“Our number one company-wide directive is focused on food safety and quality,” said the project manager responsible for overseeing the selection and start up of the new inspection systems. “We’re engaged in a systemic process to identify important quality and safety control points and take action to improve upon what has historically been considered standard industry practices.”

When the hot dog manufacturer built its plant back in 2004, they installed then-state-of-the-art processing and packaging equipment, including a metal detector on every packaging line. In 2007, they analyzed everything from room conditions to each piece of equipment to identify areas that could be improved upon. They decided to tackle a problem that is common at most hot dog and sausage factories – bits of bone in the finished product – and took their quality assurance program to the next level with x-ray inspection systems, which detect bone and a wide range of other foreign material as well as packaging irregularities.

“We considered x-ray systems from numerous manufacturers. We wanted a system that would detect foreign material with consistent sensitivity. We looked for user-friendly features to ease operation and maintenance. We also wanted a supplier than would customize the design to our application,” noted the project manager. “The Safeline equipment offered the best performance and the best ease of use. And Mettler-Toledo Safeline was one of the few suppliers able and willing to custom build to our specifications.”

Customizing the x-ray systems was important because the manufacturer was swapping out the old metal detectors for the new x-ray systems and, by matching the conveyor width and length, they eliminated the need to reconfigure their six lines. “With the customized layout, Mettler-Toledo Safeline saved us a couple hundred thousand dollars in installation costs,” said the project manager. “Our sales rep, Steve Beuker from Formula Packaging, did a good job formulating our options and helping us identify the best systems for our applications.”

The hot dog manufacturer selected PowerChekPlus x-ray systems, which are installed on the packaging lines after the horizontal-form-fill-seal operation and before case packing. Using a vertical single beam, an electronically controlled low-powered x-ray generator and proprietary data and image analysis software, the x-ray systems detect bone as well as stone, glass, wood, plastic and metal, including difficult-to-detect stainless steel. If contamination is detected, the system automatically ejects the product from the production stream into a reject bin.

“We measure the success of the x-ray systems based on detection sensitivity, uptime, the ability to changeover quickly and the ability to track, maintain and archive data,” said the project manager. “Mettler-Toledo Safeline is the Cadillac of the industry. Not only is the technology superior, the customer service is among the best I’ve ever seen.”

About Mettler-Toledo Safeline
Mettler-Toledo Safeline is the world’s leading provider of metal detection and x-ray inspection systems for the food and pharmaceutical industries. Safeline’s reputation as the primary provider of contaminant detection equipment is built on a commitment to innovative products supported by the most comprehensive product testing, engineering solutions, service and training in the industry.

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