Metal Detection, X-ray Inspection or Both? Making the Right Choice
Metal detection and x-ray inspection have long been the first line of defence against physical
contaminants. However, vast improvements in engineering and software mean it’s not immediately
obvious which technology will provide the best performance.
Understanding the key advantages and disadvantages of each, you can decide which product inspection system to invest in to ensure the quality and safety of your food products.
Metal detection and x-ray inspection have long been the first line of defence against physical
contaminants. However, vast improvements in engineering and software mean it’s not immediately
obvious which technology will provide the best performance.
Understanding the key advantages and disadvantages of each, you can decide which product inspection system to invest in to ensure the quality and safety of your food products.
In a 12-page white paper, entitled “Metal Detection, X-ray Inspection or Both”, Mettler Toledo describes how metal detection and x-ray inspection systems work, prior to reviewing the performance of each technology across a range of applications. This enables food manufacturers to decide on which inspection technology to invest in to ensure the quality and safety of their products. It summarises the pros and cons of each technology and guides you through the decision making process.
Metal detection and x-ray inspection offer differing capabilities. In some ways that makes choosing between them simple. You can lay out a grid of features and see which ones match your application or you can reduce the problem to a series of questions. The answers to the questions should generally lead you to straight to one technology or the other.
But neither approach is infallible. There is an area of overlap between the two technologies where you could choose either one. Then it’s not so much a question of which technology is better, but which technology is most appropriate for your particular application and budget.
When thinking about purchase costs, metal detection is invariably cheaper. However, it is worth bearing in mind that a product recall, and the costs of a damaged reputation leading to loss of consumer confidence, could easily dwarf the costs of the equipment that would have protected it.
Readers will discover that one solution doesn’t fit all: in some situations metal detection is a clear winner while in others x-ray inspection comes out on top. However, not everything is quite so clear-cut. Often there’s not much to choose between them, and sometimes the most reliable solution may well be to install both technologies at different critical control points (CCPs) on the same production line. To aid decision-making, the paper includes a simple flow chart, as well as a table summarising the key differences between the technologies.
To download a copy of the White Paper click here….
