Within the food production industry, there is perhaps no bigger contaminant material than metal. Due to its abundant use in all stages of food processing, the material is often found in the raw foodstuffs. It is essential that this is located and move before the packaging stage to guarantee the safety of consumers and the legitimacy of your company.

Metal detectors catering specifically to the food industry should be a compulsory piece of equipment for any area of food production, including baked goods, fruit and vegetables, dairy, fish, meat, cereals, beverages and more.

With the vegetable processing industry for example, the sheer range of products catering to a variety of vegetables means that here is always a risk of contamination from metal, through broken equipment or delivery.

Almost all metal detectors in the food industry are able to detect three core groups of metal contaminants:

• Ferrous metals are easily detected as they are both magnetic and conductive
• Non-Ferrous metals are non-magnetic but are strong conductors and are therefore easily detected.
• Stainless steel contaminants are perhaps the toughest to pick up because of their poor conductivity and non-magnetic. However, most reliable metal detectors designed for food production will be able to detect these contaminants.

Generally, there are four types of metal detectors that are popular within the food industry:

• Search Heads are used frequently for inspection of fruits, vegetables, cereals, meats and bread.
• Conveyor based Systems are used frequently for inspection of fruits, vegetables, cereals, meats, yogurt and bread.
• Pipeline for Pumped Products are used frequently for beverages, sauces, soups and dairy.
• Vertical Fall Systems are used frequently for powders, grains and granules.

First Food Machinery can offer brand new and used metal detectors of all types that cater to your specific needs within the food industry.