Automated Checkweighers, metal detection and X-ray Inspection systems Fetaure

Dec. 2, 2009 - PRLog -- The importance of food safety systems has significantly increased over recent years, as the Asian food industry has started to focus on rapidly changing international food safety standards around the world.

Due to the fast pace of Asia’s economic development, food safety legislation is evolving on a continual basis. China has recently amended its Food Safety Law, while the Philippines and South Korea have also increased quality control requirements in recent years. The Chinese Food Safety Law requires food producers to invest in traceability by logging data through the entire procurement chain from raw material right through to the processed and packaged end product. The health authorities in China will supervise the Food Safety Law with all food processors, in a move to improve a reputation that has taken some knocks in recent years following a number of food safety scares. The most high profile being the widely publicised problems with powdered baby milk which had become contaminated with melamine, a chemical used in making plastics.

The burgeoning numbers of high quality retailers supplying the 4 billion plus population in the Asia pacific region are also monitoring food safety in the region – for both own label packers as well as key brand owners.

The numbers of checkweighers and metal detectors protecting Asian food packaging halls has increased dramatically over the past 10 years. Originally the primary reason for the purchase was weight insurance. When the consumer purchased a one pound bag of rice, as stated on the packaging, that is exactly what they received and certainly not any less.

However, checkweighers and metal detectors have developed to become a key processing system for the modern food manufacturer. The fundamental role for metal detectors is to ensure no metallic contaminants introduced from a fault in the manufacturing process make it through to the dinner plate. From a quality control perspective, both checkweighers and metal detectors can protect brand integrity and identity as well as ensuring the food safety for the consumer.

The emphasis on accuracy of pack weight has again altered its course to follow the trends of the food market.  As the cost of raw materials such as rice has increased so sharply over the last three years, food manufacturers have to ensure they do not under-fill but equally that they do not ‘give away’ any of their valuable raw ingredients. Every grain of giveaway eats into the profit line.

Checkweighing systems are at the front line of this process.  At the same time there is much globalisation among large retailers - with large companies such as Walmart and Tesco spreading their wings across the planet. Retailers like these are looking for identical standards in all of their retail outlets and from all of their suppliers.

To help suppliers demonstrate due diligence there are a number of key safety standards that must be adhered to. One of these is HACCP (Hazard Analysis Critical Control Points). This is increasingly becoming the corner stone to most food manufacturer’s safety programmes to help build retailer confidence in a particular product. HACCP is a risk-based framework implemented to identify and control food safety hazards and to provide a logical approach to food safety.

The HACCP process outlines how to establish, implement and maintain a food safety system, focussing on three possible categories of hazards; biological, physical and chemical.

Adhering to any safety standard is a part of the food production process that is a necessity for all food manufacturers.  Companies must also keep track of every packaged product that is dispatched.  Originally this would have been a paper-based record but as technology has moved on other solutions have been found.

Leading checkweigher and metal detection companies have introduced electronic, networked data capture systems which can be integrated into the food production management system. These are an essential tool for food manufacturers and are designed to capture accurate records of the inspection process. These allow food manufacturers to store a huge amount of centralised data and, more importantly, also help them to demonstrate due diligence should end product quality ever be called into question. Loma Systems, the leading global supplier of metal detection, checkweighing and X-ray inspection systems, offers a highly effective data capture system to process data generated by all of equipment including checkweighers, metal detectors and X-ray inspection equipment.

The checkweigher and metal detection market is well defined in Europe and North America and new products and the lessons learned in European and American markets can now be incorporated into the Asian Pacific region as that ‘boom’ market looks to satisfy the requirements of its growing population.

Products such as rice, tea and coffee are shipped in bulk to Europe and America, broken down and packaged into retail packaging. Countries that have focussed on shipping in bulk and exporting are clearly now experiencing their own ‘boom’ in food retailing. The Asia Pacific region is a typical example where the consumer in this region now demands the same products that they have seen in Western supermarkets on their own retailer’s shelves.

The Asian economy is growing fast, and with it comes an increasing appetite for quality products. The sales of pork products, for example, are already 65% larger than the sales of beef across the globe and pork continues to grow faster than other meat products. By 2015 the majority of the growth is expected to come from China. China alone imported an estimated 740 billion tonnes of pork in 2008 and like many things in China, pork consumption habits are changing fast.  The traditional ‘wet market’ of unpackaged cuts still accounted for most of the purchases just a few years ago but this is expected to drop below 10% by 2016. The increasing emphasis on meat processing is creating a new market for inspection systems.

Innovation within the food inspection industry has been revolutionised by the integration of checkweighing and metal detection. This creates an ideal space saving aspect in smaller production lines, cost benefits and provides extra product safety. Manufacturers have also been developing a touch control panel that allows for ease of set up and continuous production, monitoring and control.

Like with all investments, the selection of food safety systems needs to be carefully thought through. Any purchaser needs to consider the lifetime operating costs of the equipment and to ensure that they are future proof. The product needs to be durable and have the ability to be thoroughly cleaned in what can sometimes be a ‘hostile’ production environment.

Loma Systems is a leading global supplier of metal detection, checkweighing, and X-ray inspection systems that help manufacturers in keeping food safe. Loma is an international operation with direct manufacturing, sales and service based globally. Loma has a strong presence in China and has recently opened a new office in Beijing to support the growing Asian Market.

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World leaders in designing, supplying and installing metal detection systems, Checkweighers and X-ray Inspection equipment to the Food and Pharmaceutical industries.