Pet Food & Aqua Feed Industry - Ing. Francisco Pantoni
Introduction
The presence of foreign elements or cross-contamination in the Pet Food packing can cause serious health complications for our pets, which means a problem for the manufacturing company, thereby negatively impacting their brands. Currently, the pets humanization is advancing more and more, which is why we, owners, are always looking for give our four-paws sons the best, not only based on nutritional and protein value, but we also seek that the food is of High Quality, Safe and in Excellent Condition, without any type of foreign body or defect that could put pets lives at risk.
Trends impacting the market
In 2020 and the following two years, the Covid-19 pandemic abruptly impacted our lives: family and social meetings, work, travel, and different activities that were previously habitual for us. The pets adoption was not an exclusive case, but quite the opposite, according to studies, due to the restrictions of staying at home, the adoption of dogs and cats increased by 200%, this increase implied an exponential growth in the demand for extruded pet food. Market researchers have predicted that the global Pet Food market value will increase over the next seven years at a compound annual growth rate of almost 5%, that is, from USD 94 billion from 2020 to USD 137 billion in 2028. As an example of the high advance in the humanization of pets, owners are becoming more demanding with the food they buy to feed their pets.
Today, Pet Food manufacturing companies, especially those that manufacture Premium and Super Premium, are investing a large part of their budget in equipment that guarantees the manufacture of high quality products, which is why Optical Sorting Technology, which we will talk about in this article, is having an important participation in the investment portfolio of companies.
Nimbus technology
Together with TOMRA | Food we offer the Solution to achieve a high-quality product, safe and in good condition, through the Optical Classification process. The equipment, named NIMBUS, has laser technology that classifies by colour, structure and biological characteristics, it scans the product and upon detection of a foreign material expels it through an ejection of air, even when these elements are the same size, shape and colour as the kibbles. In addition, the Nimbus has a built-in system called BSI+ (Biometric Signature Identification), which detects the biometric characteristics of the products by comparing them with the stored data to determine if it accepts or rejects, this sensor allows to detect cross-contamination with other products, even when it is the same shape, size or colour as the correct product.
With the main objective of analysing every last kibble that will enter the packaging and that will later reach the homes of pet owners, it is advisable to install the Nimbus just before the packaging line, in this way we ensure that 100% of the kibbles contained in the bags were analysed and correctly classified.
Manufacturers of Pet Food Premium and Super Premium also use this equipment to ensure that raw materials reach the production process with the desired level of quality, avoiding contaminants in the production process. An example of this, is the use of TOMRA | Food to detect and separate contaminating materials in Meat Meals.
Operating principle
Through a hopper, the Nimbus is uniformly fed with the product to be classified. It falls to the inspection area, where it is scanned by a front BSI camera and a rear laser. A few thousandths of a second later the materials or defective products are deflected with an ejection of air towards the rejection zone, while the good product, which meets the requirements, continues its natural free fall.
Below a Nimbus video:
Main advantages of Tomra's Nimbus
A special mention for the last two points mentioned above: cross-contamination generally occurs in the storage silos before packaging, cleaning between one run and another or discarding the first kilos of product, involves exhaustive work and a significant loss of product, the Nimbus guarantees optimal and automatic performance in the elimination of cross-contamination. As for the last benefit mentioned, removing foreign materials from your packaging protects your brand in a highly competitive market, as well as increasing owner and pet satisfaction.
Conclusion
With the Nimbus installation, the Total Quality of the production is ensured, due to the fact that contamination from foreign elements such as plastics, paper, metals, glass is avoided; and cross-contamination with other products by analysing the biometric composition of the kibbles.
The Nimbus is without a doubt the Definitive Solution to achieve High Quality Pet Food, capable of satisfying the expectations and demands of owners and their pets. The equipment transforms the invisible into the visible, while the problems of cross contamination and unwanted elements will be problems of the past.
Contact Us
E-mail: francisco.pantoni@cliviosolutions.com
WhatsApp: +54 9 2352 540040
Source: Tomra & Clivio Solutions