Form and Integrity Check with Food X-Ray Inspection

Previously on our blog, we have talked about Foreign Object Detection, but this time we are going to dive into the detection of quality defects and the software behind it.

As you may know, X-ray inspection is based on the density variations in products. Therefore, inspecting different contaminants or quality defects inside food products is possible with X-ray systems.

On this blog, we are going to focus on the total food quality control, which means the detection and rejection of non-conforming products combined with traditional Foreign Object Detection.

This brings more value to the food producers, since it guarantees food safety and decreases the amount of end-customer reclamations and secures the overall quality of outgoing products. Consumers will receive top-quality food products, that meet the requirements of the producers. Also, the food producers get a peace of mind with having a “best-in-industry” in-line inspection.

REDUCING CUSTOMER RECLAMATIONS WITH QUALITY INSPECTION

There are many software functions, which are used to detect faults such as lacking or missing filling and broken or missing products. In the upcoming month, we are discussing several different functions to give you the best outlook on what an X-ray inspection system can do.

Let’s start with a function to ensure the integrity and proper content of food products. As the name “Break” might reveal, this function is developed to detect if any part of the product is broken or missing. It is very beneficial when producing easily breakable products, such as cookies or candy/snack bars.

As mentioned above, the inspection is based on the variations in density or the lack of that. The X-rays go through the breakage and reach the detector without passing through the product itself. The analysis software then detects the broken product and sends a signal to the rejection unit, thus removing the unwanted product from the production line.

The same function can be used to detect too short products in the production line. With these quality inspection functions, we can ensure that the quality control is not only focused on the Foreign Object Detection but the overall qualities of the product.

MORE VALUE WITH QUALITY INSPECTION

There are multiple purposes and products where the “Break” function can be utilized, and it is not the only quality inspection feature that X-ray systems have to offer. That is why it’s important to conduct an application test to see the overall performance level of the quality inspection as well as the foreign object detection rate.

Read more about Application Testing by downloading our white paper 8 Things You Should Know about X-Ray Application Testing!