Show Daily Exclusive - For Kalustyan, a spice and herbs processor located in New Jersey, regulations related to the Food Safety Modernization Act posed significant compliance challenges. In addition, its largest customers were demanding assurance that its products were contaminant-free.
Kalustyan knew it needed to upgrade, but wanted more than superior contaminant-detection technology. Equipment also had to be easy to understand and operate, known for reliability and offered at a reasonable price.
Kalustyan sources spices and herbs globally and operates in three countries. Since its founding in 1977, it has sourced ingredients from most countries in Europe, Asia and the Middle East as well as many countries in Africa, Latin America and South America. Its goal is to procure and produce adulteration-free products while meeting GMP standards.
“Our quality system is based on Global Food Safety Initiatives and is the backbone of our organization,” reports Abdul Basit Gaba, director, Quality/Food Safety. “We have a systematic assessment of each step of our production processes through our HACCP [hazard analysis and critical control points] plan and a proactive and preventative control of all raw materials, processing activities and our processing environment,” he explains.
THE SEARCH
For Kalustyan, a long-time customer of Sesotec (Booth N-4912), the search for contaminant detection equipment was relatively easy. After trying out a number of competing options, it made sense to stick with Sesotec, particularly since it was already operating more than a dozen Sesotec metal detectors and x-ray systems. Gaba recalls, “From a cost perspective, they were about in the middle of the pack, but from a dependability and performance perspective, Sesotec . . . was at the head of the class. Because some of our products are packaged in foil, we need more than a basic metal detector. We require the extra comfort of x-ray inspection.”
THE MACHINES
Kalustyan installed three types of inspection, the Raycon x-ray system and two designs of gravity free-fall metal detectors, the Rapid 4000 and the Rapid 5000 models. All systems are BRC-, IFS- and HACCP-compliant.
The Raycon x-ray inspection system is easy to operate. A full product inspection window without blind corners assures 100% inspection regardless of product height or placement on the belt. The precision-matched x-ray source/detector, combined with proprietary methodologies for x-ray analysis, provide the highest level of detection for dense foreign materials such as metal, stones, bone, high-density plastics and glass. A real-time operating system performs at up to 600 parts/min. with simultaneous inspection of up to four lanes running different products in parallel.
The Rapid 4000 unit inspects spices and grains to detect and reject magnetic and nonmagnetic metal contamination, even when enclosed in the product. It also ensures product quality, prevents customer complaints, protects against expensive processing machinery failures, maximizes production uptime and provides a quick return on investment.
The Rapid 5000 metal detector checks powdery and fine-grained bulk materials. It detects and rejects magnetic and nonmagnetic metal contaminants with an elliptical stainless-steel reject flap diverter. The hygienic design does not have any corners or niches that can be harborage areas for pathogen growth, making it suitable in applications where high sanitary standards are required.
THE INSTALLATION
Implementation was a smooth process. “We knew it would work,” says Gaba. “Our track record with Sesotec . . . made us confident of that.”
The x-ray system was installed in 2013 and Gaba reports, “We are very happy with it . . . . It feels good to work with a vendor partner who understands our mission and is helping us to achieve it.” In fact, Kalustyan plans to purchase more equipment from Sesotec. “It’s been nothing but a positive experience for us, and we’d like to build on that . . . ,” says Gaba.
“We believe that our success depends on the supply of safe quality products that meet or exceed our customers’ expectations,” concludes Kalustyan CEO Errol Karakash.
For more information, visit www.sesotec.us. SD
