Revealing the 7 R’s of complementary food safety tech

February 22, 2022 Editor

You’ve heard of Six Sigma. And probably the five principles of waste management. Now, food contamination detection specialist Fortress Technology Europe has created a new acronym – the 7 R’s that are propelling food manufacturers towards implementing both metal detection and x-ray on processing lines. Retailers: Risk: Reporting: Recalls: Room: Reshoring and ROI!

Previously, metal detection and x-ray innovations were often pitted against each other. Yet, as food processors strive to curtail rising food prices through widespread adoption of automation and sourcing ingredients through different suppliers, the contamination risks have risen incrementally. The threat posed by a recall and enhanced quality control is certainly driving wider adoption of both x-ray and metal detection.

Comparing the performance of the company’s award winning Raptor x-ray side-by-side with the Interceptor metal detector at PPMA 2021, Managing Director of Fortress Technology Europe Phil Brown ran a demo outlining the respective strengths and limitations of each system. Notably, this showcase revealed each technology individually picked up 75 percent of potentially harmful and brand damaging contaminants. Yet, when combined the complementary systems reliably caught 100 percent.

Phil recaps on the seven R’s that are driving food factories to implement a more robust ‘best in class’ contaminant detection strategy:

1.RETAILER REQUIREMENTS

Intensifying competition in retail markets is seeing food producers stepping up their game to protect brands. Buoyed by market demand, online sales and under pressure to keep retail shelves stocked throughout the pandemic, many processors have subsequently ramped up their investments in new production and packaging lines.

No line is complete without quality control and most of the major retailers now require food suppliers to demonstrate that they are identifying all contaminants, including metal, glass, wood, rubber, high density plastic, stone and calcified bones. Rather than considering both technologies independently, some retailers now insist on this more collaborative approach to contaminant detection.

Phil expands: “The decision to invest in x-ray or metal detection equipment is dependent upon a manufacturer’s requirements. Both technologies come with their own advantages; neither should be a replacement for good manufacturing practices, but rather food safety units should complement the process based on needs and risks.

“Flexing to the demands of the pandemic has amplified awareness of food safety. Suddenly inundated with click-and-collect orders and home deliveries, retailers had to adapt rapidly, placing even greater pressures on the chain of custody and e-fulfillment infrastructures. It also required renewed adherence to food safety best practices and inspection protocols.”

2. RISKS

The most common contamination culprits are metal, for example fragments that break off during mechanical cutting and blending operations, glass from storage or packaging, and hard plastics introduced by fatigued tools and equipment.^[1]

Each sector has its own set of more prevalent risks. With convenience meals, there can be more than eight production steps between sourcing ingredients to packing, and more than five different product types included in an individual meal. This increases the risk of metal and plastic contaminations. Intrinsic contaminants are common in protein ingredients, such as bones or teeth from fish, meat and poultry. They can also occur in fresh produce, for example fruit and vegetable pips or egg shells.

Additionally, there are human risks. Use of PPE since the start of the pandemic has naturally augmented these contamination risks on food processing lines. Putting this into context, Phil suggests that a factory with 200 food operatives, each wearing at least two items of PPE daily – a hairnet and mask – has created 146,000 potential contaminants annually. Most of these are metal detectable.

Phil expands: “An x-ray machine is a density detection system and will therefore identify denser contaminants like glass, ceramic and bone. However, as we demonstrated at PPMA, there are certain metals it can’t detect in a food product. Lightweight foil strips in PPE is a good example. Although visible to a metal detector, in contrast there’s not enough density differential between the foil contaminant and the product being inspected for an x-ray to pick this up.”

^[1] https://www.fda.gov/media/99558/download