Detector delivers assurances to raw ingredient supplier

02 January 2013

A high frequency metal detector from Lock Inspection Systems has successfully assisted one of the UK’s leading raw ingredients suppliers in meeting stringent BRC standards, inspecting over 100 tonnes of ingredients since its installation.

Stockport-based EHL Ingredients is an importer, blender and packer of ingredients from around the world, including China, Turkey, Sri Lanka and Mexico. From herbs and spices, to beans and pulses and dried fruit, the company supplies over 300 food ingredients to all areas of the food industry in the UK and Ireland and boasts a 200-strong organic range as well as over 50 custom blends.

"Along with UK stock we import vast quantities of ingredients and anything that we pack and blend ourselves goes through a metal detector to adhere with BRC standards and satisfy our own quality control criteria,” explains Mike Perrin, Technical Manager at EHL Ingredients.

To meet specific customer requirements, the ingredients are packed into bags from 1 kilo through to 25 kilos in weight - all of which are checked by the end of line metal detector. Rob Gray, of Lock Inspection Systems, commented: “The metal detector installed at EHL’s Stockport site is Lock’s MET30+ Universal detector which has been designed to accommodate a wide range of pack sizes and has a one touch product recall for each recipe set-up to assist production staff with quick changeovers.”

The MET30+ Universal metal detector is capable of detecting ferrous and non-ferrous metals as well as high grade stainless steel contaminates. "Metal detection is an integral part of our quality assurance process. The Lock detector has high frequency tuning, which means that the line automatically stops when an article has been detected enabling us to quickly investigate the incident and particle helping to preserve product integrity and give us ultimate product confidence,” explains Mike.