Putting extra care into convenience foods

Jansen Techniek has supported Huuskes with food safety for more than two decades. At various intervals the Dutch team has installed over 20 Fortress Technology conveyor and pipeline food metal detection systems. Most recently, six ultra-hygienic, clean in place Fortress Stealth metal detectors were added to production lines to inspect over 15,000 meals prepared and packed daily at Huuskes. Two more investments in Fortress conveyor metal detectors were recently confirmed by Jansen.

Located just one mile from the German border in Enschede, Huuskes has grown into one of the largest and most trusted Dutch food and beverage suppliers dedicated to serving the European healthcare and corporate catering market. Founded in 1956, the Dutch firm, which started out preparing and packing meals in small batches by hand, now has over 1000 employees with an increasingly automated production facility. Testament to its size, Huuskes even has its own butcher's shop, poultry processing plant, meat slicing, vegetable processing plant, green agricultural department, commercial-sized walk-in freezers and refrigeration, and professional kitchen.

Each day, Huuskes' chefs prepare thousands of meals and food products which are cooked, cooled, frozen, packaged, labelled and delivered fresh to the company's central logistics centre. Here, they are picked and crated along with a wide selection of groceries and despatched fresh to caterers, care institutions and hospitals across Europe, particularly the Netherlands and Germany.

"Every meal from our extensive menu of more than 600 recipes receives the same attention to detail. Although a lot of the chopping, preparation and portioning is now automated due to the volumes of meals we prepare, like many high-end kitchens much of the cooking process continues to be done by our chefs to ensure taste and high quality are maintained," confirms Convenience Manager Geert Dimmendaal.

Failsafe and flexible

Huuskes' extensive product range also includes special diet derivatives, including meals free of lactose, egg, nuts and gluten. Protein and nutrient-rich meals are also prepared for post-surgery clients. Equally, there are many packaging formats, including bulk sharing meals for residential groups to smaller, individual portions to help minimise food waste. Some meals are even presented on returnable porcelain plates.

Given this broad range of different product recipes, preparation processes and portion sizes, metal detection sensitivity and single pass product calibration are extremely beneficial features of their inspection equipment, notes Jansen Director Gerard Schuurman. "Fortress Stealth metal detectors are renowned for their exceptional reliability, ease of use, safety, sensitivity and hygiene," confirms Gerard.

Using powerful digital signal processing, Huuskes latest Stealth metal detectors act as a critical control point at the end of six packaging lines. Each meal is top sealed and labelled, providing all of the legislative details, including preparation cooking instructions, expiration dates and allergens, before passing through the metal detector aperture.

Machine sensors feature at every step of the inspection process. As the ready meals feed into each Stealth metal detector at a rate of 30 packs per minute, an infeed sensor detects their presence. The infeed sensor also helps to ensure every product is presented centrally. This is important as it optimises the sensitivity and subsequent performance of the metal detector, notes Gerard.

If there is no contamination trigger, the outfeed sensor identifies the pack leaving the metal detector. Should a meal be rejected as a result of a potential contaminant, the reject sensor will track the removal of the potentially contaminated product into sealed reject bins beneath the machine conveyors.

"It is a seamless and failsafe process. Each machine is equipped with Fortress Technology's own Contact software. This registers every sensor activity, error message and signal. For Huuskes, this data extraction simplifies their documentation process," explains Gerard.

To assist with the overall flow and layout, Jansen connected Huuskes' new sealing machine seamlessly to the metal detector. The design team also installed a longer interlocked outfeed buffer conveyor. This assists with logistics ensuring a continuous and consistent presentation of meals which can be packed into containers without product accumulating or getting damaged.

In the meat cutting and meal preparation department, Huuskes also relies on several Fortress Pipeline metal detectors. These are used mainly to inspect liquids, ground vegetables, and meat broths, as well as the traditional Dutch stews (stampots) which combine mashed potato with vegetables, sausage and gravies.

Clean in Place equipment

Adhering to the quality standards of HACCP and SkaL FSSC22000, Huuskes exemplifies best practice hygiene controls. "Given our end consumers, food safety and cleaning efficiency is even more vital. We take hygiene protocols and the general maintenance of our equipment very seriously," states Geert.

Having Jansen Techniek as their local food safety partner means Huuskes never misses out on its annual system check. Huuskes can also request ad-hoc support from a Jansen service technician to help resolve technical issues.

Additionally, the Huuskes team really values the Clean in Place features on their latest Stealth machines. These save a lot of time and give employees confidence that the hygiene standards are being amply met.

The Stealth metal detector has a IP69k rating and the conveyor belts are designed to be cleaned without being removed. This shortens the machine downtime and reduces cross contamination, which is essential in the preparation of allergen-free meals. "Hygienic inspection machines further improve product safety. Customers are often amazed at how compact and user-friendly Fortress metal detectors are. Many are surprised that such sensitive electrical appliances can be cleaned under high pressure. The design and performance of the Stealth gives users real confidence," adds Gerard.

"Hygiene is important for every food company. But given we work with meats, vegetables and cooking oils, all our equipment and systems must be easy to clean and disinfect. Jansen Techniek knows how to do that; they are good at wet and greasy!" assures Geert.

Long term cooperation

Partnerships are clearly important to Huuskes. Several years ago, the Dutch firm embarked on its biggest expansion strategy to-date, merging with likeminded European family business Chef Culinar. It has opened up another huge opportunity serving the German healthcare market.

Many of these latest machinery investments by Huuskes, including the Fortress metal detectors, is driven by the company's urgent need to increase production capacity to serve this rapidly growing market.