Latest / Through the Line: Packaging and Processing / Inspection and Detection Trends at PACK EXPO 2025: ProFood World

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Inspection and Detection Trends at PACK EXPO 2025: ProFood World · Through the Line: Packaging and Processing

• 0:03
  SPEAKER_00: Welcome to Through the Line, the podcast exploring innovations and information across the packaging and processing landscape.
• 0:11
  SPEAKER_00: From topics impacting consumer packaged goods and healthcare packaging to the latest technologies in food processing operations.
• 0:22
  SPEAKER_01: Hi everyone, I'm Casey Flanagan with ProFood World.
• 0:25
  SPEAKER_01: I'm here with my colleague Derek Thiel, editor-in-chief of ProFood World, and we are here to tell you about our innovations reports.
• 0:31
  SPEAKER_01: And so the last year was our second year ever doing this, and it is a roundup of all of the biggest innovations that happened at PacExpo.
• 0:40
  SPEAKER_01: We have PacExpo Las Vegas' innovation reports out now, been out for a couple months now, and it is a great roundup to basically see the show in the click of a button on your computer.
• 0:51
  SPEAKER_02: Definitely worth it.
• 0:51
  SPEAKER_01: They're a lot of work.
• 0:52
  SPEAKER_02: So I hope people look at them.
• 0:54
  SPEAKER_01: Exactly.
• 0:55
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, we really scour the show floor with this.
• 0:57
  SPEAKER_01: So it is a waiver of love, and we are hoping that it's a really helpful tool.
• 1:02
  SPEAKER_02: It's fun though.
• 1:03
  SPEAKER_02: It is a good excuse to get out there and see all the stuff.
• 1:05
  SPEAKER_02: Not that we wouldn't be driven to go out there and see these things anyway, but it's nice to, you know, it's a because it's a little bit extra than what we would normally do, like with all the video that we take, people can actually get a firsthand look at what these machines are capable of.
• 1:21
  SPEAKER_01: Exactly.
• 1:21
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, it's really hands-on.
• 1:23
  SPEAKER_01: If you check out these reports, you're basically on the show floor because you're having these booth representatives explain firsthand exactly what's great about their machinery and what's innovative about it.
• 1:33
  SPEAKER_01: And we're really looking for what's new on the show floor.
• 1:36
  SPEAKER_01: So this isn't just everyone's flagship product.
• 1:39
  SPEAKER_01: This is the most innovative thing that we found out there.
• 1:41
  SPEAKER_01: So it's a pretty cool roundup each year.
• 1:43
  SPEAKER_02: It's brand new to Pac Expo.
• 1:45
  SPEAKER_02: That's one of the criterion, it has to be brand new to Pac Expo for us to cover it.
• 1:49
  SPEAKER_02: Exactly.
• 1:49
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
• 1:50
  SPEAKER_01: And Pac Expo 2026, Pac Expo International coming up in just about a month.
• 1:55
  SPEAKER_01: I want to check out our inspection detection report from PacExpo Las Vegas as a great starting point to look at what we're going to see this year.
• 2:01
  SPEAKER_01: And so one of the major themes that we saw last year and that we actually saw continue and maybe expand a little bit as we went to InterPAC a few months later was multifunction machinery.
• 2:13
  SPEAKER_01: And Darek, could you tell the people what we were seeing at InterPAC that was so unique with that?
• 2:18
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah, between InterPAC and PACExpo Las Vegas, we saw quite a few things.
• 2:22
  SPEAKER_02: There's a little bit of different definition of multifunctionality at InterPAC.
• 2:27
  SPEAKER_02: What we saw was a combo of different functions within inspection detection.
• 2:33
  SPEAKER_02: So not only would you see X-ray, you'd see some check weighing, you'd see visual inspection, all these things are getting combined into one machine at Interpack.
