When a machine defect caused a German based manufacturer to suspect a metal part had contaminated its food product during the filling process, it urgently installed a fast inspection solution from Minebea Intec to solve the problem without delay.
The German food company is renowned for a high-quality, innovative product range including supplements, soups, cereal and ice cream that is distributed to customers across Europe and around the world. However, following a defect in the dosing system, there was significant concern that the metal had compromised food, somewhere within the batch. The affected production line fills plastic containers with the finished product from raised bulk bags, which are then check weighed and sealed with an aluminium lid. It was therefore not possible to perform subsequent checks on the affected batch using the existing metal detector.
The high delivery pressure meant that an extremely fast and reliable X-ray inspection solution would be required. Minebea Intec has been supplying the customer with dynamic and static checkweighers and pre-packaging checking software for 20 years. At that time, Minebea Intec’s X-ray inspection system Dymond 80 was still in the design phase but being a reliable partner, it quickly arranged to lend them a system from its own factory in Aachen. The system arrived at the customers’ site on a Sunday along with a technician and the Dymond was set up that very same day. On Monday, the first product tests were carried out and the affected production batch was inspected in the morning.
The company had calculated that the inspection of the batch would take four shifts – but the crucial metal part was reliably detected and eliminated in the very first shift that same day – minimising further disruption. The proactive, pragmatic approach in this particular situation enabled the food producer to guarantee product quality and meet all delivery deadlines. The manufacturer has since become the third Critical Control Point to implement the Minebea Intec X-ray inspection system Dymond at the end of its production line. “Faults happen,” said the Production Manager. “What matters is how you handle the situation. Minebea Intec supported us 100 percent during the suspected contamination.”
For more information call: 0121 779 3131, email: cs.uk@minebea-intec.com or go to their website: www.minebea-intec.com
