Fiasco Gelato Protects Product Safety with X-ray Inspection

Fiasco Gelato, an artisan ice-cream manufacturer based in Calgary, Canada is expanding its reach to major retailers. Founded in 2003 as a single scoop shop, the company now produces approximately 4,800 liters of gelato and sorbetto daily. To support this growth and help meet consumer safety requirements, Fiasco Gelato is pursuing SQF certification—an internationally recognized food safety standard that meets regulatory requirements across the food supply chain.

Using a METTLER TOLEDO Safeline X-ray system, Fiasco Gelato products are inspected for physical contaminants at the end of the production line. This investment in advanced quality control reflects the company’s commitment to maintaining food safety.

Money may not buy happiness, but if it can buy ice cream, then that’s the next best thing

Originally launched as a scoop shop, Fiasco Gelato has grown into a proud manufacturer of small batch gelatos and sorbettos. Their 8,000-square-foot facility employs 25 production operators working a single shift, including a dedicated sanitation shift at the end of the day.

Fiasco Gelato has been quickly picked up by leading national grocers such as Loblaws, Longo’s, Whole Foods Market, Pusateri’s, Real Canadian Superstore, Sobeys, Thrifty Foods, among others, where its 562 milliliter clear semi-rigid filled jars have made a huge impact with their consumers.

As a small business entering a competitive market, Fiasco Gelato faced challenges breaking through. Most ice cream and gelato companies are constantly creating innovative and delicious new products that will not only appeal to consumers but also guarantee them a spot in stores with limited shelf space.

To guarantee a coveted spot, Shashi Singh, Quality Assurance and Sanitation Lead at Fiasco Gelato and his team needed to make sure that the gelato and sorbetto were safe for consumption and would not be subject to recalls due to listeria and other harmful contaminants.

“As both the company and avenues that we're selling into grow, we're making more products every day,” Singh explains. “Because of that, the machines that we use daily are susceptible to making ingredients that could possibly contain a contaminant in the product. Our challenge was to make sure that we were not getting any foreign material into our product.”

Crediting their robust maintenance program, Fiasco Gelato ensures that their machinery and equipment are functioning properly and continues to demonstrate their capabilities to produce the gelato and sorbetto product.

Taking Food Safety to the Next Level

When they first moved into their new location back in August 2015, Shashi Singh and safety operators would conduct a pre-operation inspection of the facility, making sure that all the machinery, tanks and utensils were intact, and nothing had been lost during the process; this method of product inspection did not provide full coverage.

“To physically verify every gelato product that we make is a little harder because you do not have any system to visually inspect the inside of the product,” Singh elucidates. “Which is why we wanted a technology that would help us recognize and identify any potential physical hazard that we can correct on-site.”

To find a solution for a full safety inspection, Fiasco Gelato contacted product inspection specialist METTLER TOLDEO Canada, who was exclusively represented by Shawpak Systems Ltd. across Canada at the time*. According to Shawpak President and business partner Nigel Turnpenny, he and his team concluded that an x-ray system at the end of the production line would be a better solution for Fiasco Gelato. “The reason why we recommended an x-ray system is that they actually have an induction seal which is a metallized film on the product which would not allow it to pass through a metal detector,” Turnpenny explains.

Due Diligence as a Deciding Factor

Thanks to the guidance of METTLER TOLEDO, Fiasco Gelato purchased an X33 Series x-ray inspection system, which was installed at the end-of-line, offering the due diligence that Fiasco Gelato had been searching for when it comes to food and product safety.

“One of the other deciding factors is the due diligence of being able to see an image of every product that they produce, an image of every reject that they have, an image of every test that they do on the system,” Turnpenny explains. “Fiasco Gelato has got full traceability in the event of a contamination issue and that their machine is testing correctly and why rejects happen.”

The X33 x-ray inspection system from METTLER TOLEDO has a 20-watt generator, whereas most competing x-ray systems start around the 100-watt generator size. While it is assumed that higher power of the x-ray system equates to better detection results, this is not always accurate, according to Turnpenny. “It produces less heat so the X33 does not require any cooling systems, so there's no air conditioning units on the unit, which also makes it easy to move around, requires less maintenance, and it makes it a greener machine overall,” Turnpenny says. Singh also appreciates this feature of the x-ray system, stating, “it is a low energy x-ray unit, which in the long term saves us a lot of capital.”

The X33 x-ray inspection system can also handle a range of different products, whether it is individual pots of gelato or full cases. According to Singh, the addition of the X33 has been the cherry on top of the sundae for Fiasco Gelato, as examining the pots has become a much better process overall.

“Before, if there was a problem and we recognized a potential issue in the middle of production without the x-ray, we would have no option but to hold up production because you do not know where that physical hazard ended up or in which pot or at what stage of the process,” Singh explains. “Now that we have this new unit here, we know exactly which point has been affected, what product needs to get quarantined, what needs to source and what is passable for production. This helps the product reach its best quality.”

At the End of the Production Line

Sourcing the ingredients and dairy products locally, the gelatos and sorbettos are mixed on-site through a cooling tank and then put into a blast freezer supplied by Tetra-Pak. The finished product comes out the other side of the blast freezer, where it has the consistency and density of a standard gelato and sorbetto product. Once removed from the freezer, the product is moved to Fiasco Gelato’s rotary packaging system, which automatically fills product in pots.

As the final stage of the production process, a single conveyor belt runs the pots through the X33 x-ray inspection system, to check for physical contaminants. Once successfully run through the x-ray, the finished gelato and sorbetto product comes out the other end ready to be palletized before it is distributed for retail sale. Part of what has made purchasing the X33 x-ray inspection system a positive experience for Fiasco Gelato has been the support they received from METTLER TOLEDO throughout the whole process.

METTLER TOLEDO has a local service support team based in Calgary which visits the facility to support them and train Fiasco Gelato operators. “It's not just about assisting if there is downtime,” Turnpenny explains, “if they want any additional training or a visit for other aspects, the technician is local and always ready to help them.” “Whenever we have needed them, the service from METTLER TOLEDO has been impeccable,” Singh adds. “The support that they provided during and after installation, as well as training all of our employees, was just one aspect of their services.”

*All product inspection solutions from METTLER TOLEDO, including the Safeline, Garvens and Eagle PI portfolios can now be sourced directly from METTLER TOLEDO in Canada.

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