One of Josef Manner & Comp. AG's best-known products are the Manner Neapolitan slices with hazelnut cream. The company relies on X-ray inspection systems from Sesotec for quality assurance in production.
At Manner, all raw materials are subjected to thorough testing in the quality assurance laboratories on delivery before they are released for production. The quality of the food is also checked during production. Since 2005, the company has been certified according to the IFS„ food standard“ (International Food Standard) certified. This standard requires high safety and hygiene standards and is regularly reviewed by external experts.
X-ray inspection systems support IFS certification
The IFS evaluation system stipulates that any defects identified during the audit are Gap in foreign body detection This results in a deduction of points, which no longer allows certification at both the basic and advanced levels. This significantly increases the importance of foreign object detection. Sesotec GmbH from Schönberg, a manufacturer of industrial product inspection technology, supplied the IFS-compliant testing of wafer products three X-ray inspection systems of the Raycon type. Success of the measures: When the certificate was renewed in 2019, Manner was once again able to achieve the maximum standard for its two production sites.
Recognition of incomplete products
However, the Austrian company was also looking for a solution to another problem: there were irregular consumer complaints because Cuts missing from the packs. A solution was actively sought to recognise packs containing too few or faulty wafers. These packs were to be ejected from the product flow. The Raycon product inspection system from Sesotec was installed for the final inspection of the packaged wafers. X-ray scanners inspect products in three ways: for Foreign bodies, filling quantity and appearance.
A Raycon Ex1 device with a detection accuracy of 0.8 millimetres stainless steel was used to inspect the wafer products, which are packaged in metallised film. The slices in larger packs or cartons are inspected by two Raycon D devices with the appropriate aperture size. They have a detection accuracy of at least 1.5 millimetres. With the help of X-ray technology, however not only metallic foreign bodies recognised, but also non-metallic, such as glass or hard plastic. The two Raycon D machines are equipped with pushers as standard to eject contaminated or incomplete products fully automatically. The Raycon Ex1 is equipped with an air nozzle for ejecting the small 75 gram packages.
The Raycon product inspection system offers image processing at a high throughput speed of up to 200 product units per minute. It operates with a very low X-ray power of only 50 KV, is approved as a testing device for food and food components in accordance with EU Directive 1999/2/EC and requires no special precautions during installation.
Reduction of complaints
Since the Raycon devices from Sesotec consumer complaints have demonstrably decreased: „We are constantly endeavouring to meet the requirements of our customers. Quality management systems more than just fulfil. Our products are x-rayed by the x-ray inspection systems, whereby packs containing impurities or missing cuts are ejected,“ say project managers Markus Purth and Christian Fichtinger at Manner.
[infotext icon]Founded in 1890, the Josef Manner & Comp. AG specialises in wafers, dragées and foam products. In 2019, the traditional Austrian company achieved a turnover of EUR 222.1 million. The headquarters are located in Vienna and production takes place exclusively in Austria[/infotext].SourceSesotec
