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22News

Processed & Packaged Food

Industrial Weighing & Product Inspection

In 2011, the U.S. Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA) shifted the food-safety focus from re-

acting to outbreaks to a preventative approach. That was done to better protect public health

and reduce the risk of product recalls. What are the implications for your business?

Food Safety Modernization ActMore than Just a U.S. Law?

Preventing and responding to food-safety problemsThe law makes it clear that food-process-ing companies are responsible for con-trolling contamination in their facilities. Each company is required to formally register with the FDA and must evaluate hazards in their operations. Having con-ducted the analysis, they need to develop effective measures in the form of a writ-ten preventative-controls plan to elim-inate contamination issues and ensure food is not adulterated, misbranded or in-correctly labelled.

Improving the safety of imported foodsThe FSMA law extends beyond U.S.-based food-production facilities. To ensure the

The FSMA represents a major change in the approach to food safety from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). The law applies to all sites and products under the FDA’s jurisdiction, including overseas suppliers that export to the United States.

Between August 2015 and May 2016, sev-eral key sections of the law were published in the Code of Federal Regulations. Most food firms had 12 months from the date those sections were published to comply with the new regulations.

Key areas of the FSMA include detecting and preventing food-safety problems, re-sponding when food-safety problems arise and improving the safety of foods im-ported into the U.S.

METTLER TOLEDO Processed & Packaged Food News 22

Publisher / ProductionMettler-Toledo GmbHIndustrial DivisionHeuwinkelstrasseCH-8606 NänikonSwitzerland

Subject to technical changes© 02/217 Mettler-Toledo GmbH

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tsafety of foods from non-U.S. manufac-turers, the FSMA requires importers to perform supplier-verification audits on companies exporting food products into the US. This part of the Act authorizes the FDA to block imports if the producing fa-cility refuses an FDA inspection.

More than a U.S. lawCompanies exporting food products into the U.S. will also be impacted by the law. The law states that they will need to be certified under a Foreign Supplier Veri-fication Program (FSVP). Therefore, the legislation is relevant to a much wider market than the U.S. alone.

HACCP versus HARPCAnother key change delivered by the FSMA is a move from dependence on the tradi-tional Hazards Analysis Critical Control Points framework (HACCP) to a new Haz-ard Analysis Risk-Based Preventative Con-trols approach (HARPC).

The food industry is familiar with HACCP, but HARPC is new for most. HACCP is the cornerstone of the vast majority of food-safety standards, including those under the Global Food Safety Initiative um-brella. The principles often are mandated by large brands to their suppliers.

HARPC applies to almost all food-pro-cessing facilities and requires companies to have written plans that identify haz-ards, list the steps needed to minimize or prevent those hazards, identify moni-toring procedures and record the results. The plan must also specify what actions will be taken to correct problems should they arise. The plans will be evaluated by FDA and checked for proper implementa-tion and adherence

Are you ready to meet the requirements of FSMA?Detailed information about the FSMA and the implications for your business are available in our free white paper.

www.mt.com/pi-fsma-pp

Preparing to Meet the Final Requirements of theFood Safety Modernization Act

Content includes:• Basic provisions of the Food

Safety Modernization Act• FSMA requirements that affect

food production facilities• Complying with the FSMA require-

ments• Supply chain requirements

Download the White Paper www.mt.com/pi-fsma-pp

Whi

te P

aper Preparing to Meet the Final Requirements

of The Food Safety Modernization Act

Contents

1. Introduction 2

2. Basic Provisions of the Food Safety Modernization Act 2

3. FSMA Requirements that Affect Food Production Facilities 3

4. Dates by Which FSMA Requirements Will Take Effect 5

5. Complying with the FSMA Requirements 5

6. Supply Chain Requirements 7

7. Label-Specific Regulations 9

8. Summary 10

9. Additional Resources 11

The Food Safety Modernization Act of 2011 (FSMA) placed the responsibility for food safety squarely on food producers, with requirements that were to come into force as finalized and funded. The dates by which those requirements will take effect have now been finalized and are rapidly approaching.

