Dr. Yvonne Bogan discusses how Kelsius and the CoolCheck system has been of benefit to the Marine Institute, based in Oranmore Co. Galway.
“We had the Kelsius Temperature Monitoring System installed in the Laboratories in January 2017. It has been a smooth transition to the Kelsius System and has been readily assimilated into our Quality Management System. The Kelsius System simply “works in the background” and provides us with reliable on-going monitoring of over 100 items of equipment.
As the system is completely wireless, this has really been a huge benefit in all the labs and addition of probes to new items of equipment is effortless.
The support from the Kelsius Team has been immense, queries are always responded to promptly and staff are professional and extremely helpful.
A huge benefit of this system for the Marine Institute Laboratories is the ability to identify temperature trends with our equipment, via the visual display. The system is practical to use and also saves time and the dashboard allows all information to be readily displayed. The temperature data and associated information is available to all staff at any time, using a simple login.The fact that daily and weekly reports are emailed to the relevant personnel has allowed a paperless system to be rationalized throughout the laboratories.
Overall an extremely efficient and effective system that is now implemented into our laboratories.”
Dr. Yvonne Bogan, Quality Manager, Marine Environment and Food Safety Services, Marine Institute, Galway
The Pharmacy Department at St. Vincents University Hospital conducted an internal research study to examine the impact and benefits of having Kelsius temperature monitoring systems in place. They subsequently released the information to Kelsius and you can view here.
“Prior to installing FoodCheck we were a little apprehensive as food safety is such an important part of our business here at The Marker.
Kelsius came and completed a site survey and explained how FoodCheck could be adapted to our exact requirements. This gave us great confidence we were making the correct decision. HACCP has become much more manageable and less time consuming.
We get daily reports and weekly audits which ensures we are always on top of our HACCP requirements. All units are monitored 24/7 and chefs have more time to concentrate on what they are best at – cooking.
I am delighted that we overcame our original apprehension and FoodCheck has proven its value to us many times over. I couldn’t recommend this system highly enough.”
Have a sneak peek at what goes on in our Offices and Production Headquarters, see our team hard at work!
The video which was filmed in conjunction with DNK Media Productions prior to the Donegal Business Awards where we were shortlisted for an award.
At the Awards we were finalists in the category of ‘Growth through Export’. Unfortunately this time we did not get selected but we were delighted to get acknowledged with our Highly Commended plaque.
Highly commended in the Growth Through Export award are Kelsius and Cloud Ranger presented by Meabh Conaghan, Enterprise Ireland with John Bowe, Letterkenny Chamber President and Roisin Diver, Donegal News.
We would like to extend our congratulations to Nomadic Dairy on winning this award. Congratulations to Cloud Ranger, who were also finalists for this award.
We would like to thank the Letterkenny Chamber of Commerce for our Nomination and for organising a wonderful event. We would also like to thank DNK Media for the fantastic video, Donna Elassad and the Donegal News for the pictures. Of course we must also thank our wonderful team pictured below who are the driving force and reason we got nominated for this award and helped our win our recent award at the National Retail Suppliers Awards which you can read about here.
Donegal based digital food safety company, Kelsius is celebrating after winning Best Software Solutions Provider at this year’s Retail Supplier Awards.
Fighting off stiff competition in this hotly anticipated category, the award recognised the company’s own technology, FoodCheck, which has been instrumental in changing the food preparation and storage practices of a host of well-known
Irish retailers including Applegreen, SuperValu, Centra & Musgrave.
Judges recognised FoodCheck’s ability to help retailers streamline their HACCP temperature monitoring processes to ensure they can avoid a food borne illness outbreak when food was being prepared on-site. This protects customers and storeowners from the catastrophic fall-out this situation can bring – as well as the cost and time savings for the retailer.
Kelsius beat of formidable competition to claim the award. Renowned and successful software companies CBE, Retail Solutions and SensorPro were runner up in this category further reinforcing the achievement.
The company is the leading supplier of paperless HACP systems in Ireland, as well as securing global deals in the Middle East, Europe and Australia.
Chief Executive Officer, Andrew Logan said, “We are delighted to be recognised for our technology, which has made a significant difference to many companies across Ireland and further afield. It has been a busy few years for the company after signing significant deals with FiveGuys UK and Applegreen and this award further reinforces how our technology is leading the way in the retail industry.”
