Following the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA) increased security emphasis on tamper-resistant seals on food packaging. To provide quality assurance of their products and packaging seals, nationwide dressing and sauce manufacturer Ken’s Foods looked toward powerful X-ray inspection technology.
Background and Motivation
Ken’s Foods, family owned since 1941, began considering the benefits and accuracy that X-ray technologies deliver in safety inspections, and seal security, before the FDA regulated such practices. X-ray technology is key in the security of tamper-resistant seals, which are lined with foil and, because of this, cannot work with standard metal detection technology. Additionally, the management team of Ken’s Foods realized the potential for X-ray technologies to act as a foreign body detection system and minimize product losses.
Before considering powerful X-ray technology in food safety inspection of their products, Ken’s Foods used primarily pipeline metal detectors. These detectors were efficient at scanning pressurized liquids and sauces, but could not provide safety assurance during post-production; in addition, the pressurized nature of these pipeline metal detectors made it difficult to integrate testing contaminants with the process.
These testing contaminants are a part of HACCP regulations, and are used for system verification. To remove these testing contaminants, a reject valve opens within the pipeline metal detector system and filters the contaminants out of the product; the problem here, however, is that a significant amount of product, too, was filtered through the rejection valve. This product loss was a great deciding point in Ken’s Foods transition from pipeline metal detectors to X-ray solutions.
Integration of X-Ray Technology
In choosing an X-ray alternative to their pipeline metal detectors, Ken’s Foods selected Eagle X-ray Inspection Systems as their inspection supplier. This decision was made with regard to Eagle’s accurate and high quality analysis capabilities and noteworthy Service Department. Ken’s Foods has purchased twelve industry-leading X-ray inspection systems from Eagle: nine Eagle Tall units and three Eagle Pack 720 units.
Eagle Tall units are used at Ken’s Foods manufacturing facilities to examine gallon-sized jugs of dressings and sauces for foreign body contaminants. These models operate with a push-arm reject system; contaminated products and products that fail inspection are pushed via the arm into a rejection bin straight from the Ken’s Foods production line. The rejected product is then examined for possible reuse or disposal.
Eagle Pack 720 units are used by Ken’s Foods to examine smaller cases and packaging of their salad dressing and sauce products. Specializing in Ken’s Foods single-serve dressing packages and cups, these models produce readings unaffected by the foil used in single-serve packaging. X-ray technology is incredibly effective at inspecting the contents of these packaging options; it can detect foreign contaminants within the packaging, as well as evaluate product volumes and container weights.
Senior Project Engineer of Ken’s Foods, Mark Shaye, had the following to say about the transition from pipeline metal detection systems to X-ray:
“X-ray has not only eliminated product waste that we experienced with the pipeline metal detector, but we have also gained increased contaminant detection capabilities expanding outside just metal contaminants.”
Measurable Results
Following the transition from metal detection to X-ray inspection technology, Ken’s Foods has experienced a significant decrease in wasted products, in contrast to their previous pipeline systems’ rejection valve structure. Line efficiency was also been reported to have notable increased since the transition, and production management at Ken’s Foods are now better assured the quality and safety of their products.
Merrily Blasi, Quality Assurance Manager for Ken’s Foods, recognizes the improved quality of X-ray inspection over metal detection, and offers Ken’s Foods’, and her own, support for X-ray inspection technology during their production process.
“Going forward, any new inspection systems or upgrades to current inspection technologies will be X-ray inspection systems,” states Blasi. “They are extremely reliable, easy to operate and easy to maintain.”
The X-ray systems integrated with Ken’s Foods production lines are also capable to running remote diagnostic tests, which are accessed online. With this function, the Eagle Service Department can access and troubleshoot Ken’s Foods’ X-ray units through modem access; this is a highly efficient alternative to in-person production line inspections and troubleshooting of X-ray machinery.
For Ken’s Foods, the benefits of using X-ray applications in quality assurance have been undeniable. Today’s high-powered X-ray inspection units can detect a broad range of contaminants and product issues, including:
- Missing inserts, instructions or lids
- Fill levels of juices and liquid products
- Incorrect product weights or volumes
- Missing or damaged products within packaging
- Air bubbles and hollow pockets inside products
- Integrity of packaging seals and boxed content
Nationally distributed product manufacturer Ken’s Foods discovered much by switching from traditional pipeline metal detectors to X-ray inspection systems; the efficiency, accuracy and quality of these X-ray systems are unbeatable. It is for these reasons, in addition to the savings and safety guarantees these machines provide, that X-ray machines have so quickly grown in preference among food industry manufacturers.
To learn more about the successes of X-ray technologies in Ken’s Foods production systems, or about what X-ray inspection technology can do for your business, please contact us today, or download the full Ken's Foods Case Study by clicking the image below.
