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Las Vegas, Nevada, September 28, 2015 – FAs talk of food safety regulation dominated this year’s Pack Expo Las Vegas, September 28-30, Eagle Product Inspection (Eagle) has showcased three innovative systems (Booth C-3803) that are an expert line of defense against physical contaminants. As the recently published Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA) final rule concerning human food leaves producers and manufacturers to determine their own safety plans and compliance methods, Eagle product inspection systems were of particular interest to food manufacturers attending this year’s event. The systems being demonstrated perform inline inspection, safety checks, verification and product analysis that can support manufacturers and suppliers in complying with the FSMA end goal of risk-based preventative controls.
New to the portfolio, the Eagle™ FA3/M inline fat measurement and contaminant detection system provides automated quality checks including fat analysis and contaminant detection of inorganic materials including calcified bone, metals, glass, dense plastics and stones. Unique to the FA3/M is its ability to inspect fresh trim, frozen meat blocks, along with meat in cartons and crates, providing flexibility and accurate inspection for multiple applications. Also at the show was the Eagle™ Pack 430 with Material Discrimination X-ray (MDX), which is designed to inspect mid-sized packaged products without compromising on production line speed. The addition of dual energy MDX technology ensures that it can inspect for physical contamination in products with varying densities which produce hard to read or busy images. Completing the showcase was the Eagle™ Tall PRO XSDV that uses high performance dual view x-ray technology to provide 100% inspection of contaminants in rigid containers.
“The new FSMA regulation creates a challenge for food facilities but there is good news in that technologies like ours achieve compliance and this creates opportunities. By establishing compliant safety measures and controlling food products for hazards, suppliers can provide a valuable service to manufacturers under the FSMA supply chain program . For manufacturers that need to install preventative controls, our systems offer both the inspection precision and data management functionality that can be integrated seamlessly into existing operations,” said Kyle Thomas, Strategic Business Unit Manager, Eagle Product Inspection.
For meat manufacturers, the Eagle™ FA3/M for inline fat measurement and contaminant detection is designed as a “multi-application” system for mixed bulk and plastic crate applications that include fresh, chilled, hot-boned, frozen loose bulk, frozen blocks, and unwrapped plastic crates of meat products. The FA3/M uses third generation Dual Energy X-ray Absorptiometry (DEXA) to discriminate between fat and lean portions of meat products in 100 percent of throughput to better than +/- 1 Chemical Lean (CL) accuracy. Throughput is enhanced with the machine’s ability to inspect up to 2,400 plastic crates or frozen blocks per hour or up to 35 tons of bulk meat per hour. By scanning a bar code with product information, products with different inspection requirements can run on the same line, eliminating downtime previously needed to manually switch products. All of these features combine to offer a robust, reliable and flexible machine that is required by modern meat manufacturing.
Inspection, calibration and validation are all required under FSMA if a physical hazard is identified by a facility’s safety plan and hazard analysis. The FA3/M has optimum contaminant detection for meat manufacturers, identifying and rejecting glass, calcified bone and metal with exacting precision. The FA3/M utilizes UPSHOT™ compact x-ray imaging geometry for improved precision and enhanced detection capabilities. The system comes with an exclusive automated calibration system, AUTOCAL™ operated by pushbutton, rather than using traditional phantom blocks that can be a time consuming and lengthy process. The VALIDATE™ feature documents system performance and calibration with time/date-stamped results in a secure electronic log.
For food manufacturers of mid-sized products, the extremely versatile Eagle™ Pack 430 PRO with MDX was at the show. With many standard features to simplify material handling, the technology allows for fast and comprehensive product inspection and uncomplicated maintenance. Ideal for products such as baked goods, snacks and ready meals, the system detects glass shards, metal fragments, mineral stones and dense plastics in a wide range of packaging formats including plastic containers, cartons, boxes and pouches. The system comes with the option of Material Discrimination X-ray (MDX) that uses dual energy to detect contaminants in products with varying densities, such as granola or salad bags, that present an extreme challenge for standard x-ray inspection machines.
The Pack 430 PRO simultaneously performs numerous quality checks that help ensure product integrity without encroaching on line speed or production line space. The quality checks Press Release checks available – weight, package integrity, zone weight, missing component, and component counts – are all verified and documented via data collection that is easy for manufacturers to manage.
The final system at the show was the Eagle™ Tall PRO XSDV, a dual view x-ray inspection system for packaged products complete with a special reject function. Ideal for manufacturers of products in rigid containers including cans, bottles and jars, the technology offers superior sensitivity, capable of detecting contaminants up to 50 percent smaller than traditional machines. Producing and analyzing two images per container, it significantly reduces the risk of undetected contamination particularly in challenging areas such as rigid sides of cans. The Tall PRO XSDV features a slim-line profile with a small footprint that is ideal for food production facilities with limited factory floor space. It is suitable for the inspection of products in tall rigid containers, including milk, drinking yoghurts, bottles, jars, food cans or food pouches. The system also checks fill levels, facilitating portion control for enhanced production line efficiency in addition to mass measurement, seal inspection and component counts checks. As leading market experts in the detection of physical contaminants, Eagle inspection systems on show at Pack Expo all featured the inspection, monitoring and verification features that FSMA preventative controls for physical hazards require.