CONTAMINANT DETECTION AND REMOVAL

Transcription

1 CONTAMINANT DETECTION AND REMOVAL Rob Stevens Mettler-Toledo Safeline

2 Agenda Why contaminant detection? Contaminants and their source Contaminant removal Metal detector basic principles and what's new X-ray basic principles Contaminant detection in snack foods Why sensitivity matters Technology that helps your business grow Why contaminant detection? Why contaminant detection? Why do you buy a metal detector or X-ray machine? a) Does it reduce your production time b) Does it increase your capacity c) Does it decrease your production cost d) None of the above Then why do you buy a metal detector or X-ray machine? a) Does it protect your brand b) Reduce the risk/cost of product recalls c) Help meet your compliance needs d) Does it protect more expensive production equipment e) All of the above Contaminant detectors are like insurance policies

3 Increased focus on food safety Food Safety and Inspection Service FSIS DIRECTIVE Contaminants and their source Contaminants and their source From the supplier Glass, stones, wood, insects or wire from raw materials (farms) Metal parts from processing equipment Internal processes Defective equipment (wire swarf or wire from sieve) Maintenance tools (Alan key) Solder splashes or copper wire from electrical maintenance Hair, plasters, plastic utensils, etc.

4 Contaminant removal Contaminant removal Detectable by metal detector Ferrous metals Non-ferrous metals * Stainless steel Detectable by X-Ray - Glass - Stones - Dense plastics - Bone (calcified) - Ferrous metals - Non-ferrous metals ** - Stainless steel Not detectable - Some plastics - Soft bones - Wood - Hair - Cherry pit - Insects - Nylon * Aluminium as well as other non-ferrous metals **Aluminium contaminants 2-3 times larger than for other non-ferrous contaminants Metal detection basic principles and what's new

5 Balanced coil metal detectors The former and coil system are the heart of the detector Balanced coil metal detectors R a Receiver Coil (Wound around former in clockwise direction) T x Transmit Coil (Wound around former in counter clockwise rotation) R a Receiver Coil (Wound around former in counter clockwise rotation) R a R b + = 0 Volts (Balanced) Balanced coil metal detectors + V th Detection threshold - V th

6 Balanced coil metal detectors - MSF + V th Conventional limits + V th MSF limits - V th MSF limits - V th Conventional limits Ball size ~50% smaller X-ray basic principles X-ray generator Electron beam High voltage potential between anode and cathode create an electron beam When electron beam collides with target and is decelerated resultant energy is either dissipated as heat (98%) or released as an X-ray photon X-ray beam is electromagnetic energy transmitted at a very high frequency and energy X-ray beam (photons) PRODUCT

7 Detectable * Not Detectable Control of physical contaminants XR As the product passes over the detector each line of grey level data is rebuilt back into a complete pack image: Each image is made up of pixels. Each pixel can have a value which goes from black to white (0 to 255). 0.8 x 0.8mm Product flow Detector X-ray image It s all about density Density Chart (kg/m 3 ) Stainless Steel 316 Wood Hair 0.32 Cherry Pit 0.56 Insects 0.59 If it floats, X-ray can t detect it Wood (Oak) 0.65 PP 0.9 Ice 0.92 UHMW 0.94 Nylon 1.15 Most Food PVC 1.7 Glass of water Teflon 2.19 Bone 2.2 Stone 2.52 Glass 2.6 Aluminium 2.71 Iron 7.15 Steel 7.86 SS 7.93 * Dependent on products thickness /homogeneity/density and size Contaminant detection in snack foods

8 Snack food & contaminant detection Bucket Elevator/ Feed System Multihead Weigher 1 Position 1 ZMFZ throat detector Bag Maker 2 Position 2 Rectangular MSF metal detector Seal Tester Case packer Checkweigher 3 Position 3 X-ray machine 4 Position 4 X-ray machine 5 Position 5 Case rectangular MSF metal detector 1 Inspecting before packaging metal detector ZMFZ Throat Metal Detector Benefits Best sensitivity (0.8 1mm SS) Lowest cost option Highest OEE No space taken on line Detecting potential contamination issued early in the process Gravity fed metal detection Disadvantages More difficult to access for performance testing Small risk of contamination falling into bag after inspection Failure only stops part of the line 2 Inspecting single packs metal detector Conveyorised metal detection Benefits Very good sensitivity on poly bag Good sensitivity on MF bag Integrated reject and reject confirmation system Relatively low cost Very high OEE Detecting potential contamination issued early in the process Disadvantages Higher cost compared to throat Takes up line space