Many food processors and manufacturers have wisely been preparing their operations to meet these requirements, rather than waiting for them to come into full force. Others were waiting to see whether the requirements would indeed become law or would be once again delayed, or even cancelled. Now the decision has been made, and the time for action has arrived. This paper recommends actions that food processors should now take to meet the full requirements of the FSMA law, including reviewing the effectiveness of their existing product inspection plan and the systems that will help put it into action, and confirming their ability to provide the reporting data that FSMA requires.

A Checklist for HARPCThe major tasks that food compa-nies must perform to comply with the Hazard Analysis and Risk-based Pre-ventive Controls (HARPC) provision in the FSMA include:

✔ Identify Hazards✔ Risk-based Preventive Controls✔ Monitoring of Effectiveness✔ Corrective Actions✔ Verification✔ Record-keeping and Documentation✔ Requirement to Re-analyze

METTLER TOLEDO Processed & Packaged Food News 22 3

Need to Reduce Contamination Risk?New Tank Weigh Module Can Help

Inappropriately constructed equipment can make the difference between

safe or contaminated food. Our new weigh module for tank installations is

optimized for fast wash-down processes and reduces contamination risk in

hygienically sensitive environments.

Tanks often are placed directly in hygien-ically sensitive environments. To gauge filling status, they are mounted on weigh modules. However, compared to other technologies, such as flowmeters, the weigh modules never come into direct contact with the processed food.

When designed appropriately to provide durability as well as accuracy, tanks out-fitted with weigh modules are an ideal so-lution for applications requiring both pre-cision and hygienic compliance. Designed for hygieneBecause weigh modules are parts of the storage tank, they still require regular

cleaning. It is critical that they be de-signed for repeated wash-down. The fully approved SWB805 MultiMount™ is opti-mized for hygienically sensitive environ-ments and is able to withstand the clean-ing procedures required to maintain a hygiene level appropriate for safe food processing.

The SWB805 MultiMount™ weigh mod-ule is the right choice when designing low risk equipment in food industries and clean room applications and it is certi-fied by NSF and fulfills EHEDG design re-quirements.

www.mt.com/SWB805-Multimount-pp

New Weighing ModuleSWB805 MultiMount™

• Capacities 110, 220, 550, 1100, • 2200, 4400kg• Fulfills EHEDG design requirements

NSF certified• Fully self-draining for fast drying• Mirror polished for low bacteria

accumulation• Stainless steel load cell, • IP68 / IP69K protected• OIML, NTEP, ATEX, FM approved

www.mt.com/SWB805-Multimount-pp

Hygienic Designed Load Cell

FDA Approved Materials

Self-Draining Sufaces

Fulfills EHEDG Design Requirements and NSF Approved

NEW Coming soon!


Doubling ProductivityWeighing Solutions are the Key

Cándido Muñoz now has more eficient workplaces to speed up portioning tasks.

has helped to create a great improvement in efficiency and productivity,” says David Muñoz Pascual, Cándido Muñoz.

Reliability in a harsh environmentCándido Muñoz deployed scales designed to withstand wet and harsh environments. Thanks to the scales’ reliability under those difficult conditions, Cándido Muñoz personnel note a lack of technical prob-lems both with the scales and scale con-nectivity. That is in stark contrast to the company’s previous scales, which con-stantly needed replacement parts.

The food processor now uses the ICS469 scales, with colorWeight® functionality. This feature speeds up the process by using colored lights on the terminal dis-play to indicate when weights are within accepted tolerance. The ease of putting a carrot tray on a scale, adding produce until the light turns green, then moving

Cándido Muñoz was founded more than 40 years ago when Cándido, a greengrocer in Madrid, relocated to Segovia and began sending fresh country fruits back to the family stall. From those humble begin-nings, Cándido Muñoz has grown to sup-ply markets, supermarkets and intermedi-ary produce distributors with fresh carrots and leeks across Europe.

Today, the company has its own produc-tion facilities in Segovia and outsources some of its processing to both Segovia and Andalucia. Forty operators that handle orders work demanding shifts in humid conditions. Loads are particularly tough on Mondays and Fridays.

