Refrigeration Monitoring: How Early Detection Can Reduce Food Waste
Recent cyberattacks targeting supermarket refrigeration systems across Europe have demonstrated how digital disruptions can affect everyday retail operations.
According to Finland’s National Cyber Security Centre (Traficom), attackers gained remote access to refrigeration control systems and manipulated temperature and defrost settings, resulting in spoiled food and financial losses.
Similar refrigeration disturbances have been reported in Finland. Yle reported on 2 November that a small number of K-stores had experienced refrigeration problems, although their causes remained under investigation.
These incidents raise an important question: Can abnormal refrigeration conditions be detected early enough to prevent a small disruption from becoming a costly problem?
Early Detection Can Make a Difference
Refrigeration is critical to food safety and product quality. However, equipment problems are not always immediately visible. A freezer may begin warming overnight due to a technical failure, an unexpected change in settings, or another disturbance. By the time employees notice, products may already be at risk.
In Finland, temperature monitoring is also part of food businesses’ own-check activities (omavalvonta), as outlined by the Finnish Food Authority.
WeAre Solutions addresses the monitoring challenge through Observability Hub Situational Awareness, which brings together sensor data and operational information into a centralized monitoring view.
For example, if a refrigeration unit begins warming unexpectedly, the solution can support four stages:
- Detect: Temperature sensors identify an unusual change in operating conditions.
- Assess: Current readings can be compared with historical patterns, environmental conditions, and configured alert limits.
- Alert: When warning conditions are met, notifications can be directed to store personnel or maintenance partners.
- Respond: The responsible team can investigate, take corrective action, and follow up on the incident.
Independent Monitoring Provides Additional Visibility
The recent incidents also highlight the value of monitoring refrigeration conditions separately from the equipment’s primary control system.
Independent temperature sensors, including compatible Cisco Meraki devices, can provide an additional view of actual refrigeration conditions.
When sensors, communications, and alerting systems are sufficiently independent of the refrigeration controller, they may continue providing warnings even if the primary system malfunctions or is compromised.
Through Splunk-powered analytics and dashboards, Observability Hub can help bring this information into one operational view and support coordinated responses.
Independent monitoring does not prevent cyberattacks or identify their cause. However, it can provide an additional opportunity to recognize abnormal conditions and act before their consequences become more serious.
Supporting Preventive Maintenance and Operational Resilience
The same monitoring approach can also help identify recurring temperature fluctuations, developing equipment problems and unusual energy consumption, where relevant data is available.
For retailers operating across multiple locations, centralized monitoring can support maintenance planning, operational reporting and a clearer understanding of refrigeration performance.
These incidents show that even a small problem with connected equipment can have serious consequences. Imagine a supermarket freezer starting to warm up in the middle of the night, and nobody notices until the next morning. By then, it might already be too late to save the products. That's why early monitoring matters. The sooner you notice something unusual, the better chance you have to act before it becomes a bigger problem.
About WeAre Solutions
WeAre Solutions is a Finnish technology company specializing in observability, AI engineering, and Atlassian Solutions.
WeAre Situational Awareness helps organizations understand what is happening in companies, retail, or relevant physical environments by bringing sensor data, operational information, alerts, and analytics into one managed solution.
Built as part of WeAre Observability Hub, Situational Awareness transforms information from connected devices into practical insights that help organizations recognize problems earlier and respond more effectively.
The goal is simple: know what is happening, understand when something requires attention and act before the consequences become more serious.
Want to improve how your organization manages critical alerts and incidents? Contact us to discuss your needs and explore how WeAre Service Center can support your operations.