H O T B E V E R AG E S
Sorting technology leaves no stone unturned Ishida’s advanced X-ray technology has enabled one of Slovakia’s leading tea and coffee suppliers to enhance its quality and safety standards for the introduction of retail packs of roasted coffee beans.
S
ince the installation of the Ishida IXEN-2493 complaints resulting from stones in the beans have
been eliminated. Residual stones in coffee beans are a common problem. Despite rigorous quality control procedures, including using magnetic separators and passing the beans through a de-stoner machine, stones can still be present. This impacts on the perceived quality of the coffee and stones can also damage the blades in domestic and professional grinders for espresso machines if they go undetected.
“A special diverting reject system quickly removes any rejected product to minimise losses” Prior to the installation of the Ishida X-ray inspection system, quality checks for stones were carried out by hand. Operators could not detect all the stones, leading to frequent consumer complaints. Having used Ishida weighing equipment for several years, the
Stones can impact on the overall perceived quality of a product
Close-up with coffee beans in the Ishida IX-EN-2493
company turned to Ishida to help solve this problem. "We knew that Ishida was easy to work with, that the company takes a detailed approach to every
Classic bag of espresso coffee
project and that if we have an almost impossible task, Ishida is the most likely to find a solution," explains Peter Paciga, Baliarne’s production director. Initially the IX-EN-2493 was tested on packed product, but the number of bags still containing stones proved to be too great. The
that the machine is easy to set up, operate and clean. Currently beans are packed into pre-made
decision was taken to inspect bulk product
bags, but Baliarne is now introducing packs
prior to the bagging of the coffee beans.
for the foodservice sector and if demand
"From that moment, we have not had any
continues to grow, the intention is to create
further instances of stones in the beans,"
a fully-automated inspection and bagging
Paciga confirms.
line. As part of this, the Ishida X-ray has the
The IX-EN-2493 features Ishida’s unique genetic algorithm (GA) technology, which uses image data analysis over several
capacity to check up to 30 tonnes of coffee beans each day. "The highest product quality and
generations to achieve an extremely high
safety is essential for us to maintain our
level of inspection accuracy with the machine
premium brand image," he concludes.
being ‘trained’ to spot certain foreign bodies.
"The Ishida IX-EN-2493 has enabled us to
In addition to the supply of the X-ray system,
deliver this. The machine is very reliable
Ishida project-managed the installation,
and user-friendly, and Ishida provides
designing the infeed, gantry and elevator that
great service and support." •
takes product for bagging. A special diverting reject system quickly removes any rejected product to minimise losses. Baliarne reports
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Food Review | March 2020
Ishida – www.ishida.com
