--- title: How Infrared Sensors Are Raising the Bar in Food & Beverage Production description: Temperature control makes or breaks food & beverage production. See how Exergen sensors from CleverIR keep every application running at its best. image: https://blog.wolfautomation.com/hubfs/The%20Hidden%20Heat%20Behind%20Food%20Production.jpg --- [Skip to content](https://blog.wolfautomation.com/how-infrared-sensors-are-raising-the-bar-in-food-beverage-production#main-content) [![Marshall Wolf Automation](https://blog.wolfautomation.com/hs-fs/hubfs/logo-master-light-background_RGB.jpg?width=1201&height=540&name=logo-master-light-background_RGB.jpg)Homepage](https://www.wolfautomation.com/) - [View All Blogs](https://blog.wolfautomation.com/) - [Shop By Category](https://www.wolfautomation.com/products/) - [Shop by Brand](https://www.wolfautomation.com/brands) - [Contact Us](https://www.wolfautomation.com/contact-us/) - [Blog Archive](https://www.wolfautomation.com/blog/) - [View All Blogs](https://blog.wolfautomation.com/) - [Shop By Category](https://www.wolfautomation.com/products/) - [Shop by Brand](https://www.wolfautomation.com/brands) - [Contact Us](https://www.wolfautomation.com/contact-us/) - [Blog Archive](https://www.wolfautomation.com/blog/) ![](https://blog.wolfautomation.com/hs-fs/hubfs/The%20Hidden%20Heat%20Behind%20Food%20Production.jpg?width=1656&height=729&name=The%20Hidden%20Heat%20Behind%20Food%20Production.jpg) Industry Focus Brand Spotlight Food & Beverage # How Infrared Sensors Are Raising the Bar in Food & Beverage Production ![Theresa Hoffman](https://7528315.fs1.hubspotusercontent-na1.net/hub/7528315/hubfs/raw_assets/public/mV0_d-cms-elevate-theme_hubspot/elevate/images/avatar-placeholder.jpg?width=48&height=48&name=avatar-placeholder.jpg) Theresa Hoffman March 23, 2026 Unless you’re in the food and beverage industry, temperature sensors aren’t something that you think about — and yet they're standing between you and a flat loaf of bread, a leaky vacuum-sealed package, or a lopsided plastic bottle. In food and beverage production, temperature is everything, and measuring it accurately is harder than it looks. [Exergen](https://www.wolfautomation.com/brands/Exergen/?_bc_fsnf=1&category=42) non-contact infrared sensors from [CleverIR](https://www.wolfautomation.com/brands/cleverir/?_bc_fsnf=1&category=42) are solving that challenge across the industry. Here are a few applications worth knowing about. **The Dough Drama** ![Exergen_Mixer](https://blog.wolfautomation.com/hs-fs/hubfs/Exergen_Mixer.jpg?width=353&height=252&name=Exergen_Mixer.jpg) Dough temperature during mixing determines everything — too hot and it over-rises into a holey mess, too cold and you've got a dense brick. Traditional contact thermocouples seem like the obvious fix, except they can snap in half during kneading, risk contaminating batches, and only capture one spot in a mass that varies throughout. The [Exergen IRt/c.5 sensor](https://www.wolfautomation.com/search.php?search_query=irt%2Fc.5) from CleverIR mounts on the kneader lid and reads average dough temperature without ever touching it — no breakage, no contamination, problem eliminated. With 100ms response and 0.1°C accuracy, it stops the kneader exactly when target temp is hit. A built-in air purge keeps the lens clean automatically. Consistent batches, zero maintenance, and your food safety team will be more confident there is no health risk. **One Bad Seal Will Ruin Everything** **![Exgergen_Seal](https://blog.wolfautomation.com/hs-fs/hubfs/Exgergen_Seal.jpg?width=353&height=252&name=Exgergen_Seal.jpg)** Vacuum-sealed packaging lives or dies by that heat-seal. A resistance wire fuses the bag shut — but the sealing temperature shifts throughout the day. Too cold in the morning? Failed seals. Too warm by afternoon? Burnt plastic. Contact sensors can't help here; molten plastic would destroy them, and they're too slow to catch the fusing moment anyway. The [Exergen Micro IRt/c sensor](https://www.wolfautomation.com/products/temperature-sensors-t-c-rtd-infrared/?