Foreign Body Detection In Food Materials Using Compton Scattered X Rays

Foreign bodies are the biggest single source of customer complaints for many food manufacturers, retailers and enforcement authorities. Foreign bodies are any undesirable solid objects in food and range from items entirely unconnected with the food such as glass or metal fragments to those related to the food such as bones or fruit stalks. Detecting foreign bodies in food discusses ways of preventing and managing incidents involving foreign bodies and reviews the range of current methods available for the detection and control of foreign bodies, together with a number of new and developing technologies. Part one addresses management issues, with chapters on identifying potential sources of foreign bodies, good manufacturing practice (GMP), the role of the hazard analysis and critical control point (HACCP) system and how best to manage incidents involving foreign bodies. The book also includes a chapter on the laboratory identification of foreign bodies. Part two examines methods for the detection and removal of foreign bodies. There are chapters on existing methods, including metal detection, magnets, optical sorting, X-ray systems and physical separation methods. Other chapters consider research on potential new technologies, including surface penetrating radar, microwave reflectance, nuclear magnetic resonance, electrical impedance and ultrasound. Detecting foreign bodies in food is a standard reference for all those concerned with ensuring the safety of food. Discusses ways of preventing and managing incidents involving foreign bodies Reviews the range of technologies available for effective detection and control of foreign bodies

Extraneous foreign material in food products is undeniably a physical hazard that must be mitigated by processors and food service establishments. Beyond this underlying threat to food safety, physical contaminants can impact the element most essential to an organization’s success – consumer confidence and trust in the producer and its brand. Preventing Foreign Material Contamination of Foods describes the business implications of non-conforming products as it provides processors with conceptual strategies that can be implemented to detect, eliminate, and prevent physical contamination in common commodities utilized within food processing. The text offers a comprehensive contemporary discussion and ready professional reference on the contamination of food products with foreign material (from both product related and product non-related sources). Recent and past regulatory enforcement actions and case studies provide the reader with clear real world examples of how producers have successfully and unsuccessfully handled issues related to foreign material contamination. Numerous tables and illustrations assist in developing HACCP plans, or when evaluating the validity of existing plans as an internal/external auditor. Statistical sampling concepts are presented in combination with industry standard test methods in a visual manner that is easily understandable. Prevention and evaluation of foreign material contamination are discussed with a farm to table focus along with the latest information on technology/strategies utilized for the detection and culling of foreign material in food products including: metal detection, density separation, x-ray of product streams, magnetic separation techniques, automated color and shape recognition, proper microscopic examination for micro-physical contaminants, and analytical test methods for determining the origin of macroscopic contaminants. Real world strategies of applying these technologies are profiled for readers to better visualize applications possible within their own environments. The essential concepts of installation qualification, operational qualification and ongoing verification of equipment performance are also presented. Additionally, the reader will be able to identify, quantitatively evaluate, and set management policy on "situations of risk" encountered in the company’s day-to-day environment. Strategies and concepts cover the full spectrum of food production: Whole fruit and vegetable processors Juice and puree processors Cereal and bakery production Dairy and cultured food productsMeat and poultry processing Confectionary and snack food manufacturing Food service establishments and restaurants Written for quality assurance, HACCP, and related professionals charged with maintaining the integrity of their food product, Preventing Foreign Material Contamination of Foods offers conceptual, pragmatic, and implementable strategies to detect and eliminate physical contamination during food processing.