• 2:42
  SPEAKER_02: And we saw a little bit of that at PacExpo, but I really think that especially for smaller and mid-sized manufacturers that might not have a lot of money where they can go out and spend money on a different machine for each aspect of inspection, that these all-in-ones really offer a one-size-fits-all or one-stop shop for that.
• 3:04
  SPEAKER_02: And it really benefits smaller and mid-sized manufacturers to have all that.
• 3:08
  SPEAKER_02: But there and there are definitely some brands that have that, but it's not just that having all that functionality in one, there are there are different forms of functionality, like as we saw, like different frequencies of inspection detection.
• 3:21
  SPEAKER_02: I know we saw some of that last year at PacExpo Las Vegas, where different materials are detected at different frequencies.
• 3:29
  SPEAKER_02: And so being able to do that, so the benefit of that is again, you don't have to have two machines or have a long changeover if you're going to change frequencies.
• 3:39
  SPEAKER_02: It's just within this, it's just a few buttons, and boom, you can detect.
• 3:42
  SPEAKER_02: If you're I can't off the top of my head, something like cheese might have different frequencies or different frequencies to detect stuff within the cheese versus another substance, and I'm blanking on something else that would go along with that right off the top of my head that would come off the same line as cheese.
• 3:57
  SPEAKER_02: But anyway, that's hopefully hopefully you get the idea.
• 4:00
  SPEAKER_01: Exactly.
• 4:01
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
• 4:01
  SPEAKER_01: And one thing that I saw was ones that are using those multiple frequencies to check for say it's like ferris versus non-ferrous versus even stainless steel, was another one that they were looking for.
• 4:12
  SPEAKER_01: And if you attack it from multiple frequencies, you're able to just make sure you're getting all of that.
• 4:17
  SPEAKER_01: And so that was something that I felt was distinct between what we saw at in Las Vegas versus in Düsseldorf at InterPAC was it was in at InterPAC, it was the multi-function, say it is label inspection plus x-ray, two totally different things, but under one housing, versus uh in Las Vegas, it was going after one function, but attacking it from multiple angles.
• 4:40
  SPEAKER_01: So it's all X-ray, but it's the multi-frequency to make sure you're getting everything.
• 4:45
  SPEAKER_01: So two different routes for the multi-use, I guess.
• 4:49
  SPEAKER_02: But I would expect to see more of what we saw at Interpac at Pac Expo International this year.
• 4:56
  SPEAKER_01: Exactly.
• 4:56
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
• 4:57
  SPEAKER_01: I think just by the fact that it was like, I don't know exactly how many months, but maybe six or so, seven or so months later, after it seems like it was yesterday, though.
• 5:05
  SPEAKER_01: It really does.
• 5:06
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
• 5:07
  SPEAKER_01: But just by the fact that was the the next big show that we went to go see, and it was like a kind of a a different landscape in this place.
• 5:14
  SPEAKER_01: I really would expect to see more of that multifunction in the way that we saw at Interpack over in Chicago this year.
• 5:19
  SPEAKER_02: And one thing that we saw a lot of at Interpack that I really expect to see more of.
• 5:23
  SPEAKER_02: We even we went into seeing to when we went into Interpack, we didn't expect to see a lot of it necessarily, but hey, that's something we've been talking about here and on our end of the line podcast every every Friday.
• 5:34
  SPEAKER_02: We air them on Monday, drop them on Monday, I should say.
• 5:36
  SPEAKER_02: But yeah, that's something that we saw a lot of at Interpak and how it's being used to enhance inspection.
• 5:43
  SPEAKER_02: Again, we did see some of that last year too, though.
• 5:46
  SPEAKER_02: I um thinking of typical AI, number one, that's one that I checked out, and yeah, it's being used to I have to we have to qualify that a little bit because there was a difference between AI and just training, visually training a machine.
• 6:02
  SPEAKER_02: That though those terms get conflated, where they're actually what we're talking about is an AI system that learns on its own as opposed to just giving it a bunch of images where it's able to start detecting stuff on its own and learn from that on its own.
• 6:19
  SPEAKER_02: So that's a difference between training machine with a bunch of images versus it detects something and you're then gonna tell it yes or no, and then it learns from that.
• 6:30
  SPEAKER_01: You really gotta be aware of the difference between something that was just an algorithm and a company can slap on the AI label on it versus something like that.
• 6:38
  SPEAKER_01: Called marketing.
• 6:39
  SPEAKER_01: Yep, exactly.
• 6:41
  SPEAKER_01: So yeah, that is but I do see more genuine AI happening, and we did see that even at in in Las Vegas last year, and we definitely saw it in Interpack.
• 6:50
  SPEAKER_01: So it I'm sure it'll be coming back.
• 6:52
  SPEAKER_01: There's no way that's going away.
• 6:56
  SPEAKER_01: Exactly, knowing the current zeitgeist zeitgeist of it.
• 6:58
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, and it's interesting the different functions that AI can play when it comes to machinery.
• 7:05
  SPEAKER_01: It can the occipital AI one that you mentioned, like that, it was simulating the say a million different scenarios on how there could be a defect in a certain product to really cover all the bases for it, versus something like Eeries in Las Vegas that were showing an auto-learning algorithm that it allowed you to throw in new products very quickly.
• 7:27
  SPEAKER_01: So if you have a lot of changeovers happening, or if you're trying to do something very fast-paced and flexible, you can train it very quickly due to the AI that they've they've integrated in and there, and it'll start to understand what a defect will look like in that new product very fast.
• 7:44
  SPEAKER_01: I think it was.
• 7:45
  SPEAKER_01: I recognized it.
• 7:46
  SPEAKER_01: Seeing that in the innovation report, I was like, oh yeah, there it is again.
• 7:49
  SPEAKER_01: So yeah, but then there's even the other uh another angle to this of TDI Paxis demonstrated how AI can be used to go beyond just colors into detecting twigs or broken items and other things that are might be totally random and might look different each time, but the AI can identify it just based on being a bit smarter.
• 8:10
  SPEAKER_02: And that's useful, especially when it comes to things like quality control and sorting, because it is able to detect something.
• 8:17
  SPEAKER_02: Whereas if you're doing that by hand, who who's on that, who's on the end of the line doing that sorting, doing that inspection?
• 8:23
  SPEAKER_02: Do they have the same sort of standards as another person on another shift?
• 8:28
  SPEAKER_02: Whereas a machine, if you're set it up, those people can do other tasks while this machine itself is going to be able to detect the same thing every single time, and it doesn't really tire out.
• 8:39
  SPEAKER_02: And so that's one of the benefits to having a machine like this that's using AI that can learn and detect and make not really make judgment calls per se, but it's able to be very uh a lot more consistent than an individual.
• 8:51
  SPEAKER_02: And so, yeah, it does increase accuracy and efficiency.
• 8:56
  SPEAKER_01: Absolutely.
• 8:57
  SPEAKER_01: All right, and then another theme that I think is ever present, something that it they are just like AI, it is just more and more companies are making sure their machinery is fitted with with design features that that play to this is sanitation and cleanability.
• 9:10
  SPEAKER_02: Well, understandably, given all the recalls, I shouldn't say all the recalls, but it's becoming a lot more, I think consumers are becoming a lot more aware of it, aware of the recalls and a lot more just because of the seriousness that we've seen with a few of the recalls, just the summer alone, has been very enlightening in a way in terms of the importance of ensuring sustain or cleanability within your plants.
• 9:37
  SPEAKER_01: Exactly.
• 9:38
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, and the funny thing that I was thinking with this was we were reviewing sanitation and cleanability in regards to inspection detection.
• 9:45
  SPEAKER_01: And it's funny thinking about inspection machinery being part of the problem for making a recall if it's dirty and it starts to contaminate your product.
• 9:54
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, there's some irony in there, and so so it is it's really important to make sure that the your safety machinery is not part of what's harming your safety in the plant.
• 10:04
  SPEAKER_01: And so we did see a lot of companies that were playing to that, like Eagle product inspections, Eagle Pack 400 HC.
• 10:10
  SPEAKER_01: They were using levers and pins to be able to easily remove the front door of their system and be able to clean the conveyor very quickly.
• 10:18
  SPEAKER_01: So that was one and similar things down the line, magnetic products uh incorporated's Intelemag system.
• 10:25
  SPEAKER_01: That was this is a a bit of a different angle too that I thought was interesting.
• 10:29
  SPEAKER_01: They are displaying machine metrics in real time on the HMI, and so it's automatically saying, Hey, this are the magnets oversaturated and you need to clean it.
• 10:38
  SPEAKER_01: So it it takes the the brain work away, like you don't have to worry about constantly checking it as an operator.
• 10:45
  SPEAKER_01: So that was an interesting one.
• 10:46
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah, and I remember talking to Whippotech at last year's show, and just the design of the machines themselves, like they're sloped in most cases, just to get the runoff and welding.
• 10:58
  SPEAKER_02: It's funny, you talk to so many people, and when you talk about losing workforce or people going out of retirement, what's the biggest fear is some of these OEMs are the people that do the welding because it's such an art form, and you have to make sure that those weld and seams are completely solid and so that they don't offer places for bacteria to collect and harbor and create issues.
• 11:20
  SPEAKER_02: And that's a lot of what the machinery manufacturers like Whippatech were talking about with their SE40 modular X-ray, and it's got that like a laser cut frame, again, no hollow sections, and it has that stainless steel stainless steel conveyor deck, and to make it easy, not only to make it uh easy for cleanability, but easy to access for maintenance, because again, we want to make sure that your floor is running as much as possible.
• 11:45
  SPEAKER_02: So I expect to see more of that this year.
• 11:48
  SPEAKER_02: Continued up, I should say a continued emphasis on that, but maybe they'll come out with something new that will be something that we didn't expect that we didn't talk about.
• 11:57
  SPEAKER_02: I guess people have to check out this year's innovations reports to find out.
• 12:03
  SPEAKER_01: Exactly.
• 12:04
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, I think that's the beauty of this, is we're gonna find out and we're gonna be able to tell this to you folks.
• 12:08
  SPEAKER_01: Be sure to check out the this year's innovation reports.
• 12:11
  SPEAKER_01: We'll see if there is any new innovation in the area of sanitation or AI or multi-function machinery.
• 12:18
  SPEAKER_01: Check out last year's report because that's out now.
• 12:20
  SPEAKER_01: The innovation reports for all the solutions that we found at PacExpo Las Vegas.
• 12:24
  SPEAKER_01: I think there's over 20 of them.
• 12:25
  SPEAKER_01: So covering each of the fruits and vegetables, dairy, all sorts.
• 12:29
  SPEAKER_02: And that doesn't even get into the packaging side of things.
• 12:32
  SPEAKER_01: Yep, exactly.
• 12:34
  SPEAKER_01: These are a major project, and it's really something to give a look if you're looking for your next machinery solution.
• 12:39
  SPEAKER_01: And so at that, make sure to sign up now for first access to get our next innovation reports, which will come out maybe a couple months after Pac Expo International, where we'll round up all the highlights that we saw from this year's show.
• 12:51
  SPEAKER_01: We'll make sure that we have that link down in this this piece here.
• 12:53
  SPEAKER_01: Thanks, Derek, for talking with me.
• 12:55
  SPEAKER_01: Of course.
• 12:58
  SPEAKER_00: Thank you for listening to Through the Line Packaging and Processing.
• 13:01
  SPEAKER_00: You can listen to more episodes on all streaming platforms.
• 13:05
  SPEAKER_00: Be sure to visit us at packworld.com, profoodworld.com, and healthcarepackaging.com for more packaging and processing news.
• 13:14
  SPEAKER_00: This podcast was edited by Bree Guns.