Metal detection per product type?

Hello all,

Up till now, our company has only produced one type of product, but next month we begin producing 2 more types. All are dry goods, but made of different materials. My understanding of the requirements of metal detection for SQF and FDA  purposes is that you have to be able to prove that the metal can be detected when included in your product, so for me the thought follows that each product may have different qualities and must be subject to testing individually. Here's an example: If I make one product with a rice base, one with and oat base and one with a freeze-dried fruit base, I would say I'd have to test all 3 types of metal inside each type of product before the production run to say that the detector is working properly for that product/run. However, I want to avoid overkill as well. so does anyone have any insight/experience on this subject?

Thanks so much!

Hello all,

 

Up till now, our company has only produced one type of product, but next month we begin producing 2 more types. All are dry goods, but made of different materials. My understanding of the requirements of metal detection for SQF and FDA  purposes is that you have to be able to prove that the metal can be detected when included in your product, so for me the thought follows that each product may have different qualities and must be subject to testing individually. Here's an example: If I make one product with a rice base, one with and oat base and one with a freeze-dried fruit base, I would say I'd have to test all 3 types of metal inside each type of product before the production run to say that the detector is working properly for that product/run. However, I want to avoid overkill as well. so does anyone have any insight/experience on this subject?

 

Thanks so much!

You are circuitously talking about whether MD Validation is necessary for different types of Product.

And the answer is Yes..

Everything you produce (or according to your RA)  must run through the metal detector while monitoring & verifying the machine is working properly at a certain frequency.

It's not overkill, each product needs to be validated for the MD - density testing, etc.

The need to have different settings for each product on your metal detector will soon become abundantly clear as the machine is very sensitive. 

I would agree with Hank. It may be necessary to create different program setting based on the product category - rice based, oat based, dried fruit based.

Still need to check if all oat based products can fall under the same program.  

Agreed with all the above. Your metal detector manufacturer should be able to help you determine settings specific for each of your three product types.

If your question is about validation and verification of the metal detector - yes, detection and rejection capability needs to be validated and verified for each product and the types of contaminants or test samples defined in your program.

Regarding testing or monitoring, this goes hand in hand because when you change from one product to the next one, you might also have to change the settings of the metal detector accordingly.

What is recommendable is to define the settings for each product by some kind of teach-in function and save those settings under the corresponding name (e.g. Product 1: oat based product, Product 2: rice based product).

If product signal does not vary between oat based and rice based, you might also be able to run both products with the same setting.

Farbeit for me to throw a wrench into the works considering Metal Detection, but here goes.

I am writing the documents for hand batching products. We don't have pulleys and conveyor belts, etc. Has anyone else done metal detection for a small hand batch facility?

Some of these MD systems cost more than what some of my clients buy in a year.

We found this unit, but aren't sure if it's sufficient for USFDA. Any thoughts please?

https://www.alibaba.....7dfc6f2a92AvJW
 

Farbeit for me to throw a wrench into the works considering Metal Detection, but here goes.

I am writing the documents for hand batching products. We don't have pulleys and conveyor belts, etc. Has anyone else done metal detection for a small hand batch facility?

Some of these MD systems cost more than what some of my clients buy in a year.

We found this unit, but aren't sure if it's sufficient for USFDA. Any thoughts please?

 

https://www.alibaba.....7dfc6f2a92AvJW
 

I'm going to say that it is unlikely this would work. Believe it or not, I did have one of those; only used it for trying to find large pieces of metal (for example - a bolt falls out of a piece of equipment, or a knife blade breaks into larger pieces). It came in handy a couple times.

I would not think this is sufficient for use as a real metal detector since I haven't seen one sensitive enough that would find small pieces of metal especially in product. Can't say I've ever done metal detection in small hand batches, so I'm not sure if there are more cost effective methods out there. 

Farbeit for me to throw a wrench into the works considering Metal Detection, but here goes.

I am writing the documents for hand batching products. We don't have pulleys and conveyor belts, etc. Has anyone else done metal detection for a small hand batch facility?

Some of these MD systems cost more than what some of my clients buy in a year.

We found this unit, but aren't sure if it's sufficient for USFDA. Any thoughts please?

 

https://www.alibaba.....7dfc6f2a92AvJW

 

....

 

 

This is for checking people.

I remember doing a 2nd party inspection on a crab cake facility and they bought one of these from a guy that worked at TSA  - it was not acceptable to the customer nor the audit.

My auditor said that hand-blended products don't need metal detecting. Only products that have been processed in a machine that has metal (such as the blender) needs to be metal detected since the machine could introduce metal without it being noticed. Since human hands don't have ball bearings, the hand blending means you can forego metal detecting.

My auditor said that hand-blended products don't need metal detecting. Only products that have been processed in a machine that has metal (such as the blender) needs to be metal detected since the machine could introduce metal without it being noticed. Since human hands don't have ball bearings, the hand blending means you can forego metal detecting.

I'm not sure how I feel about this. If you've got metal parts anywhere in your process before pack, you should have a metal detector. I guess this also makes a pretty large assumption that the supplier's metal detection equipment didn't fail (or the assumption they even used metal detection). I once had a supplier send along one of the giant metal with rubber handled clamps inside the bagged product. I've seen some foreign material that made me scratch my head, and also made me thankful for our protection measures.

I'm not sure how I feel about this. If you've got metal parts anywhere in your process before pack, you should have a metal detector. I guess this also makes a pretty large assumption that the supplier's metal detection equipment didn't fail (or the assumption they even used metal detection). I once had a supplier send along one of the giant metal with rubber handled clamps inside the bagged product. I've seen some foreign material that made me scratch my head, and also made me thankful for our protection measures.

It is true, my system relies on the suppliers having metal detected the raw materials before they are shipped to my client.

Has anyone got a recommendation for the Metal Detection? We want it cheap and need it to be mobile. We are benchmarking FSSC 22000:2018 and several of our Clients are required to meet FSMA in 2020.

We do grinding of spices/mixes as part of the batch. We stir with stainless steel on stainless steel, we regularly take apart and put back together the filling machine, so I can't see how I can eliminate a MD on my line. Although I'd really like to, my mind says the microscopic metal of grinding spices through the sieve or even just the pot stirring requires it. And I can't find any information on writing it into a hand batch line or, as my druthers would be, writing it out!

Appreciate all the comments, especially the witty ones. :)

Hi Pepper,

I don't recommend a wand -- too much variation and interference with surrounding metals. A detector is definitely an investment, but the risk associated with not having one is greater.

Industry auctions are a good place to look for discounted ones. 

My auditor said that hand-blended products don't need metal detecting. Only products that have been processed in a machine that has metal (such as the blender) needs to be metal detected since the machine could introduce metal without it being noticed. Since human hands don't have ball bearings, the hand blending means you can forego metal detecting.

IMO you have a uniquely benevolent auditor although seemingly blinkered to the real world.

Definitely worth a recall from an auditorial acceptance POV..

I agree with FoodSafetyPlanet's comment about looking at industry auction sites. We just recently found an inline metal detector WITH a scale system for 7k. Needless to say, we bought it for the metal detector specifically because it was at least 3k under what we paid for a brand new one. 

Good luck!