Tag Archives: metal detectable

Deep Cleaning & Sanitation in Today’s Food Plant

Posted by Marketing Dept.  –  Food Safety, General, Laboratory & QA/QC, Production & Material Handling, Safety & Personnel, Sanitation & Janitorial
November 9, 2020

According to the FDA, “one of the most commonly documented food safety problems in plants have involved sanitation monitoring, including checking food-contact surfaces and plant cleanliness” (Schug, para. 1). To make matters even more complicated, the
COVID-19 pandemic disrupted normal operations as well for countless food and beverage manufacturers. Disruptions may occur due to limited staff because of layoffs, social distancing requirements, or sickness. These situations on top of the normal expectations of having a clean food plant, can lead to the need of resources for food safety sanitation.

It is essential that food manufacturers create safe, quality food, therefore, routine practices need to continue, and additional sanitation protocols may need to be added. Employers also need to ensure a safe environment for their staff, including minimizing the risk of being exposed to harmful viruses and infections.

According to an article on cleaning and sanitation, “maintaining a clean and sanitary plant is essential in building and executing an effective food safety program” (Schug, para. 2).  A complete color-coded system is an example of a food safety program that will help promote organization and efficient work flow. Designating critical control areas and zones helps your sanitation program by ensuring that the tools stay in the areas in which they are meant to be used, doing jobs they are meant to do. Color-coded systems also help avoid bacterial and allergen migration within a facility, allowing you to maintain a safe food processing facility.

Nelson-Jameson offers the most diverse and extensive collection of color-coded products in the industry. This includes products for material handling, product handling, janitorial, safety, apparel, QA/QC, and metal detectable applications. Laying the foundation for a solid food safety program, our color-coded offering can help minimize the risk of cross-contamination.

To get the best of both worlds, Nelson-Jameson also offers the benefits of color-coded and metal detectable products, another food safety program, in one. Produced from a specially formulated FDA-compliant material, these high impact polypropylene tools have the ability to be detected by most metal detection machines used in the food processing industry.

Take the next step in your sanitation program and add to your color-coded or metal detectable program to make it more effective today! Visit nelsonjameson.com to view or request a copy of our 56-page Color-Coded Catalog or our 32-page Metal Detectable Flyer.

 

Sources:

Schug, D. (2018, November 05). Cleaning and sanitation: The Building Blocks of Food Safety. Retrieved November 06, 2020, from https://www.profoodworld.com/home/article/13279193/cleaning-and-sanitation-the-building-blocks-of-food-safety

 

Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Metal Detectable Products: A Critical Component in Food Safety

Posted by Melissa Pasciak  –  Food Safety, General
June 23, 2020

A critical component in food safety is the detection of contaminants. One of the worst nightmares of anyone working in food processing, is finding something in the final product that is not supposed to be there. This can cause costly product loss, clean-up and maintenance costs, and the potential for recalls and/or litigation. Even though everyone tries to prevent foreign object contamination, pieces of tools such as scrapers can break off, or items such as pens can fall into the product. To make sure that these items are caught, and that contaminated product does not make it out the door, many plants utilize metal detection devices and products.

Metal detectable products are constructed of a few different materials. They are often blue for easy visual detection. Blue is also the most common non-food color. Metal detectable products are made through a unique manufacturing process that involves the inclusion of a metallic pigment. This enables the plastic to be detected. In some objects such as earplugs, a stainless steel ball bearing is enclosed in the plug, making them detectable. A product with embedded metal is only detectable if the product piece containing the metal goes through a detector. With a product that is impregnated, the entire piece has fine metal particles throughout, making the entire piece, or parts of it, detectable.

Metal detectable calibration is an important aspect of a metal detectable program. To maintain calibration, you should periodically check calibration by passing a known calibration test tool under the unit to check for accuracy. Test tools can be made of ferrous, non-ferrous, or stainless steel and include rods, cylinders, balls, whips, cards, and more. Depending on the food being produced, machine calibration must be adjusted and set to a threshold that is determined by the company in regards to the size of contaminant they want the detector to reject. Many things affect the setting of the machine including whether the food is wet or dry, its size, and its speed. If you don’t test your calibration, the metal detector can allow larger pieces of foreign object contaminant to get through than the threshold setting, which threatens the finished product’s safety. 

Nelson-Jameson can help you start or expand your Metal Detectable program with our wide range of products. Our new Metal Detectable Flyer features 32 pages of products ranging from writing utensils and office supplies to calibration tools and scrapers. We also have metal detection and x-ray equipment from Valcour Process Technologies to help enhance your program. Request your free copy of our flyer, or visit our website to download it today!

 

Tags: , ,

Your Safe, Quality Food is our Business

Posted by Marketing Dept.  –  Food Safety, Laboratory & QA/QC, Production & Material Handling, Sanitation & Janitorial
January 9, 2019

Nelson-Jameson takes food safety very seriously, and we know that you do too. That is why we offer a wealth of products and solutions that can help your facility reduce the risk of foodborne illness and contamination. From Color-Coding and Metal Detectable to Hand Hygiene and Environmental Testing – we have many programs available to help ensure your processing facilities are compliant, providing safe, quality food to all.

To talk to one of our food safety experts about these programs or to receive an informational flyer featuring these programs, give us a call at 800-826-8302 or visit our website today!

Tags: , , , , , ,

Protect Product Integrity with Metal Detectable Products

Posted by Michelle Onsager  –  Food Safety, Production & Material Handling
February 28, 2018

Using Metal Detectable Products in your facility is a great way to ensure the product that you ship out does not contain foreign materials. Metal Detectable Products are products that can be detected by a metal detector. In plastic products, such as pens, a metallic pigment is added to the resin during the manufacturing process, and it is this pigment that is actually detected by the metal detector. Other products, earplugs for example, contain a stainless steel ball bearing, which is then detected by the metal detector.

Having your Metal Detector calibrated to the correct settings is key to being able to detect foreign contaminants. The settings that you will need to use are based on many factors including the speed of the line, moisture content, and the material of the contaminant. Using calibration tools will help to determine what size of foreign material will be detected by your metal detector.

Nelson-Jameson offers a wide range of Metal Detectable Products, from pens and markers to scrapers and mallets. We also have several Metal Detectable Products that are also color-coded to help prevent cross-contamination in your facility. View our entire line of Metal Detectable Products or request a copy of our new 24-page flyer.

Tags: , , , , ,