How To Test A Metal Detector to be sure that it is working properly?

The frozen food industry has become a staple on the global stage. It generates hundreds of billions of dollars in revenue every year, and this amount is expected to continue increasing throughout the coming decade. It will not be until the emerging markets in Africa, Asia, and the Pacific region have reached their potential that we will be able to see the full extent of this industry. There are a number of factors at play that has allowed frozen foods to reach the size that they have, including advancements in technology and busier schedules which demand convenience. These also do not look like they’ll be changing anytime soon.

Due to the impressive growth measures have been put in place to ensure that everything goes as smoothly as possible, after all, it is no secret that as markets get bigger they become more complex. Safety is one of those aspects which becomes more complicated by virtue of the fact that the product passes through more spaces, including as a raw material, preparation, packaging, and so on. Regulations have been put in place to ensure the safety of the consumer to catch any harmful containment that may have occurred due to the extensive network of this industry. While it might sound surprising to those not familiar with the process, food metal detector have become a standard in the industry. Their presence is self-explanatory and necessary to protect both the consumer and the company from lawsuits.

The industry relies on them working properly to find any fragment that might have found its way into the food at some point in the process. Most companies use these machines to pass both external and internal audits checking on health and safety regulations. Unfortunately, if the metal detectors aren’t working properly there could be some obvious severe repercussions, the least of which would be a slap on the wrists from the inspectors. If a metal detector is discovered to be broken it is vitally important to prioritize fixing the machine and go through the whole thing piece by piece.

Luckily there are a couple quick things to check when trying to identify the issue.

Test it

The first thing anyone should do as soon as they expect that their machine is not functioning properly is to test it. You do not want either a false reject or a false positive because both would result in unnecessary expenses to the company. Essentially this process involves planting materials that the machine should detect, while also passing p the product through that is known to be free fragments. Look to the metal detector’s guide that it came with for guidance on the most effective methods for this test.

Metal test

The next thing to do is to do a metal test in the machine’s weakest detection spot. This is done to ensure that any and every harmful material is found in the product regardless of the location. To do this place a small sample or fragment of metal in the equipment’s weakest spot of detection. Try moving this sample around a couple times in order to determine any issues that might arise in the future. It will be a good indicator of the metal detector’s abilities. If it is revealed through this process that the machine is unable to detect metal at certain spots first try readjusting the equipment. If that also does not work it might be time to look into a different make or model.

The next technique is particularly effective when first setting up the equipment. It might sound counter-intuitive to want it to completely reject a product, but doing-so can be very telling of how the machine is operating. It also helps people figure out if a part needs replacing or re-adjusting. This is when the metal detector manual comes in very handy. It will outline the correct process of doing this for that particular machine.

The final test for checking on the equipment is testing a product multiple times. Most would suggest 10 times in order for better comprehension. Run it through 10 times, letting it go through different spots in the metal detector and in different orders. If any of them lead to a rejection it would mean that there is either a contaminant in the product or that there is a mechanical problem with the machine. Either way, further investigation is warranted.

Metal detector are very important in the safety of frozen food products. They offer an important stage that these products need to pass before making it into the hands and mouths of the public, but they are only one part of the production line. It is important to perform tests on all the equipment for this reason. It will ensure the safety of the product, but also the efficiency of the machinery itself in an effort to eliminate waste. Regular testing of everything is recommended to any company in the industry.