Packaging & Inspection
Vertical Form Fill Seal Machine
Snack, nut, frozen food, grain and powder producers moving from manual bagging to automatic packing.
Rated in finished bags per minute, set by bag length, fill weight and film
Equipment group 09
Packaging & Inspection
The end of the line: weighing, bagging, pouch and tray packing, liquid filling, and inspection with metal detectors, X-ray systems and checkweighers.
Single machines
Machines you can buy on their own or add to an existing line. Each page lists the forms available and what we check before quoting.
Packaging & Inspection
Premade Pouch Packaging Machine
Brands and co-packers selling snacks, nuts, spices, sauces or pet food in stand-up and zipper pouches.
Rated in filled pouches per minute, set by pouch size, product and dosing
Packaging & Inspection
Multihead Weigher
Snack, nut, confectionery, frozen and fresh food packers who need fast, accurate portions.
Rated in weighments per minute, matched to the packing machine
Packaging & Inspection
Liquid Filling Machine
Beverage, edible oil, sauce and condiment producers filling bottles, jars or cans.
Rated in filled containers per hour, set by fill volume and container
Packaging & Inspection
Tray Sealer
Ready meal, fresh-cut, meat and central kitchen operations packing in trays.
Rated in sealed trays per minute, set by tray size and sealing cycle
Packaging & Inspection
Vacuum Packaging Machine
Meat, sausage, cheese, nut and rice processors packing in vacuum bags.
Rated in sealed bags per cycle and cycles per minute, set by bag size and vacuum level
Packaging & Inspection
Food Metal Detector
Food plants that must screen products for metal before shipping or before critical machines.
Matched to line speed (m/min or pieces/min); sensitivity depends on product and aperture
Packaging & Inspection
In-line Checkweigher
Packers who need to prove net contents and catch underfilled or overfilled packs.
Rated in packs per minute; accuracy depends on pack weight and speed
Packaging & Inspection
Food X-ray Inspection System
Food plants with foil packs, bone or stone risk, or customers who require X-ray inspection.
Matched to line speed; detection depends on product thickness and contaminant
How to choose food packaging and inspection machines
Short answer: Start from the pack your customers buy — bag, pouch, tray, bottle, jar or vacuum pack — and the product going into it. That decides the packing machine and the weigher or filler that feeds it; inspection is then chosen from your food safety plan and your buyers’ requirements, not added as an afterthought.
Machines and lines in this group
| Machine or line | What it does | Choose it when |
|---|---|---|
| Multihead Weigher | Combines weigh hoppers to hit a target pack weight | You pack loose solids such as snacks, nuts or frozen pieces |
| Vertical Form Fill Seal Machine | Forms bags from roll film, fills and seals them | You sell pillow or gusset bags and want low pack cost |
| Premade Pouch Packaging Machine | Opens, fills and seals ready-made pouches | You sell stand-up or zipper pouches |
| Liquid Filling Machine | Doses liquids and pastes into bottles, jars or cans | You pack drinks, oils, sauces or condiments |
| Tray Sealer | Seals film onto trays, with modified atmosphere or skin options | You pack ready meals, fresh-cut produce or meat in trays |
| Vacuum Packaging Machine | Removes air from bags and seals them | You pack meat, cheese, sausages, rice or nuts under vacuum |
| Food Metal Detector | Detects and rejects packs or product containing metal | Metal is a hazard in your plan or your buyers require detection |
| Food X-ray Inspection System | Finds dense foreign bodies and checks fill or shape | You pack in foil, need bone or stone detection, or customers require X-ray |
| In-line Checkweigher | Weighs every pack and rejects out-of-limit ones | You must prove net content and control giveaway |
How to choose
- Fix the pack format and size range. List every pack size and type you will sell now and plan to sell. Bag width, pouch style or tray size changes the machine and the change parts.
- Match the dosing method to the product. Free-flowing solids suit a multihead weigher; powders a screw doser; liquids and pastes a filler. Sticky, fragile or frozen products need special feed and contact surfaces.
- Set speed in packs per minute at your real pack weight. Speed depends on pack size, film, product and seal time, so a nameplate maximum is not your output. Size against the processing line’s finished output.
- Choose inspection from your hazard analysis. Metal detection, X-ray and checkweighing answer different risks. Decide where in the line each one sits and how rejected packs are collected and recorded.
- Check hygiene and changeover. Hygienic design matters for open product zones in packing machines too; industry guidance from EHEDG covers packing systems for solid foods. Ask how product-contact parts are removed and cleaned, and how long a size change takes.
- Plan the space around the machines. Film storage, platforms, reject bins, compressed air and case packing all take room, and operators need safe access for film changes, cleaning and testing the detectors.
Common mistakes
- Buying a packing machine on maximum speed, then finding the real speed for your pack is much lower.
- Choosing a metal detector without checking whether your foil packaging rules it out.
- Placing the checkweigher where packs are still moving unsteadily, which hurts accuracy.
- Leaving no buffer between processing and packing, so every packing stop stops the whole line.
For complete lines that include packing and inspection, see the roasted nut plant, the biscuit and snack plant or our turnkey projects page.
Questions about this equipment group
In what order should weighing, packing and inspection machines be placed?
A common order is product feed, weigher or doser, packing machine, then metal detector or X-ray, then checkweigher, then case packing. Some plants also inspect bulk product before packing, which finds contaminants earlier and allows a more sensitive setting. The right order depends on your hazard analysis, pack type and line speed, so we confirm it with your quality team.
Should packaging and inspection be bought from the same supplier as the processing line?
It is not required, but one supplier for the end of the line makes signals, reject systems, conveyor heights and speeds easier to match. If you already own some packing machines, send their details — speed, infeed height, control signals — so new equipment fits them. Either way, ask for a single layout drawing of the whole packing area.
How should the packing line be sized against the processing line?
Packing machines rarely run at their nameplate speed all day because of film changes, product changes and short stops. Size the packing line with some reserve above average processing output, or add a buffer such as a holding hopper or accumulation table, so the process line does not have to stop when the packer does.
Sources
- [1]EHEDG Guidelines (including Doc. 29 on hygienic design of packing systems for solid foodstuffs)— European Hygienic Engineering & Design Group (EHEDG)
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