Temperature measurement It is often stated by those in the meat and refrigeration industries that 'anyone can measure a temperature. Many millions of measurements are made of both meat and environmental temperatures in the meat industry. However, in many cases the measurements made are an unreliable guide to the effectiveness of the refrigeration process. Even when the correct tem- peratures have been obtained the data are often poorly analysed and rarely acted upon If a group of people are asked to measure the temperature of a beef carcass. the number of values obtained is often the same as the number of people in the group. Few initially ask the obvious question, what is meant by the temperature of the carcass? Is it the average temperature, the ighest temperature, the lowest surface temperature, the average surface temperature.? The increase in temperature legislation and the desire of meat produc ers and retailers to maintain the organoleptic and microbiological quality of meat throughout the chilled and frozen distribution chain has cre ated an increased demand for equipment and expertise on temperature measurement The industry needs to measure temperatures accurately, reliably, mean ingfully, simply and cheaply. It needs to be able to analyse the data and respond when required. It needs the correct instrumentation and the exper- tise to collect and interpret the temperature data14 Temperature measurement It is often stated by those in the meat and refrigeration industries that ‘anyone can measure a temperature’. Many millions of measurements are made of both meat and environmental temperatures in the meat industry. However, in many cases the measurements made are an unreliable guide to the effectiveness of the refrigeration process. Even when the correct tem￾peratures have been obtained the data are often poorly analysed and rarely acted upon. If a group of people are asked to measure the temperature of a beef carcass, the number of values obtained is often the same as the number of people in the group. Few initially ask the obvious question, ‘what is meant by the temperature of the carcass?’ Is it the average temperature, the highest temperature, the lowest surface temperature, the average surface temperature...? The increase in temperature legislation and the desire of meat produc￾ers and retailers to maintain the organoleptic and microbiological quality of meat throughout the chilled and frozen distribution chain has cre￾ated an increased demand for equipment and expertise on temperature measurement. The industry needs to measure temperatures accurately, reliably, mean￾ingfully, simply and cheaply. It needs to be able to analyse the data and respond when required. It needs the correct instrumentation and the exper￾tise to collect and interpret the temperature data