WASTE & WASTE MANAGEMENT G
STOP THE MANUFACTURING FOOD WASTE CYCLE
lobally, over one third of all food produced is discarded. In the UK approximately 16 per cent of this food waste occurs in the manufacturing phase, 19 per cent across Europe. A lot of this waste can be attributed to quality control rejections, processing inefficiencies and packaging issues.
Equipment choices in food production are a critical factor in addressing the high levels of food waste. “Waste in food manufacturing extends to the entire lifecycle of the product. This comprises removing potentially contaminated or out of tolerance products from production lines before they reach the market. Additionally, food manufacturers need to consider every interconnected factor. These can include the carbon and energy emissions that have gone into growing, harvesting and making every product, to water wastage and labour costs,” expands Phil Brown. In the inspection process, waste can be mitigated at any phase starting at ingredients right up to end of line packaging and labelling. Upstream metal detection, inspecting ingredients at the farm or raw-material stage using gravity or industrial-style conveyor metal detectors, can prevent a domino waste effect. For example, imagine a single soda can discarded in a field of grain. If this can is harvested by tractors and reaches the factory floor it could be shredded into much smaller fragments and could end up contaminating hundreds of food packs. With metal detectors available for every CCP in food manufacturing, processors can implement a multi-risk contaminant detection strategy across the entire line. Other HACCP-locations include installing metal detectors during processing before packing. These could include pipeline and meat pump metal detectors. Inspection at this CCP is often where the highest metal detection sensitivity is achieved. Brown clarifies: “The technology selected is always dependent on the most prevalent food safety risks. There is always value to be gained from implementing gravity, pipeline and conveyor metal detectors upstream as this makes it easier to detect and reject metal contaminants in their largest and less expensive forms. Equally, inline metal detection protects expensive food processing machines from unnecessary damage.”
The final metal detection check is generally viewed as the last line of defence. This CCP minimises the risk of metal contaminated food products reaching consumers, making it a standard requirement for food safety programs like BRCGS, GFSI and IFS. In the UK, this final metal detection check is a COP retailer requirement for food products.
For variable density products, Fortress may recommend adding X-ray to the end of the processing line. “Using a proprietary IA+ algorithm, the Icon
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Food waste in manufacturing facilities encompasses more than just discarded items ending up in landfill. Inspection imprecisions, operational inefficiencies and time lost to manual documentation contribute to more technical errors, increased processing emissions and higher production costs. Inspection and food safety expert from Fortress Technology, Phil Brown shares guidance for implementing less wasteful practices across the lifecycle of food products. This includes examining how strategic investments in reliable inspection equipment and time-saving digital tools can break the production food waste cycle every day of the year.
X-ray’s unmatchable processing and detection power adapts to variable-density products that present with metal, ceramic, glass and high-density plastic contaminants,” says Brown.
WHEN TOO SAFE BECOMES WASTEFUL One of the most insidious contributors to food manufacturing waste is the ‘false reject’. This occurs when good food is flagged as contaminated and sent to the reject bin. This is especially prevalent with ‘wet’ products, such as meat, dairy, ready meals, baked goods or mineral-fortified cereals. These items can create a product effect, where their natural conductivity mimics the signal of metal, tricking standard detectors into playing it safe and rejecting the product. To pivot from waste to precision, Fortress Technology introduced the Interceptor metal detector. By utilising both high and low frequency ranges to isolate the product signal, the Interceptor metal detector can distinguish between the food’s natural signature and a
genuine contaminant. Every gram saved by this technical nuance is a gram that stays in the food chain. Vepo Cheese installed seven Interceptor metal detectors and introduced an automatic reject system at the same time. Technical operations manager at Vepo, Hugo van Put comments: “The automated reject system gives us 100 per cent control over production. There’s less human involvement, therefore less risk of human error. This also lowers the risk of a metal contaminant slipping through the safety net. From an efficiency perspective, continuous production is one of the main benefits.” Product giveaway represents another significant factor in cumulative loss, often arising when numerous food packs are overfilled by just a few grams. Implementing highly accurate weight control measures is essential to address this issue.
Systems like the Raptor Checkweigher series, which comprises a standalone checkweigher, caseweigher and checkweigher and metal
Spring 2026 UKManufacturing
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