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STRONG QC &
STRONG QC & QAQA

Effective Inspection...

Metal-Free Bulk Goods

The need to inspect products for metal contaminants prior to shipping or processing is becoming more
important for bulk-food manufacturers. Modern metal detectors can inspect powders and granular products
at various stages in the production process, but where should inspection equipment be situated?

Many bulk-food processors are changing quality procedures to process. Product falls through a circular metal detector via a hopper
place responsibility on their suppliers for raw-material integrity. That or tube. A reject device can be positioned directly beneath the
means handlers of bulk powder and granular materials are under detector aperture that diverts product flow when it detects metal to
increased pressure to certify that their products are contaminant- ensure contaminated product does not pass further down the line.
free. It is important that the diverter operates at high speed to effectively
With several options of where to inspect for optimum quality, remove contaminates and also minimize the volume of good product
bulk material suppliers need to make important decisions. We can removed from the process.
help you determine where to establish critical control points in your
process to ensure optimum product quality and maximize business Conveyorized Applications
performance. An alternative solution to inspecting freefalling product can be to
inspect later in the process after the product is packaged. That is
Where to Inspect? particularly effective when product is packaged in bulk paper or
The decision of where to inspect is heavily dependent on the process plastic sacks. It serves as a final inspection prior to the dispatch of
application. Some processes lend themselves to early inspection, the product. Sealed, packaged sacks can be passed via a conveyor
as the product arrives at the facility prior to passing into storage system through a rectangular aperture metal detector. The conveyor
hoppers or silos. Others benefit more from inspection after can be stopped and an alarm raised to enable operators to remove
processing and packing into bulk sacks. In some cases, it is prudent suspect product in the event of metal detection.
to inspect at multiple points, particularly if product passes through
conversion processes. Making the Right Choice
No two production processes are
Early Inspection Optimizes Efficiency the same and choosing the right
Inspecting early in the process, before additional value is added to location to install inspection
the material, guarantees that raw material quality is ensured right equipment can be a daunting task.
from the beginning of the process. Early inspection also creates a Experienced engineers will be able
degree of protection to other downstream plant and processes to provide guidance and assistance
equipment. For example, an undetected metal contaminant passing in making the right choice to ensure
through a milling process can cause untold damage to equipment, optimized product quality and
resulting in potential break-downs, loss of process efficiency and enhanced process efficiency.
increased downtime.
Gravity-fall Applications
Inspecting bulk powders or granular products as they fall often is
the solution to inspecting large volumes of bulk material early in the

44 FOOD FOCUS THAILAND AUG 2018