Food & Drink Process & Packaging Issue 31 2020 | Page 78

Safeguarding food with real-time reporting

In most westernised economies , food processors document all potential product risks , including naturally occurring hazards . To facilitate this automated reporting , Fortress Technology ’ s metal detectors offer secure , flexible logging of data capture , as well as a range of Industry 4:0 solutions to support track and trace .
From a Quality Assurance perspective , this level of surveillance provides valuable peace of mind , especially for food processors sourcing ingredients from multiple suppliers . And from an operational viewpoint , production efficiency within factories is enhanced .
Contact Reporter is a robust automated record keeper developed by Fortress to help processors keep track of and record logs for all metal detector events , such as rejects , faults , quality performance verifications and more . Available on all Fortress digital Stealth and Interceptor metal detectors , and compliant with Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Point ( HACCP ) food safety management systems and principles , each event is automatically time stamped . The data output provides a fully traceable and auditable QA report documenting what happened and when .
BACK TO BUSINESS Food manufacturers that source ingredients from numerous countries will have experienced first hand the vulnerabilities of complex global supply chains built on lean manufacturing principals . Early adopters of digital technologies will be on the front foot as they emerge from the global COVID-19 pandemic .
As food legislation suggests , traceability is , and will continue to be , a key priority . In the wake of the pandemic , food safety concerns will be further heightened , likely
78 FDPP - www . fdpp . co . uk resulting in greater regulatory pressure .
Analysts are already citing supply chain management , workforce engagement and capital management as the key focus areas in the immediate future . All of this will all require greater use of technology . Digitising processes that have largely been paper based is a fundamental step change in building sturdier suppler chains .
SUPPLY CHAIN VISIBILITY In many European countries , BRC Global Standards drive the adoption of food and beverage track-and-trace technologies . Deployment of these digital solutions will be even more imperative for building supply chain resilience . Being able to zoom in on production bottlenecks , reconfigure supply chains and swiftly identify and respond to issues with agility can be expedited .
Checking that metal detection systems are failsafe forms part of this agenda . For example , if a fault with the reject system means that a contaminant is detected but not rejected , the line should stop automatically until the situation is resolved . Both the detector performance and fail-safe capability should be tested regularly with results kept on record to support traceability .
Frequently , data from a production line is fed back to a common collection system . However , it is critical to ensure the data that being sent is readable and compatible by whatever the plant is using . Here , food processors can benefit from having equipment adapted to common OPC standards . Doing so means that they can then collect and export data , which can be used to inform future and sensible production decisions .
Managing Director Phil Brown comments : “ Until recently , digitisation of food production processes has largely occurred in pockets , predominantly among the biggest players . Although the technology is there , the current crisis has acutely highlighted the digital gaps in food supply chains .”
Included as standard on all Stealth and Interceptor metal detectors , Contact Reporter Software from Fortress uses a powerful back-end SQL database to monitor activity and generate reports in either PDF or Excel format . Auditorapproved , reports can be selected for a specific production line and / or time period . For record keeping , event and performance information is stored securely for a minimum of 10 years , with the option to extend storage capacity to 20 + years . For simplicity and ease of use , data can be transferred from the detector to a centralised computer via USB or an optional secure Ethernet connection .
www . fortresstechnology . co . uk