2 replies to this topic

[ok_crispy.]

I just started to research different kinds of Xray machines and was asked to put together some options for review with senior mgmt. There's a lot out there, but I wanted to get information from people who use them vs sales pitches and brochures. I do not have experience with these machines, so your insight would be really helpful. 

 

What kind of brands or types of machines are you guys using?

Would you recommend finished goods/packaged detection and rejection or in line detection and rejection? 

What are some considerations you'd wish you'd known before installing/ycomissioning? 

Does Xray qualify as preventative control or is it industry standard that it would be a CCP? 

Pros/Cons 

Optical Sorter vs Xray? 

 

We repack IQF veg, fruit and potatoes into retail bags. Largest bag would be 80oz/5lbs for density considerations. 

 

Any information from first hand experience would be appreciated! Thanks! 

 

[GMO]

Hi! I have never used X-Ray in fresh produce but I have used X-Ray. Almost exclusively Loma machines (and Cintex I think they were called before Loma bought them).

 

Finished goods vs. In-line

• Always if possible, finished goods for me. The reason being that nothing can practicably get into your packs after the pack is sealed (at least without damaging the pack). This means that once the goods are packed, you've got a pretty high chance that you're not going to have further product contamination. So by checking at this point, you have a much lower risk that you will have product with the foreign matter you're testing for in it.
• The only ways in which I would not do this would be if it's not possible (i.e. you can't get an aperture large enough for your product) so you'd have to test in line but in that situation I'd go for metal detection (providing the test piece size isn't enormous) over x-ray as you can get larger aperture metal detectors.

Some things I wish I'd known

• Sales people will tell you x-rays will detect plastic, bone, glass etc as well as metal. I'd say "not reliably". It all depends on how different the density is of your material vs your product. If it's not significantly different, it won't detect. That said, with your product, small stones are probably pretty likely to be detectable, at least some of the time which might be an advantage.
• Most x-rays are very good at detecting most metals, apart from aluminium which isn't very dense (but that's not easily detected in metal detectors either so you're not losing functionality).
• Make sure your test pieces are suitable for x-rays. Not all area and while plastic isn't reliably detected, if you use the wrong type, the x-ray might be "seeing" a 7cm piece of plastic, not the 2mm ball bearing. 
• Look at other "metal detectable" items on your site and do not assume they will be x-ray visible. This includes pens, metal detectable plastic o-rings, safety knives, plasters / band aids etc. Not all of them are visible and so you'd be paying for expensive items that are useless. Buy specific "x-ray visible" items (or better still, get samples) and test them.

X-ray PC or CCP?

• You can argue about this till the cows come home. Read some HACCP books and they'll tell you all process PCs are CCPs (I think the new Campden one does) that's patently BS. 
• Typically x-rays in finished packs are often CCPs but they don't have to be. There are threads on here about metal detection being a CCP or not and the same applies. Metal control (which is what you will use the x-ray for mostly) isn't just at that point. It's across the process. If you actually find metal at your x-ray then something has gone pretty badly wrong. But that all said, have I ever taken metal detectors or x-rays out as CCPs? Nope. And I probably never would. Because ultimately if one broke down, would I want ops leaders to think they could still run? Hell no.

Optical sorter vs. x-ray

• I don't think it's either / or and especially for root vegetables. I'd probably encourage both.
• Optical sorters can vary quite significantly and can be good at removing some foreign matter but not all. Anything which is stuck to a potato is likely to go through and things like the speed of the sorter, the cleanliness of any lights and cameras and reject set up are all vital.
• X-ray will be able to take out some level of quality issue, if you set it up that way. So if you have a partially rotted potato in a pack, you could set up the x-ray to look for and reject for that. Just be aware though that if you only have one reject bin, having both food safety and quality rejects in that bin might be confusing to staff. Essentially though your x-ray has a partial "vision system" component because it is a vision system, just at a different wavelength. That means some manufacturers use x-rays to look for things like fill or missing components. It's not the primary aim of it but it can be used that way.
• Also though sorters can take out quality issues that an x-ray can't. So apart from the ones listed above, it will be able to take out green potatoes, underripe, blackened fruits or vegetables some diseased potatoes or fruit, seeds etc.
• I'd also consider looking at "destoning" apparatus where you could use water to separate stones from the root vegetables again using the significantly differing density.

[Kiran]

Let me first add that I work for x-ray supplier.

 

Considering your product IQF veg, fruits & potatoes in retail packs - it has variable density within packages, do consider dual energy DEXA technology & Photon Counting Technology (PCT) x-ray solutions, which will provide better detection results for metals as well as non-metallic x-ray detectable contaminants, compared to single energy x-ray systems.