Quality Inspection for the Pharmaceutical Industry

First, for the most accurate answer to the level of sensitivity you can expect from your metal detector in pharma and biopharma products, you need to consider:

• The type of product being inspected
• The aperture size of the metal detector being used

Our pharmaceutical metal detectors can detect calibrated and validated spherical samples of stainless steel down to 0.3 millimeters in diameter, and even smaller samples of ferrous and non-ferrous metals.

Prior to shipment of your METTLER TOLEDO Safeline metal detection equipment, we can supply a Design Qualification (DQ) pack for the system. After your equipment is shipped, we can supply an Equipment Qualification (EQ) pack, which includes protocols for:

• Installation Qualification (IQ)
• Operational Qualification (OQ)
• Performance Qualification (PQ)

Investing in annual Performance Validation Service can support your validation processes through independent testing and subsequent certification. 

Pharmaceutical products are required to include instructions for use and any applicable health warnings in order to comply with regulations. Should this insert be missing from the package, it can trigger expensive product recalls - as well as fines. Our highly accurate pharmaceutical checkweighers can detect the small weight difference between a package that contains the required documentation (such as a leaflet detailing proper use, active ingredients, and health warnings) and a package which is missing this vital information.

This simple due diligence check helps to prevent customer safety issues and costly recalls that result from pharmaceutical products going to market without these critical components.

METTLER TOLEDO pharmaceutical checkweighers help prevent downstream issues in the production line - which can happen due to improper product spacing - by using product handling tools designed to support smooth transportation while maintaining the correct distance between pharma products on the line.

In addition, pharma checkweighers can help prevent lost production time due to askew packages causing stops on the conveyor line by automatically rejecting the misaligned package from the flow before it has a chance to become a problem.

Yes, METTLER TOLEDO product and quality inspection systems are fully compliant under Good Manufacturing Practices (GMP) for proper procedures for quality control in the pharmaceutical industry. 

The reliability and integrity of pharmaceutical data is fundamental to regulatory compliance and patient safety. Solutions from METTLER TOLEDO can help to make sure that documentation is complete, accurate and traceable. For example, our pharmaceutical checkweighers offer password-protected user profiles and local audit trail options to record all implemented system changes, aiding in easier auditing of production processes. 

Explore more METTLER TOLEDO solutions and how they can be implemented to improve processes - from lab to production.