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Michael Stuart, European Sales Director at Anritsu, explores the critical impact of vision inspection technology – particularly dairy X-ray inspection systems – on the different stages of dairy production, ensuring food safety and quality.
For many years now, the dairy industry has remained within the top three biggest sectors in the food industry across most of Europe. Within the UK alone, a staggering 15 billion litres of milk are produced every year and the industry is worth $5.7 billion at wholesale level.1 With such vast numbers involved, the slightest lapse in food safety could be catastrophic.
Ensuring rigorous food safety is paramount across every stage of dairy production. While metal detection has been standard on dairy production lines for years, the variety of dairy products and the different stages they pass through – from milk to yogurt, cheese, and butter – require more comprehensive inspection. Dairy x-ray inspection systems offer a solution that goes beyond traditional metal detection to assess and ensure product integrity throughout every step.
Regardless of company size, dairy businesses, from small enterprises to multinational corporations, share a common priority: food safety. However, the cost of inspection equipment has often been prohibitive. Fortunately, dairy x-ray inspection systems have become significantly more affordable in recent years. This technology now offers high accuracy and versatility at various stages along a dairy production line.
“The cost of x-ray inspection has come down significantly over the last decade, and this technology can be used in several ways with high accuracy along different stages of a dairy production line.”
Dairy X-ray Inspection Systems at Each Stage of Production
During early production stages, thereās a risk of physical contamination from equipment like paddles, agitators, and conveyors. These components may occasionally break down, introducing fragments into the food. Additionally, human intervention can increase the risk of contamination, particularly when dairy products are in liquid form and foreign materials can sink to the bottom, remaining undetected by the naked eye. Dairy x-ray inspection systems provide essential monitoring to catch contaminants at this stage.
As well as this, where there is human intervention, there is the risk of contaminants potentially entering the line. Because most dairy products are still in liquid form at this stage, any foreign bodies quickly sink to the bottom and cannot be easily seen. So X-Ray inspection can be crucial at this stage.
However itās not always as straightforward as passing the product through an x-ray inspection machine. Irregular or non-homogenous products such as grated cheese, for example, can be challenging to examine. With a traditional single energy Xray system, the ābusyā image created cannot always be accurately assessed with std algorithms in order to find any contaminants.
In these cases, a dual energy x-ray can be used. A dual energy system creates 2 different x-ray spectra of high and low energy levels. By comparing the absorption ratios of these two spectra it is possible to see what is included in the image in much greater detail and therefore detect if any contaminants might be present.
Moving on to later stages of the production line, it is often the case be that a dairy product has been packaged within a metallised container. Or perhaps a plastic tub with a foil lid, such as a pot of yoghurt. In these cases, inspecting the product using a metal detector is not possible so, again, this is where dairy x-ray inspection systems can be used to see through the packaging.
Problems with giveaways and irregular portioning
In terms of the finished product, once everything has been produced, inspected and packaged, there are still ways in which dairy x-ray inspection systems can make a significant impact on a dairy business. Side shooter x-rays for example can be used to measure the fill level in a carton or pot of liquid, to ensure that the correct amount of product is being decanted into each pack.
Equipment settings can be optimised accordingly, so customers will get exactly what they pay for each time. Underfilling is legally a big no-no, but overfilling even by tiny amounts will quickly add up and amount to significant giveaways over time. All these quality checks can be done simultaneously whilst checking there are no contaminants in the product.
Similarly, producers of irregular products such as cheeses with naturally occurring holes like Emmental and Jarlsberg can benefit from the use of inspection equipment. Dairy X-ray inspection systems can be used to ensure the correct weight per slice, taking into account any holes and allowing operators to adjust the machine parameters as needed during production.
So as well as detection of contaminants, dairy X-ray inspection systems have a range of other applications which can actually considerably impact your bottom line by maintaining uniformity and preventing costly giveaways.
“Dairy x-ray inspection systems can be used to measure fill levels, ensuring correct portions and preventing costly giveaways, while simultaneously checking for contaminants in the product during dairy production.”
What to look out for
Machines do of course need to have a very high degree of hygienic design to prevent them posing a contamination risk themselves. High-quality machines should be made with antibacterial surfaces. In terms of physical build quality, itās also advisable to look out for machinery thatās been designed in such a way that if water were to spill onto it, it canāt seep or drip onto the product.
X-ray detection continues to be a growing field in the dairy industry. Beyond food safety and contaminant detection, it is increasingly becoming the primary detection technology for ensuring quality and correct portioning of products.
No matter what the product, the complexities of production and the risks to food safety are such that there are many areas along any dairy line that need to be stringently managed. High-quality vision inspection technology can have a huge impact here, preventing risk to consumers, your reputation and your bottom line.
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