Emco Industrial Plastics is one of the leading distributors of plastics in North America. We maintain an extensive selection of engineering, high-performance, and commodity plastic materials in sheet, rod, tube, profile, film, and other forms to suit various industries and industrial applications. For example, we offer metal detectable plastics for use in the food production and packaging industry.
In the food production and packaging industry, the primary goal is making and delivering products that are high-quality, healthy, and safe for consumers. Achieving this goal necessitates the implementation of rigorous quality control measures to prevent the contamination of food products.
One of the most common sources of food contamination is broken or worn equipment parts. During production and packaging operations, broken or worn equipment carries a high risk of small pieces of material separating from the larger assembly and mixing with the food products. If left undetected and unmanaged, the foreign material degrades the quality of the food and poses a health and safety risk to consumers. Many industry professionals utilize metal detectable plastics for their tools and equipment to prevent these issues from occurring.
As suggested by the name, metal detectable plastics can be picked up by metal detectors. They contain special additives that allow the sensitive instruments to determine and indicate whether they are present in a targeted area. As a result, food production and packaging companies can use metal detectors to check for their presence in food products.
Metal detectable plastics are primarily utilized in parts and products for the food production and packaging industry. For example:
They allow industry professionals to utilize metal detectors to reduce the risk of food being contaminated with plastic from broken or worn tools and equipment. Additionally, they help reduce item weight and/or noise emissions compared to metal components.
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At Emco Industrial Plastics, we distribute a variety of metal detectable plastics from reputable manufacturers. Our material offerings include:
Metal Detectable Acetal. These copolymer acetal materials contain metal detectable additives that allow their presence in food products to be traced using conventional metal detection systems. They exhibit good mechanical strength, stiffness, and stability and feature a composition that is compliant with food contact standards. The brands we supply are:
Metal Detectable Polyurethane. These polyurethane materials contain metal detectable additives to facilitate tracing in food production and processing lines. The brands we supply are:
Metal Detectable Nylon. These nylon materials are compliant with FDA and 3-A Sanitary standards. Key properties include good wear and fatigue resistance, low moisture absorption properties, and suitability for continuous use in temperatures up to 85° F. The brands we supply are:
Metal Detectable UHMW. These ultra-high molecular weight (UHMW) polyethylene materials are a cost-effective solution for applications that require high impact resistance. They have a high coefficient of linear thermal expansion (CLTE), medium dimensional stability, and good performance in cryogenic applications. The brands we supply are:
Metal Detectable PTFE. These PTFE materials are detectable by metal detectors, X-ray detectors, and optical scanners. They are blue in color and FDA and EC 10/2011 approved.
Metal Detectable PEEK. These PEEK materials offer excellent chemical, temperature, and wear resistance. The brands we supply are:
In addition to distributing metal detectable plastics, we offer custom-manufactured parts made from metal detectable plastics. We can create components from acetal, nylon, PEEK, and UHMW. Our manufacturing services include engineering, material selection assistance, precision fabrication and CNC machining, in-process quality inspection, and final part testing. We can achieve tolerances of ±.005 inches in small and intricate parts to large parts.
Throughout the years, the food production and packaging industry has increasingly accepted engineering plastics as a replacement for metals due to their ability to improve production speed and/or accommodate longer production cycles. This positive trend has led to rising demand for and, consequently, the development of better and safer plastics. Metal detectable plastics allow the industry to make the change from metal to plastic components without worrying about whether they can accurately and precisely determine if and when pieces of material break off and mix with food products.
To learn more about metal detectable plastics or our material offerings, contact us today.
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