Quick and easy changeover

TO ENHANCE the flexibility of processing lines, Mettler-Toledo Safeline Metal Detection made software improvements on its Profile metal detection systems. The updated software has better detection sensitivity in wet and dry food products. Along with Profile’s Product Clustering feature, it also simplifies product changeovers so food manufacturers can process a range of products on a single frequency setting.

The Profile Software Enhancements comply with rigorous food safety standards such as the British Retail Consortium (BRC) Global Standards Version 6 and the International Featured Standards (IFS) Version 6. The upgraded data monitoring and storage functions on the new software aims to enhance manufacturers’ due diligence in their production processes.

During setup, the Product Clustering function that comes with the Profile metal detector, enables the grouping of a range of food products of similar moisture content or conductivity in one detection frequency setting. This method keeps the detector set at the optimum frequency for identifying contamination during a selection of products, whilst allowing it to overcome the “product effect” or electrical signal emitted by conductive foods or packaging. This effect can mask the signal given off by any metal contaminants. Inspecting multiple products on a single setting minimises changeover downtime for manufacturers, thus, enhancing efficiency and productivity.

Improved sensitivity
As for the enhanced detection sensitivity claim, an innovative software algorithm supports optimisation of the Profile metal detector’s sensitivity for ferrous and non-ferrous metal fragments as well as stainless steel. With this advancement, Profile metal detectors can provide improved identification of irregularly shaped metal fragments about 0.25mm in diameter. The smaller the fragment that can be detected, the smaller the effect of the product’s orientation relative to the detector’s aperture. This is also known as the “orientation effect”, a phenomenon where asymmetrical metal contaminant shards are more easily detected when they pass through the product inspection system positioned in one orientation than another.

As a result of better sensitivity in a full due diligence system, the risk of contaminated packs continuing on the production line and reaching the end consumer is minimised, safeguarding food manufacturers especially from costly and reputation-damaging product recalls. 

With the Profile software enhancement, due diligence can readily be demonstrated at any point in the inspection process. Its vector diagram function shows in detail the detection settings used by the Profile detector for the inspection of each product, allowing manufacturers to see which product is being examined and at which setting. This maximises control over the processing line and facilitates the retrieval of inspection data. Moreover, the metal detection system will only reject substandard packs rather than the entire product batch, thereby eliminating the need for product re-testing.

“The ability to respond quickly to changes in market demand is the ultimate prize for food manufacturers,” said Jonathan Richards, marketing manager at Mettler-Toledo. “There is a trend in global markets towards limited edition or seasonal products and it is important manufacturers are able to meet these new demands without the need for the installation of new lines or any impact on productivity.”

Profile metal detectors already installed on production lines can be upgraded with the software enhancement. Food manufacturers will benefit from the optimised sensitivity and simplified product changeover detection system with minimum disruption to their processing line. This software will become a standard in new Profile metal detectors.