Detect Vegetables

Fresh and frozen vegetable lines face one of the highest foreign-object risks in food manufacturing: metal fragments from harvesters, cutting blades, screens, and conveyor hardware routinely end up in product streams. For processors supplying retail or foodservice, a single metal incident can mean a full-batch recall and a damaged retailer contract.

Where contamination enters the line

• Cutting and dicing blades shedding steel particles

• Wire mesh from screens and sieves breaking off

• Staples and clips from packaging and field crates

• Equipment wear metal from conveyors and elevators

Recommended configuration For most vegetable processors, a stainless steel tunnel metal detector installed after cutting and before packing gives the best protection-to-cost ratio. Key settings:

• Sensitivity: Fe ≥ 0.8 mm, SUS ≥ 1.5 mm for raw product; tighter for final packed product

• Automatic product memory: 100+ product presets so operators switch between diced, whole, and pureed products without re-calibration

• Auto-phase-balance technology to prevent false rejects on wet, high-moisture vegetables

• Reject system: air-blast or retracting belt matched to line speed

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Compliance note Vegetable suppliers exporting to EU or US markets typically must document metal detection as a CCP under HACCP. Choose a unit with data logging and batch traceability so every inspection event is recorded.

Related: Tunnel Metal Detector, Conveyor Metal Detector