Table Olives Fermentation control through Internet of Things technologies

• Ubiquitous Control of weather dependent risk for fermentation such as water temperature
• Ubiquitous Control 24×7 of critical fermentation parameters
• Compare sensor measurements with lab analyses
• Assess sensor data life cycle and accuracy of measurements throughout the experiment
• Assess mechanical and consumables parts (batteries, cleaning/ maintenance) of the IoT deployment throughout the experiment

Fermentation in table olives and other vegetables is a crucial step within the food value chain.

Table Olive food industry exploits fermented goods and further processes them by sterilizing, canning and packaging them to sellable units. Fermentation is a long-lasting uncertain process with associated costs and huge impact on the safety, durability and organoleptic traits of the final product. Inappropriate fermentation leads to production losses in Spring and Summer when the fermented produce is stored at the buyers premises.

It adds a 25%-75% extra time on top of the crop production lifecycle and thus it may delay the sourcing of the semi-final products or hinder its quality and value leading to unfair transactions and power imbalances within the value chain. TOFIoT develops a modern, digital solution for its quality control that optimises resources’ efficiency, impressively increases data availability and their scientific utilization and optionally shares data and information (through EPCIS) with other food processing systems and value-chain actors.

TOFIoT data records build trust on food safety and products’ shelf duration between the players of the 1st and 2nd processing phase that may be the same or different businesses. The solution acquires and communicates more data than physical inspections do so the process is largely optimized while fermentation material use and costs are decreased. Moreover, employees’ costs are also reduced and their productivity increased. Last, data availability feeds traceability platforms and shares food safety confidence with buyers and consumers.