J.O. Spice Tackles Seafood Seasoning Safety with Metal Detector from Mettler-Toledo Safeline

J.O. Spice Company is a family-owned manufacturer of crab and seafood seasonings. At their start in 1945, the original husband-and-wife team commercialized recipes that were handed down through generations. Now a fourth-generation company, they continue to achieve success by supplying excellent products at reasonable prices. To help ensure final product quality, J.O. Spice installed a new Signature Touch metal detector from Mettler-Toledo (mt.com/pi) Safeline in 2017.

“Before we bought our first metal detector almost ten years ago, we did our due diligence and considered multiple suppliers. We chose Mettler-Toledo Safeline because of their high-quality equipment and outstanding reputation,” says Donald Ports, President of J.O. Spice and the grandson of the founders. “We purchased our first Safeline metal detector in 2009 and a second one in 2010. They’ve both operated great over the years. Our sales rep, Dick DeNenno from Reliant Packaging Machinery, is very knowledgeable and helped us select the new Signature Touch last year.”

J.O. Spice needed a new metal detector with a tall aperture as they prepare to set up a fully automated packaging line. With their old metal detector, boxes needed to be manually laid down on their side and then stood back up for palletizing. They selected a new Signature Touch with an aperture size of 14 inches wide and 20 inches tall, so 25 to 50 lb. bulk boxes and cases of retail packs can go through the system upright. “We have to send boxes through upright in order to automate the line. Although it’s not fully automated yet, we’re already saving time because we don’t have to lay boxes down and stand them back up,” notes Ports. “Those seconds accumulate and quickly pay for our new metal detector.”

At their facility in Baltimore, Maryland, J.O. Spice manufactures both private label and J.O. Spice branded products, which include seasonings, spices, batters, breadings and soup mixes for retail, foodservice and food processing customers. Products are packaged in film bags, plastic tubs, plastic bottles and corrugated boxes with liners in sizes ranging from 1 oz. to 75 lb.

The Signature Touch enables up to 100 different products to be stored in memory for quick recall during changeovers, while the ‘product clustering’ capability minimizes the need to change these settings. A new product is easily added with the single-pass auto set-up routine.