Thermo Electron Introduces Revolutionary Contamination Detection System for Food Packaging Industry
05 May 2005
New Solution Provides Advanced X-ray Capability with Metal Detector Simplicity.
Thermo Electron Corporation [NYSE: TMO], an industry leader in contaminant detection for the food, beverage and pharmaceutical industries, has developed a revolutionary contamination detection system to fill the gap between traditional magnetic metal detectors and full-featured x-ray imaging systems in the food packaging industry - the Goring Kerr EZx™.
Providing a new method of detecting foreign objects in packaged food production lines, the Goring Kerr EZx offers the simplicity of a metal detector, a low total cost of ownership and the enhanced detection capability/sensitivity of an x-ray system.
"Government regulations such as the recent Bioterrorism Act have made food safety and security top priorities for food manufacturers. To avoid the negative implications of a product recall, influential multinational retailers are placing more stringent requirements on product packaging," states ARC Field Systems Analyst Paula Hollywood. "In an effort to protect their brands, food manufacturers are willing to invest in innovative packaging solutions such as the Goring Kerr EZx that improve efficiency and offer high ROI."
Sensitivities for ferrous, non-ferrous and stainless steel contaminants are as good, or in many cases better, than with competing metal detectors. Multiple aperture sizes and line heights provides the Goring Kerr EZx with configuration flexibility to suit a wide range of products and production lines. The instrument’s “Quicklearn” process reduces total cost of ownership as most common package types can be set up in minutes.
“Before developing this innovative product for the food packaging industry we took a step back to understand gaps in the market where customers weren’t benefiting from the complete range of available technology,” noted Bob Ries, Thermo’s contaminant detection product manager. “What we found was an opportunity to develop an innovative x-ray solution that combined superior detection with the ease of use of a typical metal detector. Customers demanding state-of-the-art detection solutions can now deploy x-ray technology at an affordable cost.”
