Metal detectable seals

Hello everyone.

My name is Ditze from Singapore. We have a small factory over here, producing dairy products.

A supplier came last week and said that the seals might have worn out and contaminate our products since we cleaned out all the equipment every day. He recommended us to use "Metal Detectable Seal" in our equipment, as they can be traced using the metal detector that we have

Any opinion regarding this product? To be honest, this is the first time we heard about it.

Thank you guys!! 

Hello Ditze,

First, i wanna ask what kind of material of your existing seal? Because I have a little confuse about the root cause which lead to contamination.

Then, as your customer recommendation use "Metal Detectable Seal" in your equipment, as they can be traced using the metal detector that you have. I think, this is a good recommendation to help your factory in good control CCP of your manufacturing process.

As much as information that you provide to help us more understand and give you detailed suggestion for your concern.

Thanks,

Charice

Hi Charice,

First of all, thank you very much for your feedback.

The main concern for us right now is the O-rings which are located in the homogenizer.

We were supplied with O-rings made from FKM rubber at the moment, which will be replaced in every 4 months.

These O-rings were in direct contact with the milk which is under high pressure.

That is why we were afraid that the particles from the worn out seal have actually leaked into our products without notice before this.

As far as I understand, the "Metal Detectable Seal" is made from the mixture of metal and rubber.

In worst case scenario that this seal cracked and got into our product, it can be traced by the metal detector in the packaging area.

Thanks again,

Ditze

Hi Ditze,

I would check with the manufacturer of the homogeniser in the first place and also ask them about recommended replacement period for the seals.

There may be detectable seals in the market place such as these but I'm not sure that they will be suitable for your application.

Finally I would normally have a filter in the process post pasteuriser that should remove any bits that would be detectable and as such it would seem this would limit the possible advantage of having detectable seals?

Kind regards,

Tony

Hi Tony,

Thank you for the recommendations.

I will check with the manufacturer of the homogeniser myself first and asked for their their opinion.

I believe I've learnt a very good lesson from this - don't just rely on the contractor for the equipment maintenance.

Thank you very much. I will update as soon as I get the feedback from them. 

Best regards,

Ditze

Also I would tackle the Supplier regarding their comments as a filter is far more effective in liquid dairy in removing foreign objects compared to metal detection (with rejection system).

Please keep us posted Ditze.

Kind regards,

Tony