Gases and engineering company BOC has today launched its new MAPAX^® LD leak detection technology at AUSPACK in Melbourne, an innovative solution for the packaged goods industry that offers high-speed and non-destructive in-line leak detection.

Jon Hawton, Market Manager, Food & Beverage Bulk Gases explains that MAPAX^® LD uses hydrogen as the detection gas and detects faulty packages which can be removed from production chain more quickly and easily.

“This globally patented technology uniquely allows 100 percent of packages to be tested in a non-destructive manner which can prolong shelf-life. This is particularly important in the food industry. Previously production pauses and visual or water testing could only test the integrity of random samples of packages,” said Mr Hawton.

Leakage and failure often occurs when food packages are not all fully hermitically sealed. This can be due to poor sealing or physical damage such as pinholes, or when product gets caught in the seal and can lead to loss of shelf life, damaged products or poor appearance and therefore spoilage.

MAPAX^® LD is used on modified atmosphere production lines for a wide range of packaged goods. It allows all products to be tested and individual defective items to be removed. This reduces spoilage and minimises environmental impact, because only the leaking packs need to be destroyed instead of the entire batch.

“If only random checks are applied, this means that when a leak is found, the whole batch produced since the last check either has to be repackaged, disposed of or even recalled. MAPAX^® LD can help companies reduce these inefficiencies and keep production costs down,” added Mr Hawton.

MAPAX^® LD can be seen in action at BOC’s stand at the AUSPACK exhibition at Stand 548.

The MAPAX^® LD is now available throughout Australia and New Zealand. For more information please contact Jon Hawton jon.hawton@boc.com or Steve McLoughlin steve.mcloughlin@boc.com