| By Mettler-Toledo Safeline |
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Safety regulations covering the production of food and pharmaceuticals products in China are becoming increasingly strict. Evidence of this can be seen in new regulations approved by the Chinese Ministry of Health and the General Administration of Quality supervision. Failing one of the quality and safety inspections can be a very bad experience for a brand, a product recall minimizes business opportunities, damages brand reputation, and has a potentially serious effect on sales.
Chinese manufacturers now have to equip their factories with strong product inspection systems in order to meet demands.
X-ray inspection ensures complete product integrity. It can detect dense contaminant such as glass, metal, stone and high-density plastics - ensuring health and safety for consumers. In addition, x-ray systems can simultaneously perform a wide range of in-line quality checks. These include measuring mass, counting components, identifying missing or broken products, monitoring fill levels, inspecting seal integrity and checking for damaged packaging. X-Ray helps manufacturers to achieve compliance with HACCP, retailer requirements, as well as national and international regulations.
Requiring top of the range x-ray inspection systems
Manufacturers are always looking to improve and ensure the safety and quality of their products, whilst at the same time reducing costs and increasing productivity.
At first glance, safety legislation can be regarded as something of a threat to the industry. Manufacturers tend to think that adding another inspection checking system on the line will decrease their productivity. The latest x-ray inspections systems are verified to be highly efficient, and do not slow down the production process. Conversely, they actually ensure maximum uptime for the production line.
For example, the Mettler-Toledo Safeline AXR x-ray system now available in China is designed to achieve extremely fast start-ups and product changeovers. Recognized for its speed, it can automate the identification and rejection of contaminants at production-line rates of over 500 packs per minute. It guarantees speed, hygiene and cost-effectiveness, making it the perfect system to comply with the latest Chinese food safety laws.
X-ray inspection – the passport to new markets
Before companies consider export as a means of increasing market exposure, they usually need to succeed on the domestic market.
Food safety incidents, such as the recent milk melamine scandal, simply cannot be repeated. The media attention around this scandal has only served to heighten consumer fears of repeat incidents. A recent survey conducted by IBM reveals that “60 per cent of people are actively concerned about the safety of food they purchase. Additionally, almost half of the 1000 people interviewed across 10 US cities said they would be less likely to buy something that had been the subject of a recall. Only 55 per cent of people said they trusted food manufacturers when dealing with a recall of a tainted food product.” The new Chinese regulations will effectively help to prevent food contamination incidents, which have caused so much damage to the reputation of its domestic producers.
The Chinese Ministry of Health, currently coordinating the law’s implementation, has drafted several extra regulations on food standards, the control of food risks and the management of new products. Supermarkets are subject to very strict standards, and manufacturers have to respect them if they want to see their products sold in store.
Up until recently Chinese food and pharmaceutical companies have not been subject to the same strict food safety laws as their European or American counterparts. To export their goods to Europe or America, industries now have to show that they follow scrupulous processes to ensure the safety of their products. Chinese manufacturers are taking this issue very seriously, especially as some countries have banned specific Chinese products until the country provides proof of inspections before exports leave the country.
It is now the responsibility of manufacturers to pay disposal costs if goods arrive in Europe or America out of probate. This has brought about an increase in the willingness of Chinese manufacturers to conduct reliable testing before offering their goods for export. X-ray inspection systems are perfect for these demands, as they offer simple yet excellent detection on high speed applications.
“Our systems are specially developed to satisfy both Chinese and global safety standards. Manufacturers are beginning to realise the overall positive impact of x-ray systems. As a result, brands that use x-ray systems are growing faster ”, says Morgan Yu, Marketing Manager for Mettler-Toledo Safeline in China.
Detecting the invisible
It only takes the slightest anomaly on a production line for a potential ruinous error to occur. As we know from experience, even the tiniest stray glass particle found can lead to PR crisis, and a business disaster for the brand.
X-ray inspection, such as the new AXR system, helps manufacturers to avoid these risks, and promises a total and efficient inspection across the entire production line. X-ray inspection systems can inspect single and multi-lane applications at high speed at the same time, without compromising detection sensitivity. It can also perform multiple inspection tasks simultaneously - like contamination detection and mass measurement.
Installations such as the GlassCheK x-ray for example, used by the Zhangzhou Gang Chang Can Food Company, can remove glass, stone, metal and high-density plastic contaminants, and simultaneously check the fill level of the jar and ensure that the closure is in place. This saves on costs and reduces waste.
Conclusion
If contaminated, food and pharmaceutical products pose a genuine high risk to consumers. Such risks provoke justified concern, and require serious legislation for quality and safety control. Rigorous product inspection is therefore necessary.
Chinese factories are now legally obliged to equip themselves with efficient product inspection system, such as x-ray, to enhance their product safety for the domestic market and to satisfy European and American standards. X-ray inspection systems are able to detect dense contamination, with the result that Chinese exports are safe and promising for the economy. The success of the brand depends on the safety and the quality of its products: x-ray technology is one of the most reliable and efficient way of guaranteeing this.
About Mettler-Toledo Safeline:
Mettler-Toledo Safeline is the world’s leading supplier of metal detection and x-ray inspection solutions for the food and pharmaceutical industries. Together with Garvens Checkweighing, Mettler-Toledo Safeline forms the Product Inspection division of Mettler-Toledo.
