Pet Food Manufacturer Increases Foreign Metal Control With Magnattack Magnets
A pet food manufacturer in northern Australia has successfully increased their control over foreign metal after installing multiple Magnattack® magnetic separation systems in their dry and wet processing lines.
The Challenge
After a scare with abnormal amounts of metal in their lines, including a large metal piece that would have caused significant damage to their processing equipment, the customer recognized the need to increase their control over foreign metal. Like most food processing plants, this would be best achieved with both magnetic separators and metal detectors.
The customer contacted Magnattack® Global and other suppliers to receive advice on the most effective magnets for removing metal from their product lines.
The customer was concerned about 5 key factors:
- The magnets were compliant with current industry standards
- How the magnets would be cleaned – must be safe and efficient
- Performance and reliability of the magnets
- The magnets were engineered for hydrodynamic separation – minimal blockage/flow problems
- Cost-effectiveness.
The Solution
Where other suppliers quoted Multi-Finger Pot Magnets for their liquid lines, Magnattack recommended the new Emulsion & Slurry Pipeline Separators.
The ESPS Magnets have been proven to be higher performing than Pot Magnets for several reasons including effective retention of collected magnetics, cleaning efficiency, absence of dead-zones, and hydrodynamic design. The customer agreed that while the Pot Magnets may be lower priced and provide some short term compliance, the ESPS Magnets were a more viable and cost-effective solution for the long-term as they would provide a higher magnetic separation rate and protection of their product.
Following further consultation with the customer, Magnattack® were able to supply solutions that would not only provide adequate protection but also provide a long-term, structurally-sound solution that will stand them in good stead for years to come.
The magnets were installed in a variety of locations throughout the customers’ plant, with duties including protection of downstream equipment, prior to filling, and final product security. Following best practice guidelines, magnets were also installed immediately upstream of metal detectors.
Wet/Liquid Products
Prior to processing, RE80® Round Nose Plate Magnets were installed on a screw conveyor discharge prior to emulsifying (chunky meat lines).
These magnets have proven more effective than standard Plate Magnets due to the addition of a +11,000 Gauss round nose at the end of the plate. The Round Nose offers protection against dislodged fragments and prevents them from re-contaminating the food product. When metal fragments are collected by the Separation Bar, they are washed safely to the underside of the magnet and out of the path of the oncoming product.
_
RE80®HT Emulsion & Slurry Pipeline Separators were chosen for install in the customers wet/liquid product lines, including minced meat, raw meat chunks, and vegetable slurries. These systems feature RE80®HT Acutex™ Probe Magnets which are designed to extract and retain foreign metal fragments from thick, viscous slurries and liquids. Similar to the Separation Bar on the Round Nose Plate Magnets, collected fragments are safely moved around to the back of the Acutex™ Probe, out of the path of oncoming product – again, greatly reducing recontamination risks.
The ESPS Magnets received USDA Acceptance earlier this year and, as with all Magnattack® magnets, are endorsed by HACCP International.
_
Dry Products
Magnattack® RE80®Probe Magnets were selected for dry product lines including milled grains and flours. These +11,000 Gauss Magnets were carefully placed to ensure maximum product stream coverage and protection. Much of the contamination captured by these magnets includes work-hardened stainless-steel and stone, as you can see in the below images.
_
Satisfying Results
Several of the new magnets were installed during November 2018. Earlier this month, Magnattack® technicians visited the site to validate these magnets and ensure they were performing to their maximum efficiency.
During the site visit, Magnattack® received positive feedback from the operators, who commented that “the new magnets collect a lot of metal, and are also nice and easy to clean and put back together.”
Further Information
More information on these Magnattack® solutions can be found here:
- Emulsion & Slurry Pipeline Separators
- Magnattack® Probe Magnets
- Round Nose Plate Magnets
- Magnets For Pet Food Applications
- Benefits of RE80® Acutex™ Magnets
- Why You Should Replace Your Finger Pot Magnets
Contact Us
Do you need to achieve higher metal fragment control in your food or petfood processing lines? Contact a Magnattack® team member here.