It’s that time of year when holidays are approaching and consumers are concerned about both their waistlines and their wallets, But it’s just not consumers who need to monitor portion control; it’s also food processors.
As we move into the holiday season, food manufacturers are gearing up to sell more turkeys, hams, canned and frozen vegetables, boxes of stuffing and instant foods, packaged desserts, and other goodies. If you are in the food processing industry you need to ensure that the amount in the package when the consumer purchases it, matches the amount noted on the label. There are regulations and consumer expectances that must be met. And with the extra demand on food processors this time of year, getting the portions right in the package before they reach consumers’ hands is crucial to brand reputation and adhering to regulations.
Luckily there is technology that helps ensure the amount of product contained in the package, which you stamp on the label, matches the amount actually in the package. If you are in the food processing industry, a checkweigher is a crucial component of your quality control program to help meet the regulations.
In the U.S., the National Institute of Science and Technology (NIST) defines the Maximum Allowable Variation of packaged products (Ref Handbook 133 NIST Revised 2016). In Europe, the Measuring Instruments Directive (MID) regulations define the performance of checkweighers used in weighing products for sale to consumers. Other countries and regions have similar standards and requirements.
Here’s an excerpt on the scope of the US NIST regulations:
Routine verification of the net contents of packages is an important part of any weights and measures program to facilitate value comparison and fair competition. Consumers have the right to expect packages to bear accurate net content information. Those manufacturers whose products are sold in packages have the right to expect that their competitors will be required to adhere to the same laws and regulations. The procedures in this handbook are recommended for use to verify the net quantity of contents of packages kept, offered, or exposed for sale, or sold by weight, measure (including volume, and dimensions), or count at any location (e.g., at the point-of-pack, in storage warehouses, retail stores, and wholesale outlets).
The NIST document goes on to say that an effective program will typically include testing at each of the following levels: point-of-pack, wholesale, and retail.
As the name suggests, a food checkweigher is equipment used for reliable weight control to check and confirm that the weight of food goods inline or after packaging during final inspection against a predefined weight limit specified on the package. They can also count and reject for a seamless quality control solution even in rugged plant environments. A checkweigher weighs every product in motion, so they are useful for qualitative food inspection as significant variations in product weight may be indicative of missing components – helping to confirm that your products match the as-stated weight on packaging labels, and helping to ensure compliance with regional and international package weight standards.
Checkweighers can also help reduce the risk of consumer disappointment followed by backlash on social media. Can you imagine a stressed out customer who has carefully planned a dinner or party, and then discovers upon opening a package that they are short one or two items or the can of vegetables or cranberry sauce is only half-filled on the morning of the holiday? You’ve lost your credibility with the customer, who may post about their bad experience with your product on social media. (Read How Social Media Can Damage Your Food Brand.)
Not only do checkweighers help with regulation compliance and meeting customer expectations, but they also support productivity, throughput, and the bottom line. Checkweighing technology provides a repeatable and precise measure of food weight to minimize product giveaway. A consumer may not complain about getting more than they paid for, but every extra ounce eats into company profits.
And overeating of the bottom line isn’t good for the company waistline.
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