Method for monitoring material adhesion of steel strip in continuous press and continuous press

The invention relates to a method for monitoring the material adhesion of at least one circulating steel strip (5a, 5b) in a continuous press (1) for a material panel, in particular a wood material panel, in which pressure is applied to a press pad by means of the steel strip (5a, 5b) at a preselected strip speed in order to produce the material panel, the material adhesion of the circulating steel strip (5a, 5b) is monitored at least on one side of the steel strip (5a, 5b) by means of at least one photodetector (2) in such a way that a light emitter (14) emits a light pattern (16) onto the steel strip (5a, 5b) and a light receiver (15) receives the light pattern (16) by means of a reflection method and transmits the light pattern (16) to an evaluation unit (3) which determines the change. In order to maintain a low maintenance cost for the detection of harmful material adhesions, it is provided that the material adhesions detected on the steel strips (5a, 5b) after the start of the measurement (27) by the de