food

54
processing
Mesutronic is proud to present the latest in
metal detection technology
Conventional metal detectors detect without any difficulty
metal contamination in packaged food products. However,
when there is an aluminium barrier in the packaging,
conventional metal detectors struggle. With the new AluScan,
Mesutronic presents the latest generation of metal detectors
for the reliable detection of ferrous and stainless steel metal
contamination in foil packed products for the food industry.
The new AluScan detects the rest-magnetism present in even
the smallest ferrous and/or stainless steel contamination for
products packed in packaging containing aluminium such as;
ready meals, pastry, snack products, etc. The magnet sensors
can even reliably detect the rest-magnetism in stable
aluminium trays. The AluScan closes the gap between
conventional metal detectors and not totally undisputed X-Ray
systems, employed for metal detection in the food industry.
The products presented for inspection travel on the AluScan
conveyor through a permanent magnet, where it is magnetised
and carried over the magnetic sensor bed. As aluminium can
not be magnetised, the magnetic sensors do not ‘see’ the
aluminium packaging. Products contaminated with ferrous
and/or stainless steel are detected by the AluScan and
automatically rejected by the drop belt reject mechanism
without interruption of the production process (other reject
options include pusher reject and air-blast). The new dynamic
control system ensures that only the contaminated product is
rejected, regardless of the product gap and operation speed.
For products higher than 50 mm, an additional sensor can be
positioned above the product ‘looking’ down, ensuring an
accurate level of ferrous and/or stainless steel contamination
detection. The complete AluScan system consists of magnet,
conveyor, metal sensors and reject mechanism, and is easy
and simple to integrate into almost any production line due to
its compact dimensions.
complete satisfaction of our
customers. Improving on what we
have today is the secret of our
success, but we also have to meet
the challenges of the future.
Technology alone will not do the
job: in a broad and diverse market,
we optimise our metal detection
systems for specific applications
and their respective operators.
Important markets for us in the
future will be China, India and
Eastern Europe. As component
manufacturers for large production
units in various sectors we are
already participating indirectly in
the boom in the Chinese market.
How has legislation affected the
industry?
The food sector promises potential
for more significant growth over
the next few years. The trend
towards enhanced product
safety has gained recognition
because of tightening
legislation surrounding
product liability. The large
chains have stringent quality
standards and more and more
demand that their
suppliers install
metal detectors.
In the
pharmaceutical
sector, because
of the
introduction of the
FDA regulation CFR21,
we see significant sales
opportunities in the near future.
The stringent demands make the
choice of contractor very narrow.
In the chemicals sector,
Mesutronic was one of the first
contractors to react to the
changed explosion protection
regulations and to develop ATEX
compliant solutions. Mesutronic
equipment affords the highest
level of dust protection even in,
for example, category ‘Zone 20’
explosive environments.
Which new products is
Mesutronic presenting at
Interpack 2005?
With AluScan, MESUTRONIC
presents the state-ofthe-art
metal sensor for
quality assurance in
the food industry. Magnetic field
sensors using the latest
technology can detect even the
smallest iron and steel particles in
aluminium-packed products such
as ready made meals, biscuits,
cakes or snacks. The detector,
which reacts solely to residual
magnetism, even gives a clear
view inside robust aluminium
trays. Until then this had only
been possible with the application
of expensive and cumbersome X-
Ray technology. By so doing the
AluScan closes the gap between
conventional metal detection and
complex X-Ray technology, the use
of which has always been
controversial in the food industry.
From your point of
view, what are the
latest trends in metal
detection technology?
Metal components still
give rise to the highest
level of contamination in
industrially-manufactured
foodstuffs. For that
reason metal
detectors will
continue to
play an
important role
in the detection
of foreign bodies in
the food industry well
into the future. X-Ray
food spring 2005