Halal Meat Processor Halves Costs After Adding Inline Metal Detector

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“Now we have a control where we can identify if a product has any metal pieces or other materials inside earlier in our production,” says Mehmet Solmaz, president of Solmaz Foods. “That gives us better control and peace of mind that our products are safe.”Solmaz Foods manufactures more than 75 different products, including top-selling items like halal sliced pepperoni, and smoked Montreal-style turkey breast.Solmaz Foods

Aside from improved food safety upstream, adding the Stealth Pipeline has reduced costs across the board by 50%, according to Solmaz. “That 50% is basically combined time and labor savings, plus risk reduction,” he says. “Before, we would be slicing our products and might find some material in the meat, which meant we had to throw the whole batch out. Our inline detector eliminates a lot of waste because the moment this system detects any material in the meat, it automatically discharges that part of the batch, and we can still process the rest of it. So, this gives us two control systems in place where before we only had one on the packaging line.”

Further distribution

The market for metal detection systems is extremely competitive, so Solmaz Foods had many options when looking to add that equipment to its operation. It chose Toronto-based Fortress not just for the inline detector, but also the three detectors located on the packaging lines too.

“Fortress has a lot of experience in the food business with many global brands as well as local players in Canada like us,” Solmaz explains. “That gives us a comfort zone. We know they have the experience and experts in place that have faced similar situations that we face in our operation.” The learning curve to use the machines was made easier by Fortress technicians not only showing Solmaz Foods staff how to operate the equipment, but explaining how the machines can best be used in specific detection scenarios during production, he adds.

Training by Fortress technicians for Solmaz Foods employees included how to use the machine during specific metal detection scenarios so they can react to real-time situations.Fortress Technology

There might be a need to add more Fortress detectors in the future. Solmaz Foods is in the process of completing the regulatory steps to be approved by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), which would allow the company to expand its distribution into the U.S., growing Solmaz Foods further. The company expects that to happen later this year.

For now, Solmaz Foods has laid a food safety foundation in its plant with four Fortress detectors, which the halal meat processor considers essential equipment.

“If we didn’t have these machines, it wouldn’t really matter what our production schedule is,” Solmaz says. “We would be getting tons of food safety questions from our regulatory control inspectors about whether we have the right safeguards in place. We now have peace of mind that we can make a certain amount of product, and whatever wasn’t discharged by the detectors is safe.”