Importance of Metal Detection in Production Line

Metal contamination is frequently caused by manufacturing line wear and tear on the machinery. If producers do not have a safeguard in place to identify these incidents before the product is transferred to the customer, this increases the uncertainty and worry that they may feel. In order to prevent downstream equipment malfunctions and the subsequent unanticipated downtime and costly production line repairs, manufacturers have recognized this issue and are employing metal detectors.

The main objective of food metal detectors is to safeguard consumers. Metal contamination in food items during production cannot be completely ruled out, even with the greatest of caution. Consumers may suffer severe harm if metal particles get into the product during manufacture or if they are already present in the raw material. Compensation suits and costly recalls are only two of the many and severe repercussions for the producing corporation. The loss of customer trust brought on by tainted food goods and the unfavorable brand image do even more serious and long-lasting harm.

Types of Metal Contaminants Detected

                   

Ferrous Metals (Mild Steel/Cast Iron):
Iron is an element with high magnetic characteristics and is found in ferrous metals. Because of their magnetic qualities, these metals are particularly simple to identify with metal detectors, which pick up on the magnetic field that iron traces generate.
  
Non-Ferrous Metals (Copper/Lead/Aluminum):
These metals are not magnetic and do not include iron. They are still conductive, though. These metals are rather easy to identify because of their electromagnetic resonances.

Stainless Steel:
Iron is present in stainless steel, although its magnetic characteristics are weak. It is more difficult to detect since it is less conductive than the other elements on this list. High salinity and moisture content are two other environmental factors that might impede detection.

Metal shavings and fragments:
These can come from machinery and equipment wear and tear, especially in cutting, grinding, or drilling processes.

Wire and metal pieces:
Broken wires or small metal components from equipment or tooling can fall into the product stream.

Nuts, bolts, and screws:
Loose fasteners from equipment, conveyor belts, or packaging machinery.

Blades and needles:
Broken parts from cutting or sewing equipment.

Metallic packaging residue:
Small pieces of metal from packaging materials or closures.

Maintenance tools:
Accidental inclusion of small tools or parts during maintenance activities.

How Metal Contaminants Can End Up in Production Lines

Machinery and equipment wear and tear:
During normal operation, machinery and equipment can experience wear and tear, leading to the production of metal shavings and fragments. These particles can detach and contaminate the product stream.

Broken or faulty equipment:
Equipment or tools used in the production process can break or malfunction, resulting in metal pieces such as broken wires, blades, or needles falling into the products.

Loose fasteners:
Nuts, bolts, and screws can become loose over time due to vibrations or improper installation. These fasteners can then fall into the production line and contaminate products.

Improper maintenance:
During maintenance activities, small tools or parts may be accidentally left behind or dropped into the production line, leading to contamination.

Metallic packaging residue:
Small pieces of metal from packaging materials or closures can remain in the product, especially if the packaging process involves metal components that can shed particles or fragments.

Human error:
Accidents or mistakes made by personnel handling equipment or materials can introduce metal contaminants into the production process.

Environmental factors:
External factors such as vibrations, temperature changes, and humidity can cause metal components to degrade or become loose, increasing the risk of contamination.

The Seven Principles of HACCP



The seven guiding principles that form the foundation of a HACCP plan are the most crucial elements in the process. The HACCP plan's base is laid by the first two phases. The final five phases are the HACCP plan's application steps, which offer the framework for carrying out the plan's operations at the processing facility.

Principle 1: Conduct a Hazard Analysis
Applying this approach entails enumerating the process's phases and determining the locations of any relevant dangers. The HACCP team will concentrate on risks that the HACCP plan can reduce, eliminate, or control. A rationale for the hazard's inclusion or exclusion is provided, and potential countermeasures are noted.

Principle 2: Determine Critical Control Points (CCPs)
A critical control point (CCP) is a process, phase, or point at which a danger to food safety can be averted, removed, or brought down to an acceptable level by the application of control. A CCP decision tree will be used by the HACCP team to assist in determining the process's important control points. A single food safety danger may be controlled by more than one critical control point (CCP), or in certain situations, more than one CCP is required to manage a single hazard. The steps in the processing and the level of control required to ensure food safety determine how many CCPs are required.

Principle 3: Establish Critical Limits
The greatest and/or lowest value to which a biological, chemical, or physical parameter must be regulated at a CCP in order to avoid, eradicate, or minimize the occurrence of a food safety hazard to a tolerable level is known as a critical limit (CL). A measurement that is based on scientific literature and/or regulatory standards, such as time, temperature, water activity (aw), pH, weight, or another measurement, is often the critical limit.

Principle 4: Establish Monitoring Procedures
At each critical control point, the HACCP team will outline monitoring protocols for determining the critical limit. Procedures for monitoring should specify how, when, and by whom measurements will be taken during production. They should also specify how often measurements will be conducted.

Principle 5: Establish Corrective Actions
The steps that are taken when there is a departure from a critical limit are known as corrective actions. The HACCP team will determine the necessary actions to rectify the process as well as the measures that will be done to keep potentially dangerous food out of the food chain. This often involves identifying the issues and taking action to ensure that they won't recur.

Principle 6: Establish Verification Procedures
those actions that, aside from monitoring, establish if the HACCP plan is legitimate and whether the system is performing as intended. As part of the verification tasks, the HACCP team may include auditing of CCPs, record reviews, previous shipment reviews, instrument calibration, and product testing.

Principle 7: Establish Record-keeping and Documentation Procedures
Documenting information that may be utilized to demonstrate that the food was prepared properly is a crucial part of the HACCP strategy. The HACCP plan's details must also be included in the records. Information about the HACCP Team, the product description, flow diagrams, the monitoring system, the critical limits, the hazard analysis, the detected CCPs, the corrective actions, recordkeeping procedures, and verification procedures should all be included in the record.

Ensure Product Quality & Safety

Qualification:
ensuring that the appropriate system or equipment is chosen for the purpose of detecting foreign materials and, as a result, that it complies with the risk assessment completed for the food safety program. Verifying the probability of detection (P.O.D.) for each type of accessible foreign body (10/10 detection passes) is a need for certification.

Pre-Validation:
the maker commissions the item before manufacturing begins using a test version. Measure the possible false reject rate (F.R.R.) and ascertain the detection confidence level utilizing certified foreign body test standards and test product (at least 10/10 runs per test standard and product group).

Validation / Re-Validation:
first validation of the false reject rate and detection accuracy following a significant modification to the production line by the manufacturer, or at least 10/10 passes for every available foreign body type and product group under production conditions for both the F.R.R. and the P.O.D.

Monitoring:
Check the inspection system's operational readiness every day or every hour before production begins or after a product modification. At least one detection/rejection run of a test body is used to test the device. The operator's audit check serves as the means of conducting the routine review.

Operator Validation:
The operator works in tandem with the Integrated Validation Process (IVP) software to perform validations on a monthly or quarterly basis, validate more products, record the results in the "Report of Validation," and store it to the device.

Manufacturer Validation:
verifying the device's electrical characteristics and safety, and obtaining a validation certificate from the manufacturer that includes a service report and verification of the F.R.R. and P.O.D. Every year, the manufacturer validation needs to be completed.