To assist food manufacturers safeguard brand reputation and uphold product integrity and consumer confidence, Fortress is unveiling the latest version of its Halo automatic test technology at this years PPMA Total Show – stand B01. By reducing the frequency of manual testing, manufacturers can save thousands of pounds a month.

Halo 2 provides food suppliers with a more robust, traceable and auditable testing procedure, satisfying the most demanding retailer Codes of Practice. It can be installed on Fortress throat, pipeline and gravity metal detectors that inspect loose of free-falling products, including rice, sauces, cereals, powders, corn, sugar and snack foods, for example nuts and crisps.

 Rather than manually testing a metal detector, which on vertical inspection systems can be labour and time intensive and frequently challenging for operatives to access, the Halo system is an external test that automatically generates a signal calibrated to specified sphere sizes. The system also checks the performance of the reject system, with the latest version also capable of independently testing for all metal materials – ferrous, non-ferrous and stainless steelTest results are logged automatically, providing food manufacturers with a reliable audit trail.

Payback for a new Fortress metal detector fitted with Halo 2 is typically less than 12 months. Sarah Ketchin, managing director of Fortress Technology UK puts into context wher these savings are accrued, "In many food production settings, as soon as one check is done, its time to start over. If you factor in every production stoppage and the labour costs associated with manual testing on each production line, it soon mounts up. Automatic testing significantly reduces the frequency of manual testing."

In one day, a metal detector system, with a production rate of 50 units per minute, that is manually tested at least five times each day, may cost a manufacturer around £250 a day.

Given the growing importance for data integrity, automatic testing also helps to eliminate the risk of human error. Because Halo is an external device, it gives manufacturers a true measure of how each metal detector is performing.

"Ultimately, manufacturers worry when metal contaminants are detected. Equally, they may also worry when they are not. Automatic testing tackles these concerns, providing a repeatable and objective overview and checks that your metal detector is working as it should," emphasised Ketchin. The Halo system is designed to complement manual testing, not supplement it entirely.

During the PPMA Total Show, Fortress will use its ROI calculator to demonstrate average savings and payback of this and its entire metal detector range. Visit stand B01 to find out more.