thermoport® META from Rieber: The fully digitalized transport box
From the newly developed A.I. core temperature to the returnable tracking system
Rieber's thermoport food transport containers have been considered the logistics standard in the catering industry for decades. But today's fully digitalized thermoport no longer has much in common with the simple transport container of 1968: although it still ensures the required transport temperature, artificial intelligence (A.I.) is now used to indicate the food core temperature inside to an exact 0.5 °C - which can be called up from anywhere. This is made possible by the retrofittable, automatically transmitting Check HACCP room temperature sensors for reliable temperature recording and documentation along the entire transport route. The additional QR codes also contain all relevant information for digital reusable traceability against single-use waste and container shrinkage.
Rieber launched the first insulated thermoport food transport container made of stainless steel back in the late 1960s, followed 10 years later by the version made of lightweight and practical plastic. In each case, the primary goal was to transport Gastronorm containers filled with food in various sizes to the facilities at the correct temperature, decoupled in time and space. To this day, this innovation is one of the core products of the Swabian company and is used worldwide on a daily basis to enable food- and slosh-safe transport at optimum temperature. The watertight Rieber GN plug-in lid or the brand new vaculid light vacuum lid ensure 100 percent tightness so that no liquid can escape during transport.
In addition to the continuous expansion of the thermoport portfolio - for example with mobile regeneration kitchens such as the hybrid kitchen - the digitalization of the transport box plays a central role.
Safely delivered food, no paper chaos
In line with the credo "transport food in new ways", industry partners axino, Check Cloud and Rieber have succeeded in integrating artificial intelligence (A.I.) into the digital capabilities of thermoport: With the help of (A.I.), the core temperature is indicated to an exact 0.5 °C - thus ensuring not only absolutely food-safe delivery of the food to its destination, but also seamless HACCP documentation at the same time without additional effort and paper chaos.
The temperature is recorded using the automatically transmitting radio room temperature sensors from the Check HACCP system, which can be retrofitted to all mobile devices. In addition to the sensors, the "Check Cloud" platform for DSGVO-compliant information storage is part of the system, as is the Check HACCP app, which can be used to implement the elaborate HACCP documentation of quality-relevant factors completely digitally, quickly and easily. This saves catering companies several thousand euros a year in printing and paper costs, as well as a lot of space for storing documentation folders. Above all, it can also make up for scarce or completely absent personnel resources for HACCP documentation.
The right product for every application
The thermoport transport boxes are available as heated, cooling or neutral variants, as well as hybrid kitchen, the fully functional kitchen with regeneration function. "With thermoport and the GN system, we offer our customers a highly flexible product for all application requirements: They are available in stainless steel or plastic, can be loaded with GN containers from above or from the front, are mobile or portable, stackable and can be combined with each other without restrictions. In addition, the transport boxes can be very variably equipped with the standardized GN container sizes for the different number of components and can be used as a scoop directly in the facility," says Madlen Maier, Shareholder and Marketing Manager at Rieber.
Reusable organization via QR code
But the indication of the core temperature is not the end of digitalization in the thermoport: the QR code on the transport container as well as on the individual GN containers and lids inside enables a sustainable, transparent and digital organization via the reusable CHECK TRACE system in the bulk container. On the one hand, this avoids large quantities of disposable packaging waste, and on the other, the loss of containers and transport boxes, which sooner or later has an impact on meal prices. With this digital reusable organization, the QR codes are clearly identifiable, as they are booked to the respective facility to which they are delivered deposit-free.
With the A.I.-enhanced thermoport, Rieber has developed its core business - food-safe food transport - into a forward-looking, digital and sustainable system. "Our goal is to solve the specific challenges facing the GM industry with our systems. These include reducing packaging waste, staff shortages, elaborate HACCP documentation with all its necessary resources such as paper, time and storage space, and of course ensuring the best possible food quality and safety," concludes Madlen Maier.
