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New x-ray system designed for harsher packaged food manufacturing environments to increase uptime and hygiene
Tampa, Florida, 1st May, 2012 – Eagle Product Inspection has launched the Eagle Pack 400 HC, an energy-efficient x-ray inspection system designed for easy and efficient cleaning in the harsh wash-down environments of the packaged meat, poultry and dairy industries, where daily sanitization of equipment is mandatory. The new system facilitates compliance with food safety standards regarding plant hygiene, including the American Meat Institute’s (AMI) guidelines for meat processors and manufacturers.
The Eagle Pack 400 HC’s robust construction features thicker stainless steel plates cut and welded together, rather than bolted, making its design more sanitary by eliminating food debris collection points. It is also capable of withstanding the impact of repeated use of harsh chemical cleaners and pressurized water. The system offers interlocked hinged louvers which can easily be lifted to allow access to the conveyor, eliminating the need of dismantling traditional heavy louvers to clean inside the machine. This feature reduces the time and labor needed for daily sanitization and assembly, increasing uptime. The hinged louvers also decrease the possibility of damaging or losing equipment pieces during cleaning shifts, enhancing overall safety and productivity.
To reduce carbon emissions and energy consumption, the Eagle Pack 400 HC is designed with an energy-efficient water cooled heat exchanger that eliminates the need for a separate air conditioning unit to cool the system. This also results in a minimal footprint to save space in the production line. Its knurled end drive roller, responsible for the motion of the conveyer, incorporates v-grooves to increase the traction of the conveyor belt so it retains its position even if wet or greasy from cleaning or opened products. With less belt slippage and damage, manufacturers will benefit from less downtime.
“All Eagle systems help food manufacturers to comply with Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Point (HACCP) hygiene principles, but we recognized a need in the market for a product inspection system that could withstand the harsh cleaning requirements of manufacturing lines for meat, poultry and dairy production,” said Terry Woolford, General Manager, Eagle Product Inspection. “By designing robust, easy-to-clean systems we can reduce the time needed for the sanitization of our customers’ production lines.”
The Eagle Pack 400 HC will be showcased at AMI International, the meat, poultry and seafood convention in Dallas, Texas (USA), 1-3 May 2012, at booth 2610 . The system is a new addition to Eagle’s line of advanced and accurate x-ray inspection equipment that offer a number of capabilities including the ability to evaluate compartmentalized fill level and check mass. Other systems in Eagle’s range feature Material Discrimination X-ray (MDX) technology, which allows for the detection of materials previously unseen by traditional x-ray or other product inspection methods, as well as the ability to analyze fat content and calculate the chemical lean (CL) value of meat products.