Welsh metal detection installation curries favour

Phil Black - PII Editor 23/07/2013

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Welsh convenience food manufacturer, The Authentic Curry Company, turned to Lock Inspection Systems following the installation of one of Lock’s industry-leading metal detectors at Wales’ Zero2Five Food Industry Centre at Cardiff Metropolitan University.

To support its ongoing investment in the food industry, Lock entered into a partnership with the Zero2Five Centre, which was established to provide Welsh food businesses with the knowledge, resources and support to compete more effectively in a global marketplace. As part of that partnership, Lock donated and installed one of its metal detectors at the centre to be used for training food science & technology and food safety management undergraduates and professionals working in the Welsh food sector on how to detect contamination during the food manufacturing process.

Lock’s metal detector also has a role to play when food companies come to the centre for advice and support.

“Metal detection is a critical factor for all of the companies using the centre, especially those wanting to become compliant with BRC standards,” says Helen Taylor, Operations and Technical Manager at Zero2Five.

Lock’s active affiliation with the Centre was the pivotal factor that underpinned The Authentic Curry Company’s decision, last year, to select a new metal detection solution from Lock to handle the metal detection requirements for its wide range of convenience meal products.

The Welsh producer’s business with the multiples was expanding quickly and it wanted a more advanced metal detection system that could be pre-set to switch between its many different chilled products. These include many delicious meat dishes such as Tan y Ddraig (the dragon”s fire), a chicken curry with red and green peppers, leeks, whole chillies and fresh coriander in a hot sauce; chicken Cymru: chicken, leeks and mushrooms in a cream and Caerphillly cheese sauce; and lamb cawl: prime chunks of lamb, carrots, potato, leek and swede in a traditional style broth, finished with parsley.

Due to the breadth of chilled meals being produced by The Authentic Curry Company, Lock recommended a versatile metal detector with 100 pre-sets that is capable of delivering exceptional sensitivity at all frequencies and to all metal types.

The team at the Authentic Curry Company were impressed with the solution offered by Lock, but it was finding out that Lock was a partner of the Zero2Five Centre that convinced the company it had chosen the right supplier for its metal detection needs.

“Many small and medium sized Welsh food businesses are participating in the KITE (Knowledge Innovation Technology Exchange) programme, so it was important that our industrial partners shared our principles of lifelong learning and knowledge transfer. Lock seemed to understand and share these values, as well as being a UK company with strong technical support that we felt would benefit the companies we work with as well as students and staff,” said Ms Taylor about the Centre’s selection of Lock’s detection equipment.