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Inspection equipment can help ensure beverage quality and safety
Given the heightened awareness concerning product safety these days, packaging inspection equipment has never been more important. The proper equipment can reduce the chances of costly recalls and the untold costs of losing consumers' trust.
According to inspection equipment experts, the growth in alternative packages, as well as an everincreasing number of beverage SKUs have made automated inspection essential.
"As you look at the market worldwide, you see more and more companies getting away from glass and cans and going into some sort of flexible packaging - either plastic bottles or in some cases, pouches," says Jim Kearbey at Teledyne TapTone, North Falmouth, Mass.
Kearbey says Teledyne TapTone has seen business shift during the past several years from a majority of clients investing in acoustic systems that inspect cans and glass bottles, to force and compression technologies for plastic packaging.
Small microleaks in flexible packaging could impact the integrity of a product, allowing bacterial contamination. To check for such leaks, Teledyne TapTone offers the TapTone 1000-PB! for plastic containers, stand-up pouches and tubes. The system uses dual sensor compression technology to apply pressure to the sidewall of the container, which compresses the headspace in the bottle. It then uses comparative measurements at the infeed and discharge to indicate whether a bottle is leaking. The system operates as fast as 200 feet per minute and incorporates rejection technology that ejects a container from the conveyor if it does not meet standards. The company also has force and compression systems that operate at up to 300 feet per minute.
In addition, the company offers x-ray technology to check for fill levels in containers. The x-ray technology allows plant operators to examine bottles and cans at high speeds to ensure accurate filling. When combined with xray technology, the TapTone 1000-PBI...