30/01/2024 Fortress Technology (Europe) Ltd
Any contamination is a food safety issue that can have a negative and potentially irreversible impact on a pet processor’s reputation. Extraction of metal contaminants at the end of the lines can be more expensive. Fortress Technology touts the benefits of installing its inline metal detection equipment upstream of pet processing lines.
BREEDING TRUST
Providing a myriad of well-being benefits to owners, from companionship to supporting therapy and even preventing certain health conditions, pets undoubtedly play an important role in the lives of their people. Currently, more than half of UK households (57% in 2023) own at least one pet[1]with a large majority considering them part of the family[2].
Most owners will say that the love of a pet is priceless. However, their bank accounts disagree. Sales of natural versions of pet slurries, kibble and raw diets have soared, with many owners admitting their furry friends are eating better than they are. In testament to this, 21% of British housewives admit they spend the same amount on pet food, if not more, than they do on their own groceries.[3]
According to the UK Pet Food association, over 50 pieces of legislation govern pet food manufacturing in the UK to ensure consistently high standards and utmost safety and hygiene. The Guide to Good Practice for the Production of Safe Pet Food developed by FEDIAF comprehensively covers the safety and hygiene of pet food processes and products.
As with human food, pet food processors are required to adopt HACCP and formal foreign body control policies. This includes introducing measures to prevent, control or detect potential contaminants identified by risk assessments. Sensitive and clean inline contaminant detection equipment can play an important role in helping pet food processors protect pets, protect their brand and comply with these stringent regulations.
PROTECTION OF TRADEMARKS
Keeping up with wet viscous pet food processing that requires the highest level of sanitation, the Fortress Meat Pump Metal Detector addresses contamination and cleanliness simultaneously. Used to prevent metal contaminants from reaching the cooking and packing stages, the inspection system’s removable plastic tube is made from ultra-clean food-safe Delrin.
IP69K-rated, the slimline machine is built without metal ends, ensuring no bacteria-harbouring crevices. Customized Delrin wrenches stored in the machine allow operators on wet food processing lines to loosen and tighten pipe threads without risk of equipment damage. An easy roll out mobile frame gives the processors maximum flexibility. Additionally, the unique rail mounted reject valve supports quick pipe removal for cleaning and reassembly.
In less than three minutes, operatives can blast high pressure water jets through the system, removing bacteria and product residue to prevent cross contamination. Features like this are especially useful in attached metal detector pipeline configurations, which are nearly impossible to access efficiently. By optimizing hygiene standards, the Fortress Meat Pump machine helps prevent cross-contact contamination and the spread of bacteria in pet food products. Provides quality assurance to both pet owners and processors.
There is almost no limit to the installation of Metal Detectors, although the specific features of likely contaminants, the product, packaging, processing and supply chain can be determined if metal detection is chosen for a specific point in the pet food processing line. If pet food processors need to detect other physical contaminants, for example glass or bones, they can choose a Pipeline X-Ray machine.
The Gravity Metal Detector is the best option for “free-falling” dry kibble and pet treat applications. They are often located between product chutes and hoppers in pet food mixing lines and are integrated into automated packing systems and checkweighers.
For final quality checks, highly sensitive Bulk Metal Detectors, Checkweighers and Combination systems can be added to inspect large pet food bags and boxed wet food trays.
TAKE THE STICK
To improve and optimize these inspection systems, automated testing can be deployed. Running performance tests and verifications at regular intervals, these automated tests are cleaner, more accurate, and save labor and waste.
Some Fortress pet processors use Halo automatic testing to reduce the risk of human error by eliminating the challenge of manually entering and retrieving test sticks and balls from a closed pipeline or gravity pet food inspection system.
Test sticks involve operators inserting a test piece into the space between the tube and the aperture, which is the most sensitive part of the metal detector. Although it can deliver a good signal, it does not represent a test for metal contaminants in the product stream.
Likewise, getting test balls into the actual product flow can be more complicated and time-consuming. This process requires operators to withdraw the test sample from the product after it has flowed through the pipeline system or to disassemble and reclose the pipe. Not only is this messy, but it can also increase test times from a few minutes to between 15 to 20 minutes.
Testing hard to access kibble gravity metal detectors can be even more difficult. Climbing above production silos to manually perform testing is typically a two-person task and can be a safety hazard even with the strongest precautions in place. Additionally, dropping the test sample from a height, which is continuous right in the middle of the orifice and product flow, is nearly impossible. Thus, the ability of metal detectors is rarely challenged.
To overcome these gravity access challenges, some metal detectors may be equipped with a test ball insertion port at the top of the non-metallic product tube. Although this can make inserting test balls easier, in most cases the freefall height is higher than the local insertion port. This means that the test is done at a slower speed and does not reflect the true freefalling speed of real-life contaminants falling from a height or accurately challenge the rejection reaction time.
The Fortress automatic testing solution Halo solves this by enabling pet processors to activate tests remotely, locally or automatically on a timer. Tests can be scheduled without having to stop production to place and retrieve test samples. Validated test data can be digitally saved for audit purposes. With Contact 4.0, pet processors can also network multiple machines to generate more comprehensive machine performance reports.
With British pet owners spending huge sums on premium wet and dry foods, pet food processors need to ensure that every food and treat undergoes thorough contamination detection. Regardless of the ingredients or application format, today’s pet food production lines must demonstrate the true safety, well-being and reliability that owners and their faithful companions expect.
[1] https://www.ukpetfood.org/information-centre/statistics/uk-pet-population.html
[2] https://www.petsmag.co.uk/charity-reveals-findings-of-largest-ever-survey-of-uk-pets-and-their-people/
[3] https://www.companionlife.co.uk/almost-one-in-ten-brits-spend-more-on-pet-food-than-household-food/
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