Paramount 21, a south Devon family owned frozen food manufacturer, has installed an end of line Loma IQ3 Metal Detector to inspect a challenging new seafood product.
Inspection of the new product, large 10kg boxes of frozen seafood, needed to meet all food safety standards, HACCP requirements and Paramount’s high quality expectations. Quality is closely monitored at every stage of Paramount’s production process from raw materials through to dispatch. Paramount production engineer, Gary Dark explained, “A new Paramount customer required the highest specification from our metal detector ensuring identification of very small contaminants from a large box of seafood.”
Reliably inspecting a large box for foreign contaminants in a harsh environment where products are frozen to temperatures as low as -20°C was challenging. Frozen products are well known to cause reading abnormalities on any metal detector and have been traditionally difficult to inspect due to high product effect.
In response to the challenges, Loma Systems specified an IQ3 end of line metal detector system with a 450x450mm aperture tunnel to handle large boxes. Manufactured to IP69K, built in stainless steel, the system ensures long, reliable performance and exceeds any harsh environment cleaning specification with enhanced protection for high or low temperature washdown.
Most importantly, the IQ3 offers sensitivities that ensure the product integrity is not compromised. Its Automatic Variable Frequency feature enables operators to identify the point at which product effect is minimal but contaminant detection is at its strongest. Dark commented, “I installed the machine myself with no problems and it was quickly up and running.” The system has a frequency operation range from 40-900kHz and has the ability to select the ‘correct’ operating frequency in seconds, eliminating past restrictions caused by single frequency and ‘limited frequency’ detectors – a key benefit for manufacturers with challenging applications such as Paramount’s. Dark continued, “It is important to us that we minimise the risk of any possible contaminants getting into our products. However, with our quality inspection equipment we can have complete peace of mind that our food is safe.”
At the Devon site, Paramount uses a Loma 6000 Combination Checkweigher and Metal Detector system, which was purchased nearly seven years ago. The reliability of the equipment and Loma’s dependable maintenance service meant that Paramount had no concerns choosing another machine from Loma. “I was impressed with Loma Systems – the IQ3 system was custom built, and delivered before time and on budget,” concluded Dark.
