Food manufacturers will be able to identify very small contaminants in a quicker and more reliable manner following the launch of a new X-ray system from METTLER TOLEDO Product Inspection.

The X34 X-ray inspection system provides detection of metal, glass, high-density plastic, mineral stone and calcified bone fragments across a wide range of packaged foods eliminating costly product recalls and protecting brand reputations. The system also comes with advanced software that enables automated product set-up, dramatically decreasing the chance of human error and greatly reducing the number of false rejects. This makes for more efficient and profitable operations, while delivering excellent return on investment.

“Changing consumer expectations have resulted in an extraordinary choice of food and drink in a variety of cans, jars, bottles, cartons, and plastic containers,” says Mike Pipe, product inspection specialist for METTLER TOLEDO. “As food production and packaging methods increase in complexity, the risk of contamination from foreign bodies such as metal and glass has increased. These contamination incidents can lead to expensive product recalls.

“The X34 provides a combination of technologies which enables producers to detect smaller contaminants reliably at high-throughputs, ensuring product safety and delivering brand protection.”

The X34 is a single lane X-ray system designed for the inspection of a wide range of small and medium-sized packaged products. One of its key features is a 100W ‘Optimum Power’ generator, which automatically maximizes detection sensitivity. This is complemented by an advanced 0.4 mm detector for the accurate detection of very small contaminants. These technologies ensure that power and contrast levels are optimized for every product, resulting in enhanced detection performance. This means the X34 does not always have to run at its full 100 W output to achieve the best results, delivering power savings to the end user.

The high-performance software also allows for automated product set-up without the need for manual adjustment from the operator, leading to ultra-reliable product inspection. “Automated product set-up removes the possibility of operator error and makes the X34 easier to use,” says Mike Pipe. “New products only need to be passed once through the system for the power to be optimized and the fully intuitive software requires minimal passes to automatically set the contamination inspection tools. This reduces operator training, increases production uptime and ensures product safety.”

The X34 comes with METTLER TOLEDO’s advanced ContamPlus inspection software, which further enhances detection capabilities, helping food manufacturers achieve a zero False Reject Rate (FRR). This is a crucial means of reducing product waste and ensuring product safety. By lowering FRR, manufacturers can achieve higher production outputs without adding extra lines, boosting productivity and profitability. Subsequently, Total Cost of Ownership is reduced and Overall Equipment Effectiveness scores are increased.