With a metal detector, metals that have one or both conductive magnetic characteristics will create a detectable signal. Non-magnetic stainless steel is harder to pick up — it’s a bad conductor — and certain food products with added iron, moisture, salt and acids tend to mask metal detection. Known as the “product effect,” this can impact inspection performance.

Managing successful packaged food production lines use Total Cost of Ownership (TCO) as a guideline a well-established metric in the industry. However, packaged food manufacturers are increasingly considering another metric to measure the overall productivity and effectiveness of their production lines: Total Delivered Cost (TDC).