9 3 Inspecting single packs X-ray machine Benefits Can detect glass and stone Integrated reject and reject confirmation system Very good sensitivity Detecting potential contamination issued early in the process X-ray inspection Disadvantages Relatively high cost and cost of ownership Requires more stringent regulatory controls Takes up line space 4 Inspecting multi packs / boxed X-ray Benefits Can detect glass and stone Integrated reject and reject confirmation system X-ray inspection Disadvantages Size of product reduces detection sensitivity High cost and cost of ownership Requires more stringent regulatory controls As CCP machine, when not functioning whole line stops 5 Inspecting cases metal detector Benefits Very good sensitivity on poly bag Relatively low cost Very high OEE Case metal detection Disadvantages Higher cost compared to throat Size of case reduces sensitivity As CCP machine, when not functioning whole line stops

10 Snack food & contaminant detection Throat detector Multi head weigher MD1 Checkweigher MD2 MD3 XR1 X-ray machine Case packer MD4 Bagger Seal tester Snacks reasons for metal detection FACTOR Metal most likely contaminant Reliability Total cost of ownership COMMENT Best sensitivity to metal in unpackaged product Excellent sensitivity in packaged product except aluminium foil Metal detection is a mature reliable technology Supports drive for better OEE Cost of ownership low compared to other technologies FACTOR Snacks reasons for x-ray inspection COMMENT Aluminium foil X-ray systems not affected by aluminium foil packaging Non metallic contaminants Compartmental fill levels X-ray systems can find foreign bodies which are more dense than the product metal / glass / stone / bone / dense plastic and rubber X-ray systems can zone each compartment separately and check for fill level in each one

11 Why sensitivity matters FDA ruling on choking hazard 7mm Complying with the FDA guideline

12 Technology that helps your business grow MD availability and OEE MDs have exceptional reliability and should therefore not affect OEE There are however new technologies that can help drive higher factory OEE and capacity Increased throughput & sensitivity through MD technology Traditional Throat Detector Solution Conical Shaped Throat Detector Solution Conical Shaped Throat Detector Fall Height Reduced Fall Height Reduction in Fall Height Long fall time for the product Product scatters through detector Bagger speed limited Reduced fall time for the product Product drops more uniformly through detector Bagger speed increased by >30% Sensitivity increased > 20%

13 Increased productivity through predictive analytics on throat metal detectors Verifying the metal detector performance is an important part of being compliant and should not be ignored The product must be recoverable and capable of being quarantined between the periods of validation Predictive analytics constantly monitors the detector and gives an early warning of any changes identified that could cause the detector to become non compliant Therefore an opportunity exists to reduce the frequency of testing the detector which in turn can lead to significant productivity improvements Predictive analytics to reduce MD testing Increased Factory Specification 1.0mm/1.2mm/1.6mm Early Existing Warning Factory Factory MD MD Specification 1.2mm/1.5mm/2.0mm Testing every 12 hours Testing every 4 hours Increased productivity through predictive analytics on throat metal detectors Take a line producing 100 packs per minute Before predictive analytics, the checks are made every 4 hours Checks take approximately 3 minutes to perform Loss of production opportunity: 3 minutes x 100 ppm x 6 checks per day =1800 packs per day 300 production days per year = 540,000 packs per year Assume 10 lines = 5,400,000 bags per year not produced..

14 Increased productivity through predictive analytics on throat metal detectors Now take a line producing 100 packs per minute After predictive analytics, the checks are made every 12 hours Checks take 3 minutes to perform Loss of production: 3 minutes x 100 ppm x 2 checks per day = 600 packs per day 300 production days per year = 180,000 packs per year Assume 10 line = 1,800,000 bags per year not produced Increasing production opportunity by 3,600,000 bags per year What opportunity does this mean for you? Increased sales? Reduced labour? Reduced capital?... Further information For more information please contact: Rob Stevens robert.stevens@mt.com Or visit Your local METTLER TOLEDO organization: METTLER TOLEDO: MD & X-ray guides and white papers: More METTLER TOLEDO Webinars: