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Maximum product quality has to be guaranteed, and has come to be expected, from the customers of this frozen desert specialist. Top quality checkweighing and metal detection systems are essential in ensuring this quality.
A German cake manufacturer produces a range of exquisite frozen cakes to meet customers' specific requirements. Frozen cakes offer a practical alternative to home-made treats, which are increasingly becoming the favorites amongst many consumers. Each and every delicious cake is produced following the traditional company recipe, without the addition of any preservatives. The high degree of product quality is an essential selling point to consumers.
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Quality Inspection Solutions
At their manufacturing facility in Berlin, the company installed modern checkweighing solutions combined with a metal detection system from METTLER TOLEDO. The modern inspection solutions support the quality management processes of manufacturers who are aware of the importance of quality in the food production industry. As such, identifying and rejecting under and overweight products from the current production process is one of the benefits this CombiChecker has to offer. It will also identify any contaminants within the product at almost the same time. It ensures product quality in accordance with the International Food Standard (IFS). They inspect and document the product weight of packed products and, at the same time, detect any contaminants.
Modern quality management concept
"Our quality management system assures the high quality of our cakes. We do not use any preservatives here, as the deep-freezing which we have been practicing over the years is the best way of preserving the freshness and taste of our cakes", explains Roberto Rodriguez- König, Operations Manager.
CombiChecker benefits
The CombiChecker inspects the film-wrapped cakes at the end of the production line, shortly before the final packaging process. The unit is a combined solution comprising a checkweigher and metal detector. Furthermore, these two systems can be controlled via the same checkweigher terminal. This also enables settings to be automatically transferred to the metal detector when production is changed over to another product. Not only are product changeovers simplified, but a great deal of time is also saved in the production process. Also worthy of mention are the quick-release detents on the weighing belt conveyor. These can be released faster, thereby facilitating cleaning.
Up to 30 cakes per minute are weighed and simultaneously inspected for contaminants
In doing so, the checkweigher weighs products with a weighing precision of up to 1 gram. Overweight or underweight cakes are reliably tejected from the production process using a pusher. Metal contaminants which may be introduced with raw materials are detected by the metal detector. The products affected are reliably separated from the good products and sorted into a lockable catch bin by another pusher. Consequently, any vibrations caused by the rejection procedure do not affect the weighing results. Functions that are essential to finished packaging regulations, such as reporting and statistical evaluations, can be performed directly at the CombiChecker, thereby providing valuable data for process optimization. Any cakes that are rejected by the metal detector are separately shown (counted) in the statistical program of the checkweigher. "The XE3CombiChecker is easy to operate and offers a very good price/ performance ratio", comments Roberto Rodriguez-König enthusiastically. “The checkweigher/metal detector combination solution appeals to us, as it not only saves space, but is also a more cost-effective option when compared with separate units”.
