SPEEDING UP PRODUCTION


Tanis constantly evaluates and refines its processes to stay ahead of industry trends and customer expectations.


robots to select only items that match the criteria and discard the rest. These advanced vision systems can handle up to 5,000 units per minute.


Ensuring quality at high speed


Offering his thoughts on how confectionery manufacturers can overcome production challenges in high-speed applications without compromising quality, Rob Stevens, Market Manager at Mettler-Toledo Product  that he sees. “When products are processed at high speeds, they are more susceptible to damage or misalignment, which can lead to increased rejection rates. Handling delicate        also becomes more complex as speed increases, elevating the risk of product rejection and waste.” It doesn’t matter how fast your production line is able to go if there are high product rejection rates and excessive product waste. Accurate weighing can be complicated by


        cause handling and sorting issues, and the need for stricter tolerances with smaller, lighter products.


Here, Rob advocates


the use of dynamic checkweighers – such as those offered by Mettler-Toledo, that incorporate its FlashCell technology which offers effective handling of products with


30 Kennedy’s Confection June 2025


brief weighing times. It is also said to provide consistent weight measurements and product quality, even at speeds of up to 800 products per minute.


Rob went on to highlight the need for effective contaminant detection to maintain consumer safety and brand integrity and reduce the risk of product recalls. Here, a combination of metal detection and X-ray inspection technologies can help. Metal detectors specialise in detecting metallic contaminants, such as ferrous, non-ferrous, and stainless-steel particles. They work by      identifying metal particles that disrupt this         on the production line, from the start of production to inspect raw materials, to the end of the line after primary packaging. However,


the most popular insertion point in snack foods and confectionery manufacturing is just prior to packaging. Products are weighed using multi-head weighing technology, then drop through the metal detector and into the bag which is then sealed. This technology is well-suited for use in high-speed production environments where rapid, accurate detection of metal contaminants is needed. X-ray inspection systems can detect a wide range of contaminants in packed products, either at the primary or the secondary     


contaminants such as glass, metal, mineral stones, dense plastics, rubber compounds and even agglomerates. The X-ray beams can penetrate packaging to identify foreign objects using a process that can highlight density differences. While in-line inspection  end-of-line inspection


– for example


scanning a full box of chocolate bars – can offer additional advantages. It allows for the detection of contaminants, meaning that each box is thoroughly screened for foreign bodies before reaching consumers. This layered inspection process enhances product safety and quality control. Beyond contaminant detection, X-ray systems can also perform a range of integrity checks, such as verifying product shape, measuring mass, detecting missing or broken items and 


Both technologies can help protect brand integrity, reduce the risk of product recalls       fast-paced production environments. In conclusion, Rob pointed to data management as being key to maintaining fast paced production environments, giving confectionery manufacturers the ability to monitor and optimise processes, as well as adhere to audit requirements. “Mettler- Toledo’s ProdX data management software is able to track and document product inspection data that which is essential for


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