc.
June 20-21 2005 7

Software in the Food Industry
 Software in the Food Industry is mainly ERP
systems.
 Microsoft technology prevalent.
 Used for record keeping.
 Rarely plays a role in the production process.
 Some use of 802.11 and RFID but at a very early
stage of adoption.
June 20-21 2005 8

Smart Sensors & Food Processing (1)
 Precedent for Smart Sensors
application…
 …detecting biological and
chemical agents.
 Applicability to the Food
Industry
 Could be used for detecting
unwanted agents in food.
June 20-21 2005 9

Smart Sensors & Food Processing (2)
 Constancy in environmental
conditions critical for many
foodstuffs
 E.g. raw meat, chill chain etc.
 Manual Sample of metrics such as
temperature currently taken.
 Smart Sensors could be deployed
throughout the food chain.
 A better standard of monitoring
than is currently available.
June 20-21 2005 10

Smart Sensors for Growers
 Vineyards in California and Australia have used
smart sensors.
 Monitor attributes such as temperature and soil
moisture.
 Can give vine growers better information about
their crop.
 Can also be used to anticipate problems such as
the presence of pests.
 Less expensive than traditional climate sensors.
 Can also be used for other crops – commercial
apple growing, wheat production etc.
June 20-21 2005 11

Case Study: The Wine Industry (1)
 Sensor Network used to monitor
vineyard by Pickberry in California.
 Used to monitor environmental
conditions.
 Soil moisture, rainfall, wind velocity
and direction, and air and soil
temperature all monitored
 Sensor Networks can play a critical
role in vineyard cost management.
 Loss of a crop could cost Pickberry
US$4,000-10,000 a ton.
June 20-21 2005 12

Case Study: The Wine Industry (2)
 Most focus is on vine growing but
this is only one stage of the wine
production process.
 Use Smart sensors to monitor
temperature during vinification (the
conversion of grape juice into wine).
June 20-21 2005 13

Case Study: The Wine Industry (3)
 The addition of Sulphur Dioxide
during fermentation must be strictly
controlled.
 Can also be used to detect the
presence of acids and tannins.
 Can also be used during storage.
 Cellars must be kept at a strict
temperature and humidity.
June 20-21 2005 14

Case Study: The Chill Chain (1)
 Temperature of frozen foods
must be maintained at a
constant level from initial
processing to final display by a
retailer.
 Applies particularly to meat
and poultry.
 Known as the ‘Chill Chain’.
 2 main steps…
June 20-21 2005 15

Case Study: The Chill Chain (2)
 Primary chilling relates to
removing the heat from the
carcass before it can be further
processed or shipped.
 Once a previously chilled produced
has been cut, minced, wrapped or
cooked secondary chilling must
take place.
 Vital for ensuring that a product
remains at a constant temperature
during transportation.
June 20-21 2005 16

Case Study: The Chill Chain (3)
 Mistakes & errors prevalent.
 Shelf life being reduced to a
quarter of its potential.
 Opportunity for sensor
networks in primary and
secondary chilling…
 …not only to monitor
temperature but also to
monitor airflow.
June 20-21 2005 17

Barriers for use in the Food Industry (1)
 Potential for using Sensor
Networks in the Food Industry.
 Unlikely to be deployed on a
widespread basis given the
current state of operation.
 Reliability problems – 65% of
sensors deployed in redwood
forests in California never
returned data (UC Berkeley).
June 20-21 2005 18

Barriers for use in the Food Industry (2)
 Difficult to deploy and use.
 Data interpretation and
analysis tools are limited.
 Difficult to cluster the
networks.
 Even IT Professionals in the
Food Industry will encounter
difficulties.
 Hampers adoption of the
technology.
June 20-21 2005 19

The Sykoinia Solution (1)
 SenSure
system.
 Data gathered
by the SenSure
portal.
 Measurements
stored and
analysed by the
system.
June 20-21 2005 20

The Sykoinia Solution (2)
 Information
Can be viewed
through a .NET
GUI, WWW
Interface and
Report Tools.
 Easy to use and
easy to deploy.
 Enables
Network
Clustering.
June 20-21 2005 21

The Sykoinia Solution (3)
 Battery and
transmission
failures
reported.
 Tested using
standard
MICA2 Motes…
 …but platform
and
architecture
independent.
June 20-21 2005 22

Conclusion
 Serious challenges for food
industry
 Quality and consumer
confidence issues.
 Smart Sensor Networks can
play a role in the food
production chain…
 …but not with the current
state of operation.
 Sykoinia’s SenSure system
aims to address this issue.
June 20-21 2005 23