Just the Cheese: Fanchi-tech FA-MD Pro Metal Detector Safeguards Luxury Artisan Cheeses for Marks & Spencer
Crestwood Artisan Dairy—one of the UK’s most established luxury cheese and specialty chilled food suppliers—has selected Shanghai Fanchi-tech Machinery Co., Ltd. and its award-winning FA-MD Pro Metal Detector System to ensure the purity and safety of its new range of 11 Artisan cheeses, exclusively crafted for retail giant Marks & Spencer.
With 42 years of heritage, Crestwood Artisan Dairy began in Peckham, London, and has grown into a BRC-accredited industry leader. Operating from two purpose-built facilities in Paddock Wood, Kent, the company supplies over 1,000 product lines—including its iconic “Clemency Hall” branded cheeses—to major supermarkets, delis, farm shops, butchers, and premium retailers. Boasting an annual turnover of £40 million, Crestwood prides itself on product integrity, skilled craftsmanship, and same-day delivery—making quality and safety non-negotiable for its luxury brand.
“Our reputation is built on delivering exceptional, pure Artisan cheeses,” said Jason Fisher, Head of Operations at Crestwood Artisan Dairy. “For our new Marks & Spencer range, we needed an inspection solution that matched our commitment to excellence—one that could detect the smallest metal contaminants without compromising efficiency or accuracy.”
The Challenge: Precision Metal Detection for Hand-Cut Cheeses & RFID Compatibility
Crestwood Artisan Dairy faced unique hurdles that demanded a specialized metal detection solution:
- Microscopic Metal Contaminant Risk: All 11 Artisan cheeses are hand-cut with wire, creating a risk of tiny metal fragments. The detector needed uncompromising sensitivity to identify even the smallest hazards—critical for protecting consumers and upholding Marks & Spencer’s strict quality standards.
- RFID Interference: To comply with industry traceability requirements, Crestwood uses metal RFID tags on all trays for end-to-end delivery tracking. Standard metal detectors often misinterpret these tags as contaminants, causing costly false rejects that disrupted production flow.
- Product Variability: The 11 Artisan cheeses vary widely in moisture content, salt levels, density, and size—each emitting distinct product signals that can skew detection accuracy. With six cutting lines running diverse products, the solution needed to adapt seamlessly without constant operator intervention.
- Cost-Efficient Multi-Line Coverage: Crestwood sought a single system capable of serving all six lines, avoiding the expense of purchasing multiple detectors for different product types.
The Solution: Fanchi-tech FA-MD Pro Metal Detector System
After rigorous testing and consultation with Kerry Wang, Fanchi-tech’s EMEA Sales Director, Crestwood Artisan Dairy selected the FA-MD Pro Metal Detector—engineered to address its unique challenges head-on:
1. Ultra-High Sensitivity for Tiny Metal Fragments
The FA-MD Pro delivers class-leading sensitivity, detecting even minute metal fragments—critical for safeguarding hand-cut cheeses from wire fragments or processing debris. This precision ensures no contaminants slip through to consumers, aligning with Crestwood’s luxury brand promise.
2. RFID Signal Elimination Technology
Fanchi-tech’s innovative True Variable Frequency (TVF) technology solves the RFID interference problem. The FA-MD Pro “learns” the unique signal of Crestwood’s metal RFID tags, then filters it out entirely—ensuring only actual metal contaminants trigger rejects. This eliminated costly false alarms and streamlined production efficiency.
3. Adaptive Product Memory & Auto-Calibration
With a 200+ product memory and frequency range of 31–882 kHz, the FA-MD Pro seamlessly adapts to Crestwood’s diverse cheese range. Its automatic product learn function calibrates in seconds, adjusting for variations in moisture, salt, and density without manual input. This versatility allows one machine to serve all six cutting lines, reducing equipment costs significantly compared to lesser-quality, single-purpose detectors.
4. Tray-Friendly Reject System & Rugged Durability
Fanchi-tech customized the FA-MD Pro with a carriage track reject conveyor, which gently pushes contaminated trays onto a separate line. This ensures rejected products are isolated from safe batches, maintaining hygiene and operational flow. Built to Fanchi-tech’s “Designed to Survive” ethos, the FA-MD Pro features an IP69K-rated search head—resistant to high-pressure washdowns and harsh food production environments, ensuring long-term reliability.
5. User-Friendly Operation & Premium Support
The FA-MD Pro’s intuitive icon-driven control panel makes operation effortless, even for non-specialized staff. Crestwood also enrolled in Fanchi-tech’s Platinum Service Contract, ensuring fast, expert support and proactive maintenance to minimize downtime—critical for meeting same-day delivery commitments.
Client Testimonials: Efficiency, Accuracy, and Peace of Mind
“Choosing Fanchi-tech was an easy decision—they offered the complete package: deep industry knowledge, rigorous testing, a high-quality product, and competitive pricing,” said Fisher. “We share their focus on quality, and the FA-MD Pro has become invaluable to our operations. It handles our diverse cheese range flawlessly, and the RFID signal elimination has eliminated the false rejects that plagued our previous system.
What’s more, Fanchi-tech’s service and support are second to none. If we ever have a question, their team responds instantly—downtime costs us thousands, so knowing we have that safety net is priceless. We haven’t needed to use the Platinum Service yet, as the FA-MD Pro has been incredibly reliable, but it’s reassuring to have.”
Kathy Pattenden, Cutting Room Supervisor at Crestwood, echoed the praise: “Operating the FA-MD Pro daily is effortless. It meets our strict standards and Marks & Spencer’s codes of practice, and it has noticeably increased production efficiency. Our team can trust its accuracy, which lets them focus on crafting great cheese rather than troubleshooting equipment.”
Elevate Your Luxury Food Safety with Fanchi-tech FA-MD Pro
For specialty food producers prioritizing precision, efficiency, and brand protection—especially those crafting hand-cut cheeses, deli meats, or premium chilled products—the FA-MD Pro Metal Detector delivers unmatched performance. It safeguards your reputation, complies with retail and industry standards, and optimizes operational costs.
To learn how the FA-MD Pro can tailor a detection solution for your business, contact Kerry Wang at Shanghai Fanchi-tech Machinery Co., Ltd.:
- Email: fanchitech@outlook.com
- Website: www.fanchitechnology.com
Post time: Nov-14-2025