An electronic device is proposed for accompanying a perishable good during
one period to monitor the exposure of the good to an environmental
parameter, such as temperature. The device includes a data interface for
receiving data representing the exposure of the good to the environmental
parameter during an immediately preceding period. It further includes a
sensor for measuring the environmental parameter. Also, the device
includes a processor for using a relationship specific to the good (such
an Arrhenius equation for that good) to compute a characteristic of the
good at the end of the one period using the received data and the output
of the sensor. The device further includes a memory for recording the
output of the sensor. To economise on memory usage, data is stored at a
faster rate during periods when the data is of most significant (e.g. it
indicates a high temperature). A switch is provided for indicating that
data should not be taken into account in the computation, during a short
interval, in which for example the device may be being handled.