The use of metal detectable cable ties can keep our food manufacturing industry safe.
Contamination from foreign objects is a concern on all food processing lines and is one of three identified threats by the HACCP (Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Point) process, which classifies potential hazards during food production.
When food manufacturing or processing becomes contaminated and the contamination goes undetected, customer lives are put at risk. Once detected, the contamination will almost certainly bring production to a halt. The repercussions from this are severe – brand reputation is damaged, and potential financial consequences, including product recall and legislative fines, can destroy businesses.
The risk of plastic contamination is a real one for food manufacturers – in the first quarter of 2021, the Food Standards Agency issued 9 food alerts involving plastic. While the humble plastic cable tie is often overlooked in regard to this issue, thousands of cable ties will be used throughout the food manufacturing process, to keep cables secure, especially where machinery is installed above production lines. Food processing plants have areas of high vibration from both manufacturing equipment and packaging machines, which is also cleaned regularly. The risk of cable ties coming loose, breaking or becoming dislodged due to the individual and combined effects of the chemicals, cleaning agents, and vibration, and possibly contaminating the food, is real.
Choosing cable management supplies that can be easily detected if they inadvertently contaminate a product is therefore vital in the food industry.
At Cableties-online, our standard nylon 6/6 cable ties are undetectable but our metal detectable cable ties contain an evenly dispersed metal content throughout which allows detection of even the smallest fragment by standard metal detection process control equipment, including metal detectors and X-ray equipment. Additionally, their vibrant blue colour, which does not appear naturally in the majority of food products, makes them stand out for easy detection in a visual inspection, particularly on processing conveyors which are often white.
Available in a choice of lengths and widths, our metal detectable cable ties are manufactured from UL approved nylon 6/6 94V-2 and offer an operating temperature between ¯25°C and 65°C. Non-toxic, recyclable and halogen-free, they have a water absorption of up to 8% when immersed and are typically used within food processing industries, as well as the pharmaceutical, medical, and dental sectors. Indeed, metal detectable cable ties are the best solution in any situation where hazardous waste, for example, needs to be detected easily and kept separate, or where risk of contamination needs to be reduced.
For any advice on how metal detectable cable ties could help your manufacturing processes, call us today on 01623 706241 and our staff will be happy to help. Alternatively, we can be contacted by email.