To keep pace with rising demand for its products and to ensure ongoing prod-uct quality, 33 METTLER TOLEDO scales and two Signature metal detectors were placed along three production lines. That helps ensure both weighing accuracy and that there is no contamination in com-pany processes. Scales are connected to network PCs stationed outside the humid production floor to gauge operator perfor-mance, determine a day’s pay and provide traceability.

The METTLER TOLEDO scales have more than doubled production. “The fact that they are able to monitor what is being weighed and processed by every operator

Spanish company that specializes in growing and handling carrots and leeks has long

sought how to improve their process to get its products faster to market. Today, 33

PC-connected scales stand up to humidity and heavy loads to provide fast, traceable

weighing at its processing facilities.

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onto the next tray takes a lot of work out of the process, reducing operator fatigue and improving productivity.

The way loads are weighed depends on whether it is a bulk order for a produce stand or packaged goods for a supermar-ket. Some scales must stand up to bulk boxes of machine washed produce that are checkweighed. Operators also prepare individual vegetables for plastic bagging, sometimes cutting off ends, then adding them to tared trays.

Worry-free weighing for yearsCándido Muñoz operators are very pleased with the way the scales stand up to all their processes while offering pristine connectivity to their PC-based tracking system. The company expects that their scales will provide them with worry-free weighing for many more years to come.

www.mt.com/ics-scales-pp

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Method 1

Basic weighingOperator places the item on the scale and checks if the displayed result is within the expected tolerance range.

Which Method is Best for Your Process?

Download White Paper to speed up your process www.mt.com/ind-fast-portioning-pp

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Method 2

Portioning from bulk container beside the scaleOperator puts an empty container on the scale, tares it and starts portioning.Once the defined tolerance range is reached, he tares the scale and starts working on the next portion.

Method 3

Portioning from bulk container on the scale (take-away mode)Operator portions, with the bulk product placed in tray, directly out of the tray intocontainers beside the scale, tares the scale and starts to fill the next portion.


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At Kraš: Slavica Mazor Jolić working with the HC103 moisture analyzer

testing procedure is more complex for in-gredients such as corn syrup, which has a sticky consistency and a moisture con-tent of 18%. Consequently, test results were frequently incorrect with low repeat-ability. As a result, Kraš reverted to using the more time consuming method of re-fractometry, which involved transferring samples from the production line to their QC lab. There was concern over how these delays could impact their production pro-cesses, particularly if samples were found to be out of tolerance.

Kraš, a large food production company from Croatia, produces a range of pop-ular sweets, including chocolates, cook-ies, candies and toffees. Each week, Kraš ships around 470 tons of finished goods throughout Europe, as well as to the U.S.A., Korea, Saudi Arabia, Australia and Can-ada. To reach such demanding produc-tion goals, the company maintains three 8-hour working shifts five days per week.

Troublesome sampleTo certify the quality of its ingredients, which include oat flakes, inulin, sugar, gelatin, enzymes, almonds, coconut, and coffee, Kraš carries out approximately 10 different moisture content tests. Test-ing is typically performed in two stages: First, when ingredients arrive, and once again before production, after the sam-ples pass microbial testing. However, the

Highly regarded European food producer, Kraš d.d., uses moisture analysis to ensure the

quality of raw ingredients and intermediate products. Following a recent trial, a METTLER

TOLEDO moisture expert helped them resolve a “sticky” situation using the new HC103 hal-

ogen moisture analyzer.

