X-ray inspection is becoming increasingly popular as food manufacturers learn more about its capabilities. Why? The technology is designed to detect foreign material more effectively than other methods and, therefore, are the most efficient way to handle issues of physical contamination in food.
X-Ray Inspect with Caution
When a food manufacturing facility discovers a foreign material problem, X-ray inspection is the most reliable solution to help pinpoint and eliminate the issue. However, there are certain factors to be considered when deciding to use this method. Not all food products are created equal, meaning not all food inspections are created equal, and knowing the options and capabilities of the equipment at hand is critical to deciding what steps to take.
X-ray rentals can be an option for specific situations. However, in many cases, shipping the food to a third-party facility for X-ray inspection is the best approach. There’s no single solution for every food producer, but knowing the facts and what to consider can help manufacturers make the choice that’s most ideal for them.
Inline vs. Offline X-Ray Machines
Even when manufacturers have inline technology, there are times when third-party technology is more effective.
While inline machines can find physical contaminants in food product, the environment of a manufacturing plant doesn’t typically allow for closer inspection when a contaminant is flagged. Since inline equipment is designed to keep up with the speed of manufacturing, it isn’t consistent in detecting objects that are smaller than 0.8mm or are of varying densities.
By contrast, FlexXray’s custom-built X-ray machines are significantly larger than those found inline and are designed to run at much slower speeds with much lower power. When a line technician notices a change in shading or density, they can stop the line, zoom in on the area in question and bracket the product containing the foreign contaminant.
Once the foreign object is identified and it’s determined that the rest of the product is safe to release, the product can re-enter the food supply chain. Compared to shutting down the facility and reworking the product or disposing of the entire run, offline X-ray solutions are often the most efficient and cost-effective options to reach this resolution.
X-ray Machine Rentals for In-House Food Inspection
X-ray rentals allow the same offline services to be done in-house, but save the manufacturer the upfront costs of buying an expensive machine. FlexXray offers custom-built equipment that can be rented by the day, the week or the month to meet the needs of the manufacturer.
A rental machine offers many of the same benefits of off-site inspection and eliminates the need to ship the food to another facility for inspection. FlexXray’s rental machines can handle virtually all types of packaging and provide high-quality imaging in real time. The equipment can efficiently inspect bulk packaging and does not require extensive calibration by the end user.
FlexXray’s rental machines can handle virtually all types of packaging and provide high-quality imaging in real time, just like the off-site inspection equipment does. The equipment can efficiently inspect bulk packaging and does not require extensive calibration by the end user.
When to Rent an X-ray Machine vs. Outsource Inspection
In most cases, having an X-ray inspection performed off-site is going to be the best solution. Situations where it might make sense to inspect product in-house are limited and might include:
- When product control is essential and the food producer is legally prohibited from letting the contaminated product leave the facility
- When internal policies and procedures do not allow the product to be examined outside the facility
- When the product’s inherent value is of low cost or is lightweight enough that the cost of shipping would offset the value of having the product inspected
If you would like to know more about X-ray rentals, reach out to our team today. We’re happy to connect you with channel partners that offer this service.
When to Ship Food for X-Ray Inspection
While X-ray rental might be appropriate for the scenarios mentioned above, it more often than not makes sense to ship product to FlexXray and have it inspected at one of our facilities. Those times include:
- When the manufacturer doesn’t have the space or the power/cooling requirements to set up additional X-ray equipment
- When there isn’t enough manpower to run the X-ray equipment and also keep the company’s other production lines running
- When there is a large amount of product that needs to be reworked quickly
FlexXray can dedicate a dozen lines to the inspection of a single product and can handle fast turnarounds that can’t be accomplished with the rental of just one machine.
Both on-site and off-site X-ray inspection services can provide the peace of mind that contamination issues are resolved and that the product is safe to ship. With the option of X-ray rentals, manufacturers can decide which arrangement works best for their product.
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