Four Seasons Fruiterers
Keeping produce in prime condition is of vital importance to Four Seasons Fruiterers, helping us to maintain the highest levels of quality, taste and customer service. Accurate temperature monitoring plays an important role in helping us to achieve consistency and control. The RemoteM system works well for us as a management tool as well as a food security device, automatically collating records on temperatures in our chilled and frozen storage areas and alerting us to any fluctuations which could impact upon the quality of our produce.- Strategy & Products Manager, Four Seasons Fruiterers
About Four Seasons Fruiterers
Serving the catering sector, Four Seasons Fruiterers is a well-established wholesaler supplying the very best local and international fruit and vegetables as well as dry and pantry goods, local dairy, bakery items and a range of more specialist items to individual customer requirements.
Based in Wiltshire, Four Seasons Fruiterers serves a rapidly expanding customer base across the northern Home Counties, the Cotswolds and Hampshire. The company's produce is used in venues as diverse as restaurants, hotels, pubs, cafes, retail outlets, professional caterers, farm shops, schools, care homes and nurseries.
The company receives deliveries of fresh produce every day, with weekly consignments from markets in Milan and France.
Focus on product quality and food security
Significant volumes of chilled and frozen products pass through the company's premises on a daily basis, and Four Seasons Fruiterers operate a growing number of walk in fridges, chest freezers, fridge reefer containers and freezer reefer containers to manage these high quality goods.
A recent audit process for the SALSA (Safe & Local Supplier) accreditation standard had recommended the implementation of an automated system to replace the existing temperature monitoring process, which involved time consuming twice daily manual checks using a calibrated probe.
With the focus on product quality and food security, the company was seeking not only to automate the temperature surveillance process but also to provide alerts on any excursions, ensuring total cover even on infrequent occasions when the site was not manned.
Flexibility and accuracy
“We began researching our options, looking for a system which was essentially modular and able to grow alongside our business requirements,” explained the company's Project Manager. “We're a family-owned independent business, and we prefer to operate with like-minded organisations flexible enough to match our changing requirements.”
The two companies began with a trial, aimed at ensuring the equipment was capable of operating inside the reefer containers. “We had some initial concerns about the strength of the signal in some of our food storage areas, but everything functioned perfectly without any issues. It's very easy to install and set up, and the product lease approach means we could implement the system across our operation without any significant up-front investment.”
Saving time and paperwork
The RemoteM system has succeeded in taking a considerable amount of time and paperwork out of the Four Seasons Fruiterers' administrative operation. “We have access to a dashboard and cloud database giving us constant information on how our chilled and frozen areas are performing. In addition, the alerts are sensitive enough to identify changes in temperature when containers are loaded and unloaded, enabling us to keep a close eye on the process, wherever we may be!”