Sweet Successfor a New Moisture Aanalyzer

Claim Your Free Drying Methods

Our special edition mini moisture anal-yser USB key ring contains tested and validated drying methods for over 100 different samples: food ingredients, dairy, chemical, pharmaceutical and more.

www.mt.com/lab-moisture-methods-pp


Successful trialAs a long-standing METTLER TOLEDO customer, Kraš had the opportunity to trial two of METTLER TOLEDO’s new HC103 halogen moisture analyzers. Dr. sc. Slavica Mazor Jolić, QC manager for Kraš reported to Claas Boerger, a METTLER TOLEDO moisture expert, that she was particularly impressed with the HC103’s method shortcuts and ease of use. She noted, “The instrument is so intuitive to use. Everyone wants to work with it.” Having learned about the difficulties Kraš encountered when measuring the quality of corn syrup, Mr. Boerger, after running

several trials, was able to develop a mois-ture analyzer drying method. The robust HC103 could be conveniently placed next to the production line so there was no lon-ger the need to perform separate analyses in the QC lab. Thanks to the HC103, Kraš is now able to secure accurate moisture results within a few minutes. Further-more, quick adjustments to the manufac-turing process can be made if any ingre-dients are out of tolerance. Such benefits are helping Dr. Jolić’s team maintain product quality and production speed, to the extent that Kraš plans to invest in a new unit in the coming year.

www.mt.com/moisture-pp

Kraš milk chocolate with puffed rice

HC103 moisture analyzer


Combination checkweigher and metal detectors inspect all products.

An Integrated ApproachSoftware Guarantees Quality Standards

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A German dairy producer uses innovative software to network its inspection systems and

collect production data. Based on the Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Points (HACCP)

framework to meet International Featured Standards for Food (IFS) regulations, the inte-

grated approach helps promote product safety and reduce costly overfilling.

settings once and transfer to other ma-chines saves a significant amount of pro-gramming time that can be spent on other value-added tasks.

Early process-issue warningBecause all lines must be available across three shifts seven days per week, Heinrich-sthaler relies on ProdX for early warnings of issues that could lead to stoppages. The software monitors all inspection equip-ment and displays status information using easily recognized color-coded icons so issues can be identified immediately.

Regular metal detector monitoring is also a fundamental part of the process management. The detector’s performance is monitored by passing certified metal test pieces through the system at the be-ginning and end of every shift and at 90-minute intervals throughout the day. Results are fully documented in ProdX so that it is clear at all times that inspection systems are working according to defined specifications.

Heinrichsthaler Milchwerke GmbH pro-duces over 200 tons of finished prod-uct each day on 12 process lines. To re-main competitive, Heinrichsthaler seeks to optimize the effectiveness of its pro-duction systems and product-inspection technology.

One recent upgrade that enhances con-sumer safety and improves production ef-ficiency is ProdX Inspect software. Hein-ricksthaler uses it to gather production data, meet compliance needs and ensure a strong audit trail is in place to support Due Diligence needs.

Optimizing inspectionProdX Inspect is used to manage five combination checkweigher/metal detec-tor systems that have been installed at critical control points behind thermo-forming and tubular bagging machines. The systems check approximately 7 000 products per hour.

The wide variety of products manufac-tured means that inspection-equipment settings are changed on a regular basis. ProdX enables those to be transferred from one checkweigher to another, even across remote sites. That ability to input


Easy production checksMr. Gründinger, the production director, regularly checks process logs so that he is always aware of the status of equipment across the process.

“Technical defects can mean inaccurate completion of final

packaging. The earlier we identify defects, the greater the

line’s availability,” he says.

Ready access to production information also means quality data is stored cen-trally and can be presented in a custom-izable report format.

“I’m able to see how many packages have gone through per hour as well as their av-erage weight so I can see that everything is under control,” Gründinger says. “I can

also check rejected products. All data is logged in one place, which makes it easy to submit to Weights and Measures or the IFS if required.”

Reaping integration’s rewardsInspection equipment integration using ProdX was a strategic decision that is paying significant dividends to Hein-richsthaler. “By using ProdX, we can monitor and optimize the mean values of our pack-weights and real-time data helps us to avoid costly overfilling,” says Gründinger.

