Vulnerability In The Tablet Press Rooms

By: Ray Spurgeon, Eriez Product Manager-Inspection Systems

With comprehensive IQ, OQ and PQ’s, the pharmaceutical industry has THE MOST stringent quality guidelines in place to ensure product consistency and efficacy. Yet when it comes to foreign object detection, most companies leave themselves vulnerable as they restrict inspection of foreign objects to the tablet press rooms using metal detectors. Moreover, everyone would agree that it is ALWAYS best to scan finished products for foreign objects after packaging. After all, what could possibly get into a packaged product when it has been sealed? And yet, few companies do. But why?

The decision to scan in tablet press rooms will eventually prove costly as it leaves plenty of opportunity for contaminates to be introduced into the product from downstream process equipment and sadly, even sabotage. In the past, metal detectors in tablet press rooms were the only option available for inspection, but processors now have a better choice: X-ray technology. So why are tablet press rooms so popular for inspection?