Mike Randall, ceo at Lock Inspection Systems says: "In the last three years we've seen steady growth in the number of twin-head systems we're being asked to supply. There is an overall trend within the food industry towards running several different products on one line, rather than having dedicated lines. This obviously places greater demands on metal detection equipment, as machines must be able to handle a broader range of products and packaging, yet still meet the ever more exacting sensitivity standards set by retailers."

Nichols produces vending packs of condiments and beverages and many of its products are supplied in foil lined packaging. Looking for metal in foil is challenging as the packaging material emits large product signals, due to its metallic content. The FerroChek is able to overlook the aluminium foil packaging and detect smaller particles of ferrous metal inside the product.

The detector is used in conjunction with a MET 30+ 3f, which, "unlike other metal detectors", operates at three crystal frequencies – low, medium and high. The detector's automatic frequency selection facility will choose the optimum frequency for the application in hand.