The machines are installed at the end of its packaging lines where it is inspecting wrapped solid chocolate bars and snack bars containing seeds, chocolate chips or caramel pieces, operating at speeds up to 240 packs per minute, 24/7.
Mondelez Int.
The X5C X-ray machines are inspecting , which are wrapped in metallized film, for contaminants.
Aaron Jackson, project engineer, Enjoy Life Foods, said it wanted to upgrade its inspection technology when it moved to a new plant and began using more metallized film packaging across some of its product lines.
The company was founded in 2001 by Scott Mandell and is a subsidiary of Mondelez International, which acquired the company in 2015.
The plant produces cookies, snack bars, chocolate bars, baking chocolate, seed and fruit mixes, savory snacks, which are free-from gluten and 14 common allergens.
The product is supplied across the US and Canada, South Africa, Israel, Mexico and Singapore.
“Loma recommended the X5C due to our limited production space, budget restraints and its ability to reliably and accurately inspect snack bars wrapped in metallized film. In terms of cost, the unit compares extremely favorably with other types of inspection equipment," said Jackson.
The X5C machines are developed for food manufacturers, processors and packers running multi-product lines who are looking to switch to X-ray technology for the first time.
Proper fill level
It is designed to reduce the cost of ownership of X-ray inspection technology by up to 30%.
Snack foods often fluctuate in density which can be difficult to find foreign bodies.
Loma’s X5C detects physical contaminants, inspects for proper fill level, seal defects, mass measurement and component counts. It can also identify lumps of product including seasoning or powder.
Snacks that are packaged in metallized film or have variable product temperature and moisture content have no effect on the detection levels of the machine.
It can detect glass, calcified bone, rubber, stone, ferrous, non-ferrous and stainless steel metal in various packaging.
It operates at line speeds up to 50 meters per minute and measures one meter in length. It is capable of handling products up to 100mm (height) x and 300mm (width) but weighing no more than 3kg.