Metal detection for meat processing
Meat is the most demanding application for a metal detector: the product is wet, salted and chilled, the line is washed down with hot water under pressure, and the contamination risk is real rather than theoretical. We have been building detectors for meat plants since 1986.
The metal almost always comes from your own process
- Broken needles. Animals treated by injection can carry a snapped needle tip in the tissue. It is the classic incident in meat production — and the one that ends up in the press.
- Blade fragments. Deboning and separator knives shed small pieces of steel. Usually stainless, which is the hardest material to detect.
- Machine parts. Screws, springs, circlips and worn bushings from mincers, bowl cutters and conveyors.
- Maintenance. Tools and parts not accounted for after an intervention on the line.
- Clips and wire closures from packing — both a hazard and a detection problem if they sit in the product.
What we typically supply
Packing and finished goods
Complete unit with conveyor and automatic reject after packing. Lockable reject bin for CCP documentation.
Mince and emulsion
Pipeline detector in the pipe run before the stuffer. IP68/IP69K and hygienic coupling.
Deboning and cutting
Detector head in an existing conveyor where product is unpacked and the line is washed down daily.
The auditor asks about the test, not the machine
In meat production the detector is nearly always a critical control point. What fails an audit is rarely the detector itself. It is the documentation: test frequency, traceable test pieces, verification that the reject actually happened, and a procedure for product run since the last passed test.