Enjoying life

Founded in 2001, Enjoy Life produces cookies, snack bars, chocolate bars, baking chocolate, seed and fruit mixes, and savoury snacks which are free from gluten and 14 common allergens at their state-of-the-art plant.
The product is supplied across the USA and Canada, as well as global markets such as South Africa, Israel, Mexico and Singapore.

Enjoy Life Foods – a rapidly growing manufacturer of certified gluten-free and Non-GMO Project verified snacks – recently installed four X5C Compact X-ray inspection units from Loma Systems at its 200,000-square-foot baking facility in Jeffersonville, IN.

Chosen for its reliability, robustness and space-saving design, the compact machine is inspecting a range of allergen-free snack bars wrapped in metallized film for contaminants.

“We decided to upgrade our inspection technology when we moved to the new plant and began using more metallized film packaging across some of our product lines,” Aaron Jackson, project engineer at Enjoy Life, says.

“We approached Loma due to past experiences with their metal detectors and checkweighers, their proven track record in the global food industry inspection market and the fact that they always stand behind their products.”

Enjoy Foods has installed the X5C X-ray system at the end of its packaging lines where it is inspecting wrapped solid chocolate bars and snack bars containing seeds, chocolate chips or caramel pieces.

The X5C is operating at speeds up to 240 packs per minute, on a continuous 24/7 basis.

Loma’s X5C model had been specifically developed for food manufacturers, processors and packers running multi-product lines who are looking to make the switch to X-ray technology for the first time.

The X5C is a compact, yet highly functional system, designed to diminish the cost of ownership of X-ray inspection technology by up to 30 per cent.

The fully specified X5C offers quality contaminant inspection using well-proven subcomponents and a streamlined design.

Enjoy Life Foods produces cookies, snack bars, chocolate bars, baking chocolate, seed and fruit mixes, and savoury snacks that are gluten-free and avoid at least 14 common allergens.

Snack foods often fluctuate in density that can make it difficult to find foreign bodies and create inspection challenges for manufacturers.

However, Loma’s X5C not only detects physical contaminants, it also inspects for proper fill level, seal defects, mass measurement and component counts.

Further speaking to its capabilities, the X5C can also identify lumps of product including seasoning or powder.

In addition, snacks that are packaged in metallized film or have variable product temperature and moisture content will have no effect on the detection sensitivity levels of Loma’s X5C.

Jackson continues: “Loma recommended the X5C due to our limited production space, budget restraints and its ability to reliably and accurately inspect snack bars wrapped in metallized film.

“In terms of cost, the unit compares extremely favourably with other types of inspection equipment.

“Although the X5C is a streamlined model, it has been optimized to give maximum performance. Offering good value for money, it provides reassurance that our quality control procedures meet customer requirements.”

The X5C is an ideal choice for the detection of glass, calcified bone, rubber, stone as well as ferrous, non-ferrous and stainless steel metal in various packaging.

It operates at line speeds up to 50 meters per minute and measures just one meter in length.

It is capable of handling products up to 100mm (height) x and 300mm (width) but weighing no more than 3-kg.

In line with CFR21 part 11 traceability, Loma’s X5C is multilevel password protected for improved data management, which means the system can log events against individual operators.

Produced from brushed stainless steel, it offers an ultra-hygienic design for easy cleaning, low maintenance and serviceability.

A quick release belt can be completely removed without the need for tools and the belt tension can also be eased for cleaning.

The X5C has sloping surfaces in order to decrease drying time and to stop food particles and washdown droplets from accumulating in crevices.

For significant energy saving benefits, the X5C incorporates a detector array with a 0.8mm diode pitch.

This provides a low power and self-contained high efficiency X-ray generator, resulting in the best balance of processing power to inspection capabilities.

This simple, effective cooling mechanism also plays a part in ensuring a prolonged tank life.

An Enjoy Life facility worker is pictured operating the X5C, which has a plethora of user-friendly interfaces including an intuitive touchscreen.

Designed to be user-friendly, the X5C features an easy to use eight-inch intuitive touch screen. The X5C PC has been migrated to a Windows Embedded Standard operating system, which ensures continued support from Microsoft.

In addition, it also features a highspeed USB port and a simple Ethernet connection for easy outputting of reports.

Since the installation of the X5C, production for Enjoy Life has been running smoother and has staff singing Loma’s praises. Jackson has praised Loma’s impeccable machinery and overall customer service during the buying process.

“The Loma X5C X-ray machine runs on a 24/7 basis and requires little or no attendance by staff,” adds Jackson.

“It is easy to install and simple to operate plus needs little maintenance.

Jackson concludes: “The overall service from Loma is excellent and I would happily recommend the company and its products to other food manufacturers.”