“As a result, we have been able to reduce product waste from 3 to only 0.9 percent. This saving of around 2 grams per pack-age means our investment in the software has paid for itself in just three months.”

www.mt.com/prodx-pp

See How it Works –Take a Guided Tour

Find out how ProdX Inspect can sup-port quality and productivity in your or-ganization You may also qualify for a free 60 day trial* www.mt.com/prodx-pp

*subject to equipment compatibility


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Automated Test System (ATS) can be fully integrated into the detector and con-trolled from the detector op-erator interface to simplify test procedures.

val required between performance mon-itoring tests without increasing risks. A new Reduced Test Mode enhancement built into the Profile range of gravity fall and throat detectors constantly moni-tors the overall condition and function-ality of the device. If no changes have oc-curred, there is no need to perform a test. However, if a change in parameters is de-tected, the system triggers an alarm to highlight a potential problem. The alarm is activated well in advance of the detector performance moving beyond acceptable levels. This enables corrective action to be planned, minimizing production losses.

The in-built condition monitoring tech-nology enables the interval between tests to be extended – in many cases by over 80 percent.

Making tests easierSystems also can be configured to include an integrated Auto Test System (ATS). ATS simplifies the test procedure, enabling testing to be conducted remotely through the operating screen of the detector. The simplified testing process frees up even more production capacity.

An unnoticed deterioration in metal-de-tector sensitivity could lead to contami-nants evading detection and sub-standard product being delivered to consumers with serious repercussions for the manufac-turer. This scenario forms the justifica-tion for regular performance testing.

Frequency of testingThe period required between monitor-ing tests can vary dependent on the ap-plication, processes employed and time between manufacture and distribution. When products are packaged via a verti-cal form-fill-seal bagging process (VFFS),

the production process must be stopped to permit testing, leading directly to a loss in output. Lost production time can soon mount up, particularly if multiple lines are in service.

Increasing the interval between performance monitoringMETTLER TOLEDO has made a techno-logical breakthrough that has led to the possibility of safely increasing the inter-

Metal detector periodic testing and performance monitoring is costly and time-consum-

ing, but necessary to meet the needs of food-safety and retailer standards. New technology

provides the opportunity to increase the interval between tests by as much as 83 percent

while providing improved detection capacity.

Higher Throughput, Increased Security 80% Reduction in Testing Improves Efficiency


20 percent Increase in detection sensitivity Additional software enhancements have led to a technical breakthrough, which delivers the potential to increase metal detection sensitivity by up to 20 percent in some cases when compared to traditional detectors operating in dry applications.

Operation from remote locationsOperation of the metal detector is further enhanced through an Emulation Mode, which enables operators to view process-critical data from the metal detector on other networked devices or on remote ter-minals upstream or downstream of the detector.

www.mt.com/md-pve-pp

How Reduced Test Mode Increases Capacity

In a typical snack-food facility with 24 production lines, the manufacturer is able to reduce the frequency of test-ing required from 12 tests per line per day to just 2 tests per line per day. If each test takes 3 minutes, up to 300 bags of product are lost each time a test is conducted.

Normal testing procedure:12 tests x 24 lines x 300 bags = 86 400 bags lostTesting procedure with reduced test mode:2 tests x 24 lines x 300 bags = 14 400 bags lostAdditional bags produced:86 400 – 14 400 = 72 000 bags per day Find out more by watching our video on how to reduce testing: www.mt.com/md-rt-pp

www.mt.com/ind-ppMettler-Toledo GmbHIndustrial DivisionCH-8606 Nänikon, Switzerland

Local contact: www.mt.com/contacts

MTSI 30313197

For more informations

No SurprisesReal-time Equipment Monitoring

Don’t wait for Industry 4.0 to happen. Start monitoring the performance of your weighing equipment today with InTouchSM Remote Services. Connected scales send proactive alerts that enable you to immediately respond to performance issues.

Increase uptime and ensure consistent measurement quality.

For more information about Real-time Equipment Monitoring visit:

www.mt.com/ind-intouch-remote-pp

Security without Compromise• ISO27001-2013 certification• User authentication and access

control• No changes to existing IT

or security infrastructure

Efficient Equipment Management• Real-time equipment status

information• Fact-based timing of preventive

maintenance activities

Improved Performance Control• On-going monitoring of

measuring performance• Periodic asset status reports to

optimize processes

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processed & 22 news - mettler toledo balances & scales … · cándido muñoz deployed...

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