_bc_fsnf=1&brand=108&Series=uIRt%2Fc+%28Micro%29+Series) from CleverIR fits inside the sealing bar at just 6.3mm wide, monitoring temperature in real time without ever touching the plastic. With a 50ms response time, repeatability of 0.01°C, and patented ambient compensation that adjusts automatically as conditions change, it keeps every seal airtight from the first package of the day to the last. Self-powered and maintenance-free — it just works. **Avoid the Wonky Bottle** **![Exgergen_Bottle](https://blog.wolfautomation.com/hs-fs/hubfs/Exgergen_Bottle.jpg?width=353&height=252&name=Exgergen_Bottle.jpg)** PET bottle preforms have to be heated to just the right temperature before blow molding — overheat them and you get holes, underheat and the bottle won't fully form, and uneven heat means wonky walls. The catch? Preforms rotate continuously during heating, so contact sensors are completely off the table. Add in fluctuating ambient temps near the heaters, and 24/7 machine schedules, and you've got a measurement problem that demands a smarter solution. The [Exergen Micro IRt/c sensor](https://www.wolfautomation.com/products/temperature-sensors-t-c-rtd-infrared/?_bc_fsnf=1&brand=108&Series=uIRt%2Fc+%28Micro%29+Series) from CleverIR tracks those spinning preforms in real time — no contact required, no downtime tolerated. Response times of 25–100ms, patented ambient compensation, and a ±1% interchangeability rating mean replacement sensors drop right in with no reprogramming. Hermetically sealed and self-powered, they run reliably for the life of the machine. Whether you're running a bakery, a food packaging line or a bottling operation — precise temperature monitoring is one of the smartest investments you can make in product quality. [Exergen](https://www.wolfautomation.com/brands/Exergen/?_bc_fsnf=1&category=42) sensors from [CleverIR](https://www.wolfautomation.com/brands/cleverir/?_bc_fsnf=1&category=42) deliver the accuracy, speed, and maintenance-free reliability to keep every line running at its best.     ## Share this post [mailto:https%3A%2F%2Fblog.wolfautomation.com%2Fhow-infrared-sensors-are-raising-the-bar-in-food-beverage-production](mailto:https%3A%2F%2Fblog.wolfautomation.com%2Fhow-infrared-sensors-are-raising-the-bar-in-food-beverage-production) ## Keep reading ### [![Sensor_Showdown](https://blog.wolfautomation.com/hs-fs/hubfs/Sensor%20Showdown.jpg?width=2000&height=900&name=Sensor%20Showdown.jpg) Brand Spotlight The Infrared Sensor Showdown: CleverIR vs IRt/c](https://blog.wolfautomation.com/the-infrared-sensor-showdown-cleverir-vs-irt/c) ### [![Three_Phase](https://blog.wolfautomation.com/hs-fs/hubfs/Great%20Machine.%20Wrong%20Power..jpg?width=2000&height=900&name=Great%20Machine.%20Wrong%20Power..jpg) Bought a 3-Phase Machine for Your Garage? Here's the Good News](https://blog.wolfautomation.com/bought-a-3-phase-machine-for-your-garage-heres-the-good-news) [Subscribe to Our Newsletter](https://www.wolfautomation.com/newsletter) [![Marshall Wolf Automation](https://blog.wolfautomation.com/hs-fs/hubfs/logo-master-light-background_RGB.jpg?width=1201&height=540&name=logo-master-light-background_RGB.jpg "Marshall Wolf Automation")](https://blog.wolfautomation.com/) ##### *Marshall Wolf Automation is a proudly independent and women-owned industrial controls distributor since 1984!* **Copyright © 2026 Wolf Automation. All rights reserved.** ```json { "@context" : "https://schema.org", "@type" : "BlogPosting", "author" : { "@type" : "Person", "name" : "Theresa Hoffman", "url" : "https://blog.wolfautomation.com/author/theresa-hoffman" }, "dateModified" : "2026-03-31T21:25:19.526Z", "datePublished" : "2026-03-23T13:16:24.000Z", "headline" : "How Infrared Sensors Are Raising the Bar in Food & Beverage Production", "image" : [ "https://blog.wolfautomation.com/hubfs/The%20Hidden%20Heat%20Behind%20Food%20Production.jpg" ], "mainEntityOfPage" : { "@id" : "https://blog.wolfautomation.com/how-infrared-sensors-are-raising-the-bar-in-food-beverage-production", "@type" : "WebPage" }, "publisher" : { "@type" : "Organization", "logo" : { "@type" : "ImageObject", "url" : "https://blog.wolfautomation.com/hubfs/logo-master-light-background_RGB.jpg" }, "name" : "Marshall Wolf Automation" } } ```