Identification tags designed to be detectable

Tags are use to categorize and date raw material ingredients in different locations throughout a facility.

UK-based company E-Components & Chains/Detectamet (ECCLTD) said that the development of its new Detectamet metal detectable plastic XP tag range was customer led, with leading food processors claiming the identification tag contamination of product was an increasing problem.

Within the food industries there is an ever-present risk of metal or plastic contamination that, if undetected, can result in damage to equipment, costs incurred through product recalls, harm to the company's reputation and, in the worst case, serious injury to somebody consuming the contaminant.

Additive​

According to Sean Smith, sales and marketing director at ECCLTD, fragments of the new XP tags, unlike conventional plastic ones, can be located by standard in-process metal detection equipment due to the inclusion of a proprietary additive during their manufacturer.

Smith told FoodProductionDaily.com that the XP tags also contain an antimicrobial component to reduce their potential for contamination should they accidentally drop into the raw material at storage stage.

Food grade​​

He said the tags are also X-ray visible, are available in the four hygiene colours of blue, red, green and yellow, and are durable and EU and Food and Drug Administration (FDA) compliant.

Smith said that the tags are cost effective and environmentally friendly as they are made from 100 per cent recycled material derived from plastic residue during in-house manufacturing.

EECLTD have also developed metal detectable paper laminate labels with good impact resistance, metal detectable polyethylene for use in vat storage or operator’s aprons and metal detectable pens designed for use in chilled rooms within facilities, he added.

“If you have 300 operators in a factory, you have 300 times the risk of a pen dropping into a product; however, our pens are designed using the minimum amount of parts, and are antimicrobial and detectable before delivery of a product to customers,” ​said Smith.