Verigo launches shelf life prediction tool
Gainesville, Fla.-based Verigo has launched a pallet level monitoring system that will give new shelf life insights to the fresh produce supply chain.
The system is designed to accurately predict the remaining shelf life of each shipment, according to a news release.
“We’re on a mission to improve profitability and customer satisfaction in the fresh produce industry,” Adam Kinsey, founder and president of Verigo, said in the release. “This is the first system that empowers growers, shippers and retailers with actionable data to optimize post-harvest, inventory rotation and routing decisions.”
Launching its Internet of Things platform after four years of research and development, the Verigo quality management system combines wireless “Pod” devices, mobile apps and cloud-based record keeping, according to the release.
Called Pod Quality, the system provides real-time analysis of fresh product, allowing growers, wholesalers and retailers to increase quality and reduce losses of produce in transit, according to the release.
“Monitoring products and estimating their shelf life is something that has been talked about since about 1984, so it’s not a new concept,” he said in an interview.
The problem was complex and difficult to solve, he said, with RFID technology and color-coded temperature packaging falling short.
“The goal is to provide the best produce possible to the end consumer, and in the process we of course we want to help the bottom line by reducing shrink and benefit the environment by reducing waste,” he said.
Kinsey said the company’s small device can be attached with a Velcro strip to pallets as the produce is packed and remain in use all the way through the supply chain. The device uses bluetooth technology to transmit data.
Using the variables of initial freshness condition and overall temperature exposure, the system generates a single product life score, according to the release.
Information is available when the product changes hands in each stage of the supply chain, Kinsey said. “As the truck is pulling into the distribution center, you can use a tablet that is available at the dock to see a picture of the shelf life of all the pallets in that truck,” he said.
Though growers could elect to use the system to monitor inventory within their own operations, the tool can bring benefits throughout the supply chain, and several retailers have expressed interest in the system, Kinsey said.
Instacart is used the device to monitor quality in some of its home delivery markets, Kinsey said.
Using 30 years of research from the U.S. Department of Agriculture and various shelf life studies by private companies, the release said Verigo translates recorded temperature data into a continuous quality score, which it calls “Product Life.”
Verigo has collected considerable research on berry shelf life, he said. Verigo expects to release economic studies on the bottom line benefits of using the system this fall, he said.
