# Real-Time Anomaly Detection in Cold Chain Transportation Using IoT Technology
###### Abstract  
There are approximately 88 million tonnes of food waste generated annually in the EU alone. Food spoilage during distribution accounts for some of this waste. To minimise this spoilage, it is of utmost importance to maintain the cold chain during the transportation of perishable foods such as meas, fruits, and vegetables. However, these products are often unfortunately wasted in large quantities when unpredictable failures occur in the refrigeration units of transport vehicles. This work proposes a real-time IoT anomaly detection system to detect equipment failures and provide decision support options to warehouse staff and delivery drivers, thus reducing potential food wastage. We developed a bespoke Internet of Things (IoT) solution for real-time product monitoring and alerting during cold chain transportation, which is based on the Digital Matter Eagle cellular data logger and two temperature probes. A visual dashboard was developed to allow logistics staff to perform monitoring, and business-defined temperature thresholds were used to develop a text and email decision support system, notifying relevant staff members if anomalies were detected. The IoT anomaly detection system was deployed with Musgrave Marketplace, Ireland's largest grocery distributor, in three of their delivery vans operating in the greater Belfast area. Results show that the LTE-M cellular IoT system is power efficient and avoids sending false alerts due to the novel alerting system which was developed based on trip detection. Internet of Things; IoT; food waste; cold chain; remote monitoring; sensor technology 20233  
in the European Green Deal and Farm to Fork plan due to their significant environmental and economic implications [6]. As part of this new strategy, the EU will intensify its action to prevent food waste along the whole food supply chain [6]. To maintain good product quality throughout the food supply chain, it is crucial to ensure that the food is handled under the proper environmental conditions [6; 7]. In contrast to traditional supply chain management, the food in cold chains, such as chilled and frozen food, often have shorter shelf lives and are more sensitive to their surrounding environmental conditions, including temperature, humidity, and light intensity [8]. Thus, maintaining the required environmental conditions requires specialised refrigeration systems along the entire cold chain. Depending on the food being handled, the ambient temperature might range from \(-25\)\({}^{\circ}\)C to \(+10\)\({}^{\circ}\)C in the cold chain [9; 10]. These temperature conditions reduce the development of microorganisms (pathogens and spoilage flora), as well as the rates at which changes occur in perishable foods, such as ripening rates, browning reactions or water losses [11; 12]. Specific attention should be made to potential risks that might directly impact product quality and operational efficiency while handling food in an environment with such a low temperature [7]. Product quality risk is often defined as the degree to which a product falls short of consumers' expectations, resulting from product degradation and contamination across the cold chain [7]. Customer acceptability is heavily impacted by product quality degradation, which should be seriously regulated throughout the cold chain; otherwise, the product quality may fall below the acceptable level, resulting in waste and spoilage issues [13]. Companies may suffer losses if any potential anomalies emerge along the cold chain, which can compromise not only the product quality but also consumer health [14; 15]. These anomalies can be caused by various factors, including refrigeration system failures, incorrect temperature settings in refrigeration systems, and very irregular temperature distribution owing to unequal air distribution or exposure to outside air during delivery loading and unloading [16; 17]. The circumstances of transportation and storage play a significant role in the safety and quality of perishable food [18; 19]. [PERSON] et al.