Nowadays, the choices of ready-to-eat snacks are aplenty, ranging from chips, biscuits to various sweet and savory snacks. They are also readily available and regularly consumed worldwide. Therefore, food manufacturers are trusted to offer quality, fresh and edible products that are safe to eat. Manufacturers of packed consumer products should understand the importance of maintaining the product quality at its highest level to get the maximum shelf-life. Extensive research on product development has been conducted in the laboratory to identify the highest quality and safest ingredient without altering the original taste. However, the leading cause of compromised food quality often stems from leaked packaging.
Why Leak testing is Essential for Food Packaging.
Manufacturers conduct leak testing on their food packaging to ensure that they are properly sealed against foreign contamination in the packaging line. This test is an essential step in quality control as ingress of oxygen or air may cause early degradation and decay of food quality. A wide range of commercial food packaging testing equipment, such as underwater leak tester or vacuum leak tester, is available and commonly used in the production line or manufacturing environment.
In reality, manufacturers will conduct these tests in batch sequence before the products are shipped for transportation. Compromised seal integrity causes the leak of biological, chemical and physical contamination into the packages that may accelerate products’ decomposition. If customers bought the compromised products, they would be disappointed and not return to purchase products from that brand. It will also tarnish the company’s reputation, leading to massive recalls and revenue loss. The authority may also issue the affected company with a fine for non-compliance with the regulatory standard.
Latest Food Packaging Leak Test Equipment in the Market
Most manufacturers are familiar with the concept of testing leaks in packaging by submerging the packages in water and placing it under a vacuum. The system is generally encased in a transparent acrylic case to allow for visual observation. If there are leaks in the packaging, a stream of bubbles will rise from the location of leak. This allows the operator to pinpoint the location where the packaging leaks and allows them to make adjustments on the setting of the equipment. However, the tested packages have to be discarded after each test regardless of the results. This would incur astronomical amount of waste and financial loss, especially if the factory conducts thousands of tests per day.
The modern food packaging leak testing equipment utilised a highly-sensitive differential pressure transducer based on vacuum decay testing principle. This equipment offers non-destructive testing which means that the packages can be returned to the production line for packaging if they pass the test. Sealtick’s vacuum decay leak testing equipment is easy to operate and can identify leaks and holes as small as 10 microns in diameter. The test results are quantifiable unlike the conventional underwater leak tester and they can be exported to a PC via USB or ethernet for quality traceability.
Suitability for Vacuum Decay Testing Method
The vacuum decay testing involves putting the packages in a flexible chamber which is then placed under vacuum. The change in vacuum pressure is measured with a highly sensitive differential pressure transducer. The test standard can be developed to identify coarse leak or fine leak. It is also efficient as one test can be completed in 5-20 seconds. The fast testing rate opens potential to conduct more tests to ensure the quality of the products before they are shipped.
However, not all food packaging will be suitable to be tested with this method. The tested package need to have a headspace or modified air to ensure accurate leak detection. It is also not suitable for testing product that contains moisture as the presence of moisture may mask the leaking packages, which can give unreliable results. It is best suited for testing seal integrity in dry food products like milk powder, biscuits, sandwich boxes, animal foods, sausage skins, and snacks. Therefore, it is not suitable for testing vacuum packed packaging which is common for meat or cheese-based products.
How does Sealtick Leak Testing Equipment used in Industrial Environment?
Sealtick’s non-destructive packaging leak testing equipment comes with robust, stainless steel housing that is suitable to be installed in the production and industrial environment. Quality control personnel will randomly pick any number of products to check its seal integrity. To initiate the test, the packaged product is placed in the test chamber and close the lids. The equipment can give accurate results within 5-15 seconds. Therefore, the test results are objective and are reliable as it minimizes human error.
The Sealtick non-destructive leak tester offers opportunity for food manufacturers to safely and reliably test their products with minimum waste. There is an initial cost for capital investment to be paid. However, the device offers potential for fast return of investment, which can be calculated and depends on the amount of samples tested per day. It is also robust and can be used for long-term application without needing to purchase a replacement system.
