Minneapolis-based Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. opened a new product contamination evaluation facility in Sugar Land, Texas, to help food manufacturers address safety and quality issues. The new facility, called Product Assurance Services and Solutions (PASS), offers rapid response for companies requiring thorough off-site packaged product evaluation due to foreign object contamination concerns. The PASS facility can also review products for processing anomalies (such as clumps), as well as missing components (partially-filled trays, etc.).

“We are here to help customers get answers quickly and accurately so that product recalls are avoided,” says Carl Palmer, PASS manager, North America. “Since we manufacture and sell state-of-the art metal detectors and X-ray equipment globally, we have access to the very latest technology and know the ideal operating parameters. If needed, we also can quickly obtain additional equipment to facilitate rapid evaluation of multiple truckload quantities.”

The objective is to quickly evaluate, identify contaminants, remove the problematic packages and return the “good” product back to the manufacturer so that it can continue on its distribution journey. The PASS facility inspection capabilities can handle a broad range of metal, glass, plastic or paper packaging types, including rigid and flexible structures such as steel cans, metalized film, plastic bottles, blister packs, folding cartons, multilayer materials and more.

This is Thermo Fisher Scientific’s second U.S. PASS location (the first one opened in Barrington, Ill., in 2010). They also have a PASS facility located in Rugby, Warwickshire, which serves the United Kingdom and Europe.