Catching Foreign Material in Food with X-Ray Inspection

X-ray inspection machines have the ability to find all types of foreign material, including metal, bone, plastic, glass, rubber, wood, and more. The machines use a detector and programming algorithm to reject potential foreign contaminants based on a difference in their density. Since they are able to detect all types of foreign objects, they’re particularly effective in food manufacturing environments.

Even within the category of X-ray inspection machines, there are certain differences to consider. Inline X-ray inspection machines typically use flat-panel technology and are small enough to fit into the body of the inspection machine. They’re similar to the equipment used by the TSA for baggage screening at airports and will flag the presence of foreign materials, but they have certain limitations due to the speed of the production line and the power of the X-ray.

Since a food manufacturer may be running thousands of pounds of product per hour, inline machines aren’t able to typically keep up with the speed of production and likely can only alarm that there is a problem. That, in turn, means the indication of foreign material can cause the quarantine of thousands of pounds of product. At the same time, the higher rate of speed combined with operational desensitization to limit a higher rate of defaults can also keep the machine from detecting smaller contaminants, such as those less than 3 to 5 mm.

These machines let manufacturers become aware of the presence of foreign materials, allowing food producers to decide what their next steps will be to prevent the contaminated product from reaching consumers.

Third-party X-ray inspection services are a supplement to existing screening and detection methods, not an alternative. When an inline machine flags a problem, a third-party X-ray inspection service can then work through the quarantined product to find the contaminated product faster and more affordably than any other option. Dollar for dollar, it’s less expensive to have the product examined by a third-party service than it is to try reworking the product in the existing facility, to dispose of the full production run, or to risk a lawsuit or recall.

Because third-party X-ray inspection services are dedicated entirely to inspection, they operate at a much slower speed, which allows technicians to monitor each item individually as it passes through the machine. In a food production environment, it’s not feasible to have a designated worker visually watching a screen to look for contaminants. The speed of the line makes this an impossibility, but for a third-party inspection service, such monitoring is critical and is more effective.

For example, FlexXray’s custom X-ray inspection machines can detect multiple contaminants as small as 0.8 mm (or even smaller in most cases), and line technicians are trained to notice issues and changes in density that signal the presence of foreign material contamination. When such a change is noted, the technician can stop the line and zoom in on the area in question for a magnified image. If identified as a foreign contaminant, the product in question can be immediately removed from the line and segregated from the saleable product for safe and proper disposal.

Foreign material contamination issues aren’t an isolated problem—they’re something that every food manufacturer faces. Knowing your options and having a plan in place to resolve an issue when it occurs is the best insurance to avoid a costly recall or lawsuit and to keep business operations running smoothly.

Keith is the vice president of sales, marketing, and customer service at FlexXray. Reach him at [email protected].