Metal Detection and X-ray: Engineering’s Role in Foreign-Body Control

Why this matters in UK food manufacturing Metal and hard foreign bodies are one of the most common causes of UK food recalls. The metal detector or X-ray machine is often a critical control point, and it is usually the last chance to stop a contaminated pack. Technical owns the specification and the testing regime, but Engineering owns whether the machine actually works: installation, reject systems, alarms, maintenance and repairs. In plain English A metal detector is only as good as its reject system. If it spots metal but the pack still goes down the line because the reject arm is slow, the air is off or the bin is full, the detector has failed, even though it beeped. 1. Know the standards you are audited against Food Safety Act 1990: food must not be unsafe or fail the quality the customer expects.BRCGS Food Safety Issue 9, section 4.10: foreign-body detection and removal equipment, including test frequency, test pieces and fail-safe rejection.Retailer codes of practice: most UK retailers set their own sensitivity, test and reject requirements for their suppliers. Check…