Improve contaminant detection and food safety with dual energy X-ray
With certain products , food manufacturers can realise great benefits from using dual energy x-ray detection . Mike Pipe , Head of Global Sales of Mettler-Toledo Safeline X-ray , explains how the technology can improve both inspection and business performance
The detection of foreign body contaminants is part of the critical quality assurance process to improve food safety standards . X-ray inspection has long been a key technology in this process , but there are different types of x-ray detection with which food manufacturers can inspect their products , depending upon the nature of the application .
Traditionally , manufacturers have used single energy x-ray detectors , but dual energy technology is becoming more commonplace , and is more powerful , effective , and easy to use than ever before . It works using the concept of ‘ material discrimination ’, with dual x-ray beams of different energy able to identify materials of different densities . Advances in detection sensitivity mean that dual energy x-ray is now even more discerning , allowing ever-smaller contaminants to be detected in a wider range of applications .
But what are the applications in which dual energy x-ray excels compared to the more commonplace single energy detection systems ? In simple terms , there are two key aspects of a product that make it suitable for inspection by dual energy x-ray . The first is where there is a large degree of overlap within the package , or where there are variations in thickness . Examples of the types of packs where products overlap include packs of pasta , rice , nuts , and frozen goods such as French fries or potato wedges . Packs with variations
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Front view of Mettler-Toledo X36 X-ray Inspection System
in product thickness include chicken where the likely contaminant in a food breasts and other fresh cuts of meat . product is a low-density material , such Both scenarios produce an x-ray image as glass , plastic , rubber and calcified with high levels of contrast . bone .
The second type of application where If a product application has one or both dual energy x-ray is most suitable is of these aspects , then a case can be