The Finnish-headquartered company said an x-ray inspection system for tall products had been on its radar for a long time but it decided to take the time to ensure it complies with real customer needs and provides the best value.
When it comes to inspecting tall food products, the detection focus is different compared to other consumer packaged food products, the company said. Foreign objects usually end up in the bottom part of the tall food product, and the package quality defects (such as low fill level, open carton flaps, caps and sealing) are present in the upper part of the tall food product.
With Sidemeki the issue of divided focus is dealt with by having an option for two individual X-ray generators to provide the sharpest image for the complete tall food product.
Mikko Nuutinen, director, product creation at Mekitec, said, “When we first started to specify the system features, we took our time to learn about the unique challenges, needs and desires that food producers have with these types of products and inspection systems.
“We took on to those challenges, needs and desires and created the possibility of having the sharpest X-ray image and enabled valuable quality inspection functions even for the tallest food products without compromising the foreign object detection performance.”
According to the company, existing inspection systems for food and beverage applications have either been too complicated and expensive, or too simple, with limited benefits for the food producers.
Juho Ojuva, director, global sales and customer care at Mekitec, said, “We believe, that the system will be welcomed and take its place in the market. Our partners and customers have expressed strong interest towards the system and its benefits thanks to the total traceability and imaging capabilities that offer tremendous value to the food producers.”