Zinetti tells of metal detection ‘slam dunk’
The firm makes gourmet lasagnes and other prepared entrees for frozen food sections of Costco and other retailers in Canada and the US.
Ash Engele, maintenance manager at Zinetti Foods, said it sent samples to three suppliers and Mettler Toledo was first to respond.
The ‘slam dunk’ moment came after speaking with Jeff Smith from Mountain Pacific Machinery and Brett Payne at MD Packaging, he said.
“We installed a unit from another supplier on a trial basis in 2008, but we got a lot of false rejects and decided it wouldn’t work for us,” said Engele.
“Some people told us that x-ray inspection is better suited for products that are more homogenous than ours. We’ve since learned that’s not true.”
Zinetti Foods selected an X3302 that is wider than the standard X33 so it could handle all products.
With its 400mm wide belt, the machine inspects large 3kg family size and 300g single serve meals.
Engele said sometimes it runs the same product for an entire shift or might have several to run.
“We rely on a lot of outside vendors for ingredients. The possibilities that there could be a stone or shard of glass are endless. Our x-ray system gives us another layer of protection.
“As we grow, we put more product out there for the public to consume, which increases our risk along with our volume.”
