Banner Engineering  (www.bannerengineering.com) announces the QM26 and the QMH26 photoelectric sensors, designed specificallyfor food and beverage and pharmaceutical industries. Influenced by the 2011 Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA), the European Hygienic Engineering and Design Group (EHEDG) and food safety initiatives among private businesses, Banner wanted to ensure the sensors provided reliable performance in manufacturing and packaging zones, including contact zones, splash zones and non-contact zones.

“The sensors’ design considers Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Point (HACCP) principles for hygienic manufacturing processes,” says Mark Schmid, Banner Engineering food and beverage industry manager. “Our goal was to deliver Banner’s proven sensing capabilities to areas where the sensors may come in contact with food or materials, and make them suitable for harsh washdown environments with high pressure, extreme temperatures and chemicals.” 

The QM26 is housed in a non-toxic 316L stainless steel housing, and can survive high pressure washdowns and temperature cycling, ranging from -30° C to 60° C. The sensor is ECOLAB® certified for inexhaustible sensor life in chemically cleaned environments and is intended for splash zone areas. The QM26 also features easy side-mounting for quick set-up and installation.

The QMH26 has all the advantages of the QM26, however, it is designed with minimal grooves and crevices, leaving no room for bacteria to hide and multiply. It is self-draining for clean-in-place (CIP) applications. The sensor’s hygienic mounting shape reduces contamination risk, making it a suitable sensor to place in contact zones. 

“As US food and drug manufacturing companies engage more with hygienic food safety controls, they’ll be able to rely on Banner—and our extensive system of distributors and local support—to quickly and efficiently supply them with hygienic, washdown sensors,” says Steve Wong, pharmaceutical industry manager.

 Both the QM26 and QMH26 operate in retroreflective, clear object and adjustable field background suppression mode. The QM26 also operates in opposed mode.