The presence of foreign materials in food products are a concern to manufacturers and consumers. Heightened consumer awareness of food recalls drives manufacturers to invest in foreign material detection technology that will aid in the safety and quality of products. The objective of this study was to compare methods of foreign material detection that address the vulnerabilities of processors in the further processed meat industry using metal detection and X-ray detection. Individually vacuum packaged product samples were tested on metal detection and X-ray detection systems using individual product profiles. Contaminants were randomly placed on, inside, or under the product and passed through the metal detection and X-ray detection systems a total of 100 times each. The number of positive detections for each product as well as the size and type of contaminant were logged, and the probability of detection was modeled as it related to the contaminant size and expressed as a Probability of Detection curve. While metal detection and the X-ray detection system detected metal contaminants of varying types successfully, The X-ray detection system detected smaller metal contaminants (0.9mm to 3.5mm) than the metal detection system (1.5mm to 5.0mm) for the beef ribeye steak, the beef cube steak and the marinated beef and marinated chicken products. Product samples were also passed through X- ray detection with a variety of non-metal samples to test detection for non-metal contaminants such as glass, ceramic, aluminum, and plastic. For each product sample, contaminant type and size, the data illustrated that the probability of detection increased as the contaminant size increased. Overall, metal detection and X-ray detection technologies can detect a range foreign material contamination types and sizes and increase food safety and quality. The technology that is best suited for a manufacturer is application and product specific and implementation of foreign material detection should be based on risk, customer requirements and contaminant types.

Extraneous foreign material in food products is undeniably a physical hazard that must be mitigated by processors and food service establishments. Beyond this underlying threat to food safety, physical contaminants can impact the element most essential to an organization’s success – consumer confidence and trust in the producer and its brand. Preventing Foreign Material Contamination of Foods describes the business implications of non-conforming products as it provides processors with conceptual strategies that can be implemented to detect, eliminate, and prevent physical contamination in common commodities utilized within food processing. The text offers a comprehensive contemporary discussion and ready professional reference on the contamination of food products with foreign material (from both product related and product non-related sources). Recent and past regulatory enforcement actions and case studies provide the reader with clear real world examples of how producers have successfully and unsuccessfully handled issues related to foreign material contamination. Numerous tables and illustrations assist in developing HACCP plans, or when evaluating the validity of existing plans as an internal/external auditor. Statistical sampling concepts are presented in combination with industry standard test methods in a visual manner that is easily understandable. Prevention and evaluation of foreign material contamination are discussed with a farm to table focus along with the latest information on technology/strategies utilized for the detection and culling of foreign material in food products including: metal detection, density separation, x-ray of product streams, magnetic separation techniques, automated color and shape recognition, proper microscopic examination for micro-physical contaminants, and analytical test methods for determining the origin of macroscopic contaminants. Real world strategies of applying these technologies are profiled for readers to better visualize applications possible within their own environments. The essential concepts of installation qualification, operational qualification and ongoing verification of equipment performance are also presented. Additionally, the reader will be able to identify, quantitatively evaluate, and set management policy on "situations of risk" encountered in the company’s day-to-day environment. Strategies and concepts cover the full spectrum of food production: Whole fruit and vegetable processors Juice and puree processors Cereal and bakery production Dairy and cultured food productsMeat and poultry processing Confectionary and snack food manufacturing Food service establishments and restaurants Written for quality assurance, HACCP, and related professionals charged with maintaining the integrity of their food product, Preventing Foreign Material Contamination of Foods offers conceptual, pragmatic, and implementable strategies to detect and eliminate physical contamination during food processing.

The seriousness of foreign bodies as hazards in foods is well recognised by both food companies and enforcement bodies. A foreign body incident can jeopardise consumer health, result in prosecution and significantly undermine a company's image. A wide range of measures, exploiting various technologies, is now available to food companies to help with the prevention, detection and control of foreign bodies. Understanding these - including their strengths, applications and limitations - is an essential part of devising an effective strategy for food safety assurance with regard to foreign bodies. This guide is designed to help food companies achieve that understanding and use it to implement foreign body prevention, control and detection systems appropriate to their processes, products and business. The guide builds on the widely used first edition, with extensive revisions reflecting the significant technological advances and the practical experience gained in the intervening nine years. Developed by a working group of foreign body experts drawn from food companies and equipment manufacturers, the emphasis of the guide is on practical systems and procedures, from which companies of all sizes can identify those most appropriate to their needs. Part A deals with control and prevention of foreign bodies whilst Part B covers detection and removal, and Part C provides useful reference information - such as contact details for suppliers.

A foreign object, presