Modern Pumping Today February 2025 - 20

MAINTENANCE & RELIABILITY
CHECKWEIGHERS OF THE
PAST, PRESENT, AND FUTURE
Current advances in accuracy and reliability have ancient origins
BY MATTHEW GIDMAN FORTRESS TECHNOLOGY
F
rom manual weight checks
using balance scales to
advanced automated
checkweighing systems, we have
always needed weighing technology
throughout food production history.
Below, we will delve into their origins,
how the technology evolved and
why these machines continue to
remain integral to trading standards,
consumer rights, brand protection.
and quality control.
Product Manager Matthew Gidman explains how checkweighing technology has evolved throughout the ages.
WEIGHING IN ON
CHECKWEIGHERS
The top priority for any food
manufacturer is to deliver high quality
food products that are safe for human
consumption. In today's rapidly
evolving food sector, processors
face intense competition, changes
in consumer trends and purchasing
patterns and stricter regulatory
pressures, as well as fluctuating costs
of ingredients and ever-expanding
product SKUs.
One thing is for certain: consumers
no longer tolerate inconsistencies in
A law enacted around 1266 in England first
regulated the size and weight of bread and beer.
20 | FEBRUARY 2025
their food products, and neither does
the US Food & Drug Administration
(FDA). The consequences of a food
pack containing an amount that
is different to what is stipulated
on the packaging can be serious,
particularly for consumers of weight
loss, 'free-from,' and infant foods.
Detrimental effects can range from
costly, brand-damaging recalls, to
adverse, life-threatening reactions that
could shut down a food business. In
regions where weights and measures
standards are stricter, intentionally
and knowingly distributing
underweight products could be
deemed fraud.
The recent industry's emphasis
on optimizing productivity and
increasing sustainability has led
to overfilling-a method typically
used by manufacturers to avoid
falling foul of weight legislations-
being regarded as a wasteful and
uneconomical practice. Now more
than ever, it is imperative that food
manufacturers utilize highly-sensitive,
smart checkweighing technology to
improve their production processes,
protect consumer health and safety,
MPT
and gain a competitive edge in the
rapidly expanding food industry.
A TIMELINE OF
CHECKWEIGHING
Throughout the ages, weighing
scales and weights and measures
legislations have played a crucial role
in agriculture and food production.
The earliest known scales used in
the food trade were called balance
scales. These were found in Ancient
Rome and Egypt and were used
to determine the weight, and
subsequent value, of merchants'
goods. The food product would be
placed on one pan with weights
added to the other until the two
pans were balanced, indicating the
food's value.
Weights and measures regulations
are also far from new. Historical
references to food quality
management date as far back as
1266, when the Assize of Bread and
Ale in medieval England regulated
the price, weight, and quality of bread
and beer. Several centuries later,
in 1785, the state of Massachusetts
passed what is believed to be the
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Modern Pumping Today February 2025

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