Mettler-Toledo Protects Food and Pharmaceutical Brands from Top to Bottom

Both food and pharmaceutical manufacturers continue to be placed under scrutiny when it comes to consumer protection, particularly with the new rigorous safety standards introduced during 2012.

At Emballage Packaging Exhibition, Mettler-Toledo Product Inspection showed manufacturers how it can protect their customers, business and brands and avoid costly product recalls, with the use of its product inspection technology systems.

Showcasing its metal detectors, checkweighers, vision inspection systems and x-ray inspection systems at the event, as well as an inaugural demonstration of the newly launched X3310 x-ray system, business units Mettler-Toledo Safeline X-Ray, Safeline Metal Detection, Garvens Checkweighing, CI-Vision and Pharmacontrol Electronic GmbH (PCE) highlighted the ways they are able to help manufacturers meet stringent standards and legal requirements whilst maintaining profits and production line efficiency.

Mettler-Toledo Safeline X-Ray has introduced a number of innovations in foreign body detection over the past year. The newly launched X3310 x-ray system on display at the booth was developed following collaboration between Mettler-Toledo Safeline and its customers.

It has been designed to offer the same high level of detection sensitivity as traditional systems while reducing energy consumption by 20 per cent.

With this energy efficient technology brand owners can cut manufacturing costs while optimizing food and pharmaceutical safety.

For medium to large-sized packaged products, Mettler-Toledo has developed the InspireX2 R40C500 which can provide high-speed precision foreign body detection and inspection for quality defects, such as fill level, seal integrity and checks for missing information leaflets and other items to further safeguard consumer welfare.

The new Profile Select metal detection system from Mettler-Toledo Safeline Metal Detection was also on display at the booth. The innovative technology was developed to enhance metal detection for wet and conductive products.

It uses Variable Frequency Technology to select the optimum detection frequency to overcome the “product effect” caused by electrical signals induced in the product as it passes through the machine without compromising contaminant detection sensitivity.

The system’s automated set up allows it to be quickly and efficiently adjusted to inspect new and varied products, guaranteeing essential food safety and boosting production line flexibility, enabling manufacturers to respond easily to new market demands.

Mettler-Toledo Garvens is constantly innovating new turnkey combination checkweighing technologies for both food and pharmaceutical small- to medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) seeking to enhance control of their production lines.

At Emballage Packaging Exhibition the business unit presented its XS2 MV checkweigher for pharmaceutical brand owners, combining precision weighing, marking and vision verification of batch codes and expiry dates.

It enables brand owners to enhance global traceability of their products for optimized fraud protection. The combination technology facilitates straightforward machine installation with minimized production downtime and is ideal for manufacturers with limited factory floor space.

New vision technology from Mettler-Toledo CI-Vision was featured at Emballage Packaging Exhibition to offer manufacturers the capability to examine packaging labels for correct information, such as bar and 2D matrix codes, appropriate placement and legibility enabling them to comply with strict labelling regulations.

The display of clear and accurate ingredient information regarding allergens and dosage protects the consumer, reducing the risk of costly product recalls.

Counterfeiting continues to be a major problem for pharmaceutical companies, putting consumers and brands at risk, incurring massive costs for companies in the industry to combat the problem.

Recently acquired Pharmacontrol Electronic GmbH (PCE) also demonstrated its comprehensive track and trace and serialization solutions for every step of the pharmaceutical packaging line.

Its specialized vision inspection technology tracks all units as they move through the production line including single cartons, bottles and vials, bundles, shipping cases and pallets for comprehensive traceability.

To demonstrate how brand owners can guarantee comprehensive compliance with safety guidelines for data monitoring and recording Mettler-Toledo showcased ProdX data monitoring software.

The cutting-edge technology can connect metal detection, x-ray and checkweighing systems to collect data about productivity and rejected products and stores the information in a central location. This provides food and pharmaceutical manufacturers with clear, concise and easily accessible backup data in the unlikely event of a product recall.

Eric Bertrand, Food Market and Products Manager, Mettler-Toledo Product Inspection, commented, “At Emballage we were able to demonstrate how we can provide solutions to brand owners in both the food and pharmaceutical industries that provide cost savings and manufacturing efficiency. Our technology can protect their bottom line while guaranteeing compliance with industry regulations and maximum safety for their brand and the end consumer.”