The Dutch equivalent of Mom’s Meals and Meals on Wheels is CareMeals Europe B.V. For over 18 years, the company has relied on Shanghai Fanchi-tech Machinery Co., Ltd. (Fanchi-tech) to deliver an added layer of food safety assurance across its production operations. Most recently, CareMeals added six ultra hygienic, clean in place Fanchi-tech conveyor metal detectors to its lines to inspect over 15000 hand prepared and daily packed meals.

Food safety is essential in any market. However, when producing meals for vulnerable groups or post surgery meals for hospital patients and care home residents, CareMeals implements enhanced inspection, preparation, and hygiene protocols to ensure the highest level of food safety assurance. The company has integrated over 20 Fanchi-tech conveyor and pipeline food metal detection systems into its facilities. The six new conveyor metal detectors were installed by TechFood Solutions B.V., a local food safety equipment specialist and longstanding Fanchi-tech partner. Additionally, two more Fanchi-tech conveyor metal detector orders have been confirmed for upcoming line expansions.

Founded in 1956, CareMeals Europe has grown into one of Europe’s leading and most reputable food and beverage suppliers serving the healthcare and corporate catering sectors. Initially producing and packing meals manually in small batches, the company has expanded significantly and now employs over 1000 people in a highly automated production facility. Demonstrating its end to end capabilities, CareMeals operates an in house butcher’s shop, poultry processing plant, vegetable processing facility, green agricultural department, commercial scale walk in freezers and refrigeration units, and a professional central kitchen.

Thousands of meals and food products are cooked, cooled, frozen, packaged, labeled, and delivered fresh to the company’s central logistics center daily. From there, meals are picked, crated alongside a wide range of groceries, and dispatched fresh to caterers, care institutions, and hospitals across Europe.

Every meal from our extensive menu of more than 600 recipes receives the same attention to detail. Although much of the chopping, preparation, and portioning is now automated to handle the high volume of meals we produce, like many premium kitchens, much of the cooking process remains in the hands of our chefs to preserve taste and consistent high quality, confirms Convenience Manager Geert Dimmendaal.

CareMeals offers a full range of products, including lactose free, egg free, nut free, and gluten free meals, as well as protein and nutrient rich options for post surgery clients. Packaging varies from bulk shared meals for residential groups to individual portions to minimize waste, and some meals are even served on returnable porcelain plates.

Given the wide variety of product recipes, preparation methods, and portion sizes, the ability to detect metal with high sensitivity and calibrate for multiple products in a single pass is a critical requirement. Gerard Schuurman, Director at TechFood Solutions, confirms, Fanchi-tech conveyor metal detectors are renowned for their exceptional reliability, ease of use, safety, sensitivity, and hygiene.

Powered by advanced digital signal processing (DSP) technology, CareMeals’ metal detectors act as a critical control point at the end of six packaging lines. Each meal is top sealed and labeled with all required legislative details, including preparation and cooking instructions, expiration dates, and allergen information, before passing through the metal detector aperture.

The smooth, stable conveyor design ensures consistent transport of meals of all shapes, sizes, and packaging types, eliminating product shifting that can cause false rejects or missed contaminants.

Machine sensors are integrated throughout the entire inspection process. When ready meals enter each metal detector at a rate of 30 packs per minute, an infeed sensor detects product presence. The infeed sensor also ensures every product is presented centrally, which optimizes the sensitivity and performance of the metal detector.

If no contamination is detected, an outfeed sensor confirms the pack exits the metal detector safely. If contamination is identified, a dedicated reject sensor tracks the removal of the affected product into sealed, secure bins, ensuring no contaminated product reaches the supply chain.

It is a seamless and failsafe process. Each machine is integrated with Fanchi-tech Connect Data Management Software, which logs every sensor activity, error message, and detection signal in real time. For CareMeals, this automated data extraction simplifies their HACCP and audit documentation processes, explains Gerard.

CareMeals also uses Fanchi-tech pipeline metal detectors in its meat cutting and meal preparation departments to inspect liquids, ground vegetables, and meat broths, adding an extra layer of safety for free flowing ingredients at every production stage.

CareMeals adheres to strict HACCP and SkaL FSSC22000 hygiene standards. Food safety and cleaning efficiency are critical for our consumers, says Geert, emphasizing the company’s rigorous approach to hygiene protocols and equipment maintenance.

The CareMeals team particularly values the Clean in Place (CIP) features on their machines, which they report save significant time and ensure the highest hygiene standards are maintained consistently.

The Fanchi-tech conveyor metal detector features a fully sealed, crevice free 304 stainless steel frame, and its conveyor belts are engineered for thorough cleaning without removal. This drastically reduces machine downtime and eliminates cross contamination risks, which is essential for the preparation of allergen free meals.

Hygienic inspection machines further improve product safety. Customers are often amazed at how compact and user friendly Fanchi-tech metal detectors are. Many are surprised that such sensitive electrical equipment can withstand high pressure cleaning protocols. The design and performance give 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, assures Geert.

These significant machinery investments by CareMeals, including the Fanchi-tech metal detectors, are driven by the company’s urgent need to expand production capacity to meet the demands of Europe’s rapidly growing healthcare meal market.

For food manufacturers serving healthcare, senior care, and vulnerable consumer segments, Fanchi-tech conveyor and pipeline metal detectors deliver the precision, hygiene, and reliability you need to protect your brand and ensure full regulatory compliance.

Contact Kerry Wang today to schedule a free virtual demo or on site trial of Fanchi-tech metal detection solutions, customized to your production line and product requirements.

Shanghai Fanchi-tech Machinery Co., Ltd.

Email: fanchitech@outlook.com
Website: www.fanchitechnology.com