Future of Engineering

New inspection X-ray technology developed by European researchers is helping to ensure that the only thing in people’s dinners is the food itself.

A perfect dinner at home can be spoiled when you start seeing things that you aren't supposed to see. I'm not talking about spooky sixth sense stuff here. It's about the plate in front of you.

What you see is not what you always get when you open food packed in containers. You order a boneless fillet but find a fish bone in it. Small foreign bodies and packaging defects are frequently not detected by food producers, but things could change with the new X-ray technology.

"The technology developed by the Modulinspex project uses low-energy X-rays to produce highly detailed images of food products and packaged goods. The images are then scanned via inspection software that can automatically detect any irregularities accurately and quickly.

The X-ray images have a resolution of 0.1 millimetres – 16 times better than existing high-power systems, making it possible to detect objects as small and fine as a herring bone."

The technology is similar to the X-ray inspection systems used in airports. In the food industry, the system is customized for various foods as the requirements of the food products varies significantly.

This X-ray inspection is sure to improve the quality of the food on your plate. And what you see is what you'll get. There would be no surprises.

Source - Science Daily

Labels: Manufacturing-Production-Engineering