Loma switches grade of test pieces
It will offer test pieces produced from 316 grade annealed stainless steel as specified by retailers’ Codes of Practice.
Loma is to replace ferrous, non-ferrous (brass) and stainless steel test wands with a puck design to help food plants keep track of test pieces.
Grade 304 stainless steel test pieces in stock will be sold until levels are depleted and then be replaced with new product and part numbers.
Simon Spencer, managing director, said performance testing of metal detectors and X-ray inspection systems is an essential part of quality management with regulations stating systems are installed at critical control points and routinely QA tested with documented results.
“We are aware that many food manufacturers, processors and packers have written their test procedures based on the use of grade 304 stainless steel and changing to 316 test pucks might cause extra work. However, we made these changes to ensure compliance with major retailers’ Codes of Practice which specify grade 316 as the best material for test pieces.
“In making the switch to grade 316, we conducted several like for like comparison tests against grade 304. The results demonstrated that the new format is generally more difficult to identify which offers greater reliability for the detection of grade 304 stainless steel.”
