AFSTC - Automated Food Safety Temperature Compliance

AFSTC and the Sentry temperature monitoring system

Automated Food Safety Temperature Compliance (AFSTC) is an Australian company dedicated to automated temperature monitoring solutions. Its main product, the Sentry system, is HACCP certified and has been developed and manufactured in Australia. The system provides 24-hour alert monitoring for refrigerators, cool rooms and freezers, and fulfils the compliance reporting requirements of FoodSafe Australia through daily and weekly email reports.

How the Sentry system works

The system consists of a collector unit and digital temperature sensors with an accuracy of 0.5 °C. The sensors send data wirelessly to the collector, which stores it and forwards it via 4G to cloud-based servers where the Sentry operating platform resides. This platform monitors temperatures in real time and immediately alerts when deviations from programmable set points are detected, allowing timely action to preserve stock. Installation is simple and can be self-performed: the sensors are placed in the refrigerator or freezer and the collector is plugged into a standard 240 V power outlet; the sensors pair automatically.

Applications and sectors served

The Sentry system is designed for the cold processing and storage chain, restaurants and the transport sector, although it also finds applications in the healthcare and pharmaceutical industries. Typical uses include cool rooms, cold rooms, freezers, refrigerators, refrigerated food display cabinets and refrigerated transport. Food cold chain customers include producers, warehouses, wholesalers, retailers such as supermarkets, restaurants, commercial kitchens and food transport. Outside the food sector, it has been deployed in cold storage of pharmaceutical products in medical and dental practices, hospitals and pharmacies, as well as in computer server rooms and climate-controlled work environments.

Product range and common platform

The Sentry product range includes the Centaur, Watchman, Guardian, Guardian Plus, Tempcheck and Tapawasee models, plus a user guide and a Sentry mobile app. All products operate on the same platform, which allows temperature information from multiple cold storage devices across multiple locations to be consolidated for unified viewing. The company states that this architecture allows it to offer the optimal and most affordable solution for each application, whether it is a single refrigerator or multiple facilities distributed across several sites.

Coverage and support

AFSTC declares coverage throughout Australia, with technical support and maintenance available online or by phone, and free software upgrades. The company presents itself as a company you can trust, with the aim that products stored in refrigerators, freezers or climate-controlled environments are safe and protected even when the person responsible is not present.

Location and contact

P O Box 1252 Healesville, VIC 3777 · Phone: 1300 261 688