FDBusiness.com

With food and pharmaceutical manufacturers looking to extract every ounce of value from their assets, the potential benefits to be accrued by removing contamination before valuable manufacturing time has been wasted are very attractive and the demand for in process contaminant removal is rising significantly in the industry. Couple this with the governance of EU regulation 178/2002 which states the general principles and requirements for food law, within which article 18 requires that traceability shall be established at all stages of production, processing and distribution, it has become essential for manufacturers to incorporate into their processes the total traceability of ingredients, products and batches. It also places a legal responsibility on ethical food business operators to have systems and procedures in place which can identify an affected product and enable effective isolation, quarantine, or if necessary, complete product recalls.

Lock Inspection’s INSIGHT range of metal detectors, which deliver class leading sensitivities to magnetic and non magnetic metals, are designed to satisfy growing demand for preventive detection and removal of metal fragments during the production cycle to avoid downtime and damage to expensive process machinery. The range not only ensures that metal contaminants are identified and rejected, but the integral Datachek data management software provides comprehensive real time product, batch and performance data on single or multiple lines, with networking capability for up to 40 systems, ensuring full traceability. These unique features help manufacturers stay compliant and increase their competitive edge when demonstrating to retailers their competency over traceability. Retailers are keen to ensure that they have the necessary systems and controls in place to minimise the incidence of foreign body contamination and ensure they are able to retain consumer confidence in the event of a food safety incident. The alternative is clear, inaction could, in the event of a contamination event, lead to termination of contracts and loss of brand integrity, not to mention punitive legal action.

The food and pharmaceutical range of detectors which is made up of 6 platforms, each one can be built to specific customer requirements developed to suit a wide range of applications detecting product at all stages of the manufacturing process.