Registry/Sectors/Agriculture & Citrus/Cold-Chain Integrity Logging — IoT Sensor Hashing
Compliance Page #03 — Temperature Proof

Cold-Chain Integrity Logging — IoT Sensor Hashing

How IoT temperature sensor data is hashed and embedded in the agricultural DPP to create a continuous cold-chain integrity record from South African packhouse to EU port of entry.

Regulation
EU Food Safety Regulation 178/2002
Deadline
2027
Sector
Agriculture & Citrus

The Cold Chain and EU Food Safety Regulation 178/2002

EU Food Safety Regulation 178/2002 establishes the general principles and requirements of EU food law, including the requirement that food business operators maintain traceability throughout the food chain. For perishable products like citrus, this means maintaining a continuous cold-chain record from the packhouse to the EU port of entry. Temperature excursions — periods where the product's temperature exceeds the specified range — can compromise food safety and quality, and EU importers are required to demonstrate that their supply chain has maintained the cold chain integrity. The National DPP Registry's cold-chain logging module creates a forensically verifiable temperature record for each consignment.

IoT Sensor Integration and SHA-256 Hashing

Modern reefer containers are equipped with IoT temperature sensors that log temperature data at regular intervals (typically every 15 minutes) throughout the voyage. The National DPP Registry integrates with the major reefer container tracking platforms (Maersk Remote Container Management, CMA CGM Track & Trace) to pull temperature log data for South African agricultural consignments. The temperature log is SHA-256 hashed at the point of data retrieval, creating a tamper-evident record of the cold-chain performance. Any retrospective alteration to the temperature log — to conceal a temperature excursion — would invalidate the hash and immediately reveal the tampering.

Temperature Excursion Alerts and the Human-in-the-Loop

The National DPP Registry's AI monitoring system continuously analyses temperature log data for excursions. When a temperature excursion is detected — for example, if the reefer container temperature rises above 8°C for more than 2 hours — the system generates a Human-in-the-Loop alert to the exporter and the EU importer. The alert includes the GPS coordinates of the vessel at the time of the excursion, the duration and magnitude of the temperature deviation, and a recommendation for whether the consignment should be accepted, rejected, or subjected to additional inspection at the EU border inspection post.

Forensic Compliance Requirements
Reefer container temperature log SHA-256 hashed at data retrieval
Temperature logging interval: maximum 15 minutes
Specified temperature range declared in DPP (e.g., 2–8°C for citrus)
Temperature excursion alerts generated for deviations >2 hours
GPS coordinates of vessel logged at each temperature data point
Cold-chain integrity status (compliant/excursion) embedded in DPP
Reefer container ID and shipping line linked to DPP
SHA-256 Hash This Document Now

Upload your temperature proof document to the Minting Station. The SHA-256 hash is computed client-side in your browser — the raw file never leaves your device unprotected. The hash is your forensic fingerprint: tamper-evident and legally non-repudiable under ECTA 2002.

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