Editor of Checkout Jenny Whelan said, “Congratulations to Kelsius for winning the Best Software Solutions Provider at this year’s Checkout National Retail Supplier Awards. The judges were won over by Kelsius’ FoodCheck system, which has become the go-to solution when it comes to HAACP in this country.”
The Food Standards Agency of Northern Ireland has formally implemented the Food Hygiene Rating Act (Northern Ireland) 2016 meaning that by law all Food Service businesses must display the score obtained by local district councils. Scores range from 0 to 5, with 0 being lowest and 5 being highest.
This replaces the voluntary system that had been in place since 2011. It is anticipated by the Food Standards Agency that 90% of food businesses will be displaying their stickers within two months.
This development will give the public full transparency of a business’s Food Safety rating and place a greater emphasis on Food Safety for all food business Owners and Managers.
This means that restaurants, hotels, supermarkets, cafes, shops or takeaways that sell food will be required to display their ‘score on the door’ mark. Hospitals, Schools and Care Homes are also not exempt and will also be required to take action and display their rating.
Protecting your Business
There are 765,000 cases of food poisoning in the UK and Ireland each year. An association with an outbreak can be disastrous for a business. Implications such as closure, monetary fines and reputation damage can be extremely difficult to recover from, if possible at all.
The cost of poor hygiene and food safety.
With this in mind and with the public’s safety at hand, it is vital that businesses are doing their utmost to protect their customers from food safety concerns. Gaining and maintaining a high score will be paramount to keeping your customers coming through the doors and spending their hard earned money with you.
How is my score calculated?
As per the scoresonthedoors.org.uk website “A food safety officer from the local authority where the business is located inspects a business to check that it meets the requirements of food hygiene law. The officer will check:
How hygienically the food is handled. How it is prepared, cooked, re-heated, cooled and stored
The condition of the structure of the buildings. The cleanliness, layout, lighting, ventilation and other facilities
How the business manages and records what it does to make sure food is safe
The hygiene standards are then rated on a scale of 0 – 5 where 5 is highest.
What does my score mean?
This is the guide to help you understand what your score mean and what needs to be done to improve.
0- Urgent Improvement Necessary 1- Major Improvement Necessary 2- Improvement Necessary 3- Generally Satisfactory 4- Good 5- Very Good
How FoodCheck can help you?
FoodCheck paperless HACCP system can help you manage and maintain your HACCP records, while streamlining your food safety process and prevent falsification offering you complete peace of mind. FoodCheck can protect your business and livelihood while saving you time and money.
How will FoodCheck do this?
Remove Paper for your HACCP operation
Reduce the amount time and workload involved in HACCP
Eliminate Time Spent on Manual Checks of Fridges and Freezers
Full transparency to Management of all HACCP records
Peace of mind knowing HACCP records are safe and secure come Audit Time
Safe in the knowledge you will be alerted should you have an issue with a fridge or freezer
Reminders prompting staff to complete Important Tasks
Reporting of Daily, Weekly and/or Monthly Usage
Usage & Exception Reporting- Weekly highlights areas for improvement
Tamper proof records ensuring they are correct, accurate and prevent falsification- E.H.O’s love this!
But don’t just take our word for it:
“I have had FoodCheck in my shop for over 5 years now. It has greatly reduced the amount of time and money we spend on HACCP. We could not imagine being without the system.”
Paul Dorrity, Centra Glenshane, Derry
“In November 2015 we installed Kelsius FoodCheck system in our Deli Department. Before installation our staff had over 15 sign off sheets, from Cleaning Sheets to Traceability. This has reduced the vast amount of paperwork which has been replaced by the tablet.
The Kelsius FoodCheck has removed the risk of human error in relation to temperature and traceability management.
The tablet encourages staff to use the system, as it is so easy to input records, saving time and money.”
Noelle Keenan, SuperValu Flemmings, Monaghan
“FoodCheck benefits our business by giving us the peace of mind that all of our HACCP records from delivery, cleaning, storage and cooking are accurate, safe and true. The ability to be logged in from anywhere and see live data is fantastic. Our Environmental health officer calls it the Rolls Royce of food safety and I would have to agree.”
Paul Gallagher, Head Chef, Doubletree by Hilton, Milton Keynes
Des Cosgrave is the winner of the recent big giveaway competition run by Kelsius.
Des, from Centra Magheraboy in Sligo, is pictured above being presented with his prize by Ciaran Gallagher of Kelsius.
The prize included “A two Night Stay for two people at any Select Hotel of Ireland in a Luxury Room with full Irish Breakfast and a complimentary bottle of wine on arrival plus a €100 Gift Cheque which can be used in the hotel for Meals, Spa Treatments or as you wish.”
Select Hotels are a group of 26 affiliate Hotels located throughout Ireland.
Kelsius ran the competition at a recent Trade Show and received a large number of entries.
Kelsius would like to congratulate Des on winning this prize wish him every enjoyment!
Kelsius National Account Manager, Keith Hicks said, “We are delighted to present this prize having run a very successful competition at a recent Trade Show Exhibition. We hope Des enjoys his break and can select from a number hotels spread throughout Ireland.”
Digital Food Safety company, Kelsius, is celebrating after landing a deal with Reading University to install the largest single deployment of its FoodCheck Paperless HACCP system.
The deal will see 17 individual FoodCheck systems covering every element of food production and food service rolled out across the entirety of Reading University, which is comprised of three separate campuses- Whitesbridge, London Road and Greenlands.
FoodCheck ensures the highest levels of food safety are adhered to by staff and management, while also guaranteeing maximum product safety allowing for complete food safety control. In addition to the safety element, it also massively reduces the costs associated with maintaining these standards – in some instances up to 30 hours per week.
Kelsius will deploy 20 FoodCheck tablets and over 100 temperature sensors to enable Reading University comply with regulations in the complex area of food safety.
Kelsius Sales Director Paddy Hearty said “We are delighted to have secured this deal with Reading University as it was a number of months in the preparation. We look forward to ensuring the team at the University continue to meet the high HACCP standards they strive to implement. This deal reinforces our position within the Digital Food Safety market.”
Reading University is home to 17,000 students and over 4,000 academic and support staff and was recently ranked in the top 1% of Universities worldwide (QS University Worldwide 2015/2016).
Neil Stafford from Reading University said, “The new Kelsius system is Fantastic, I am able to add/ remove staff, tasks, vendors and products within minutes. Get instant updates/ alerts on fridge and freezer issues. It does not deter the staff from using it as it is so simple to use. My aim was to provide the staff with an easy system to use, that they would not be afraid to use. I can train staff within minutes as it is so simple. I have a full tractability on everything within the system and again so easy to gain reports.
The support I have received from Geraldine and Denise has been fantastic. FoodCheck makes my job easier.”
For more information please contact us.
FoodCheck by Kelsius, a cloud-based food safety monitoring system, to be introduced to the SuperValu and Centra store network.
Kelsius, the food safety monitoring technology firm headquartered in Donegal is to offer its revolutionary new FoodCheck technology to SuperValu and Centra stores.
Once adopted by retailers, this has the potential value of €2m over the next 12 months. The FoodCheck system replaces the current industry standard paper based manual monitoring and record keeping, helping to provide immediate operational savings to stores and allowing staff to spend more time in direct customer interaction.
Commenting on the contract, Eamonn Quinn, Executive Chairman of Kelsius said “Food safety is the most important issue for any company operating in food retail as the reputation of a brand can be irreparably damaged through just one major incident. Our cloud based technology enables food retailers replace existing onerous paper based check systems and save time and money whilst implementing the very best solution for food chain management. The recorded information is available immediately as it is needed and reduces the possibility of human error in the recording of data as well as providing precise data for management. We are delighted to partner with SuperValu and Centra, helping us become the retail industry standard for excellence in food safety monitoring.”
Ray Bowe, Head of Food Safety for SuperValu and Centra added, “Implementing rigorous food safety and quality controls is fundamental to SuperValu and Centra. This new to market Kelsius’ FoodCheck system ensures excellence in food safety monitoring and we are delighted to be able to offer this to our retail partners. This innovative system helps us continue to offer the highest standards of food safety and quality to our shoppers that they have come to expect.”
Kelsius’ FoodCheck technology replaces the current paper-based systems that require repetitive manual monitoring and record keeping. FoodCheck’s web based temperature monitoring and food safety compliance system automates these tasks. The system utilises systematic and preventative regimes meaning that the industry standard HACCP processes are fully followed and that nothing is left to chance in the hugely important area of food safety.
All data is stored electronically. Alerts of non-conformance are generated automatically by the system and sent as text messages to supervisors/ managers. Ultimately, this results in a more efficient and cost-effective process allowing staff to spend more time on customer service in customer facing roles as opposed to ‘behind the scenes’ in convenience stores, restaurants, hotels, fast-food outlets or catering companies. Kelsius’ FoodCheck system is the only system of its kind currently available in the market.
The cost of poor hygiene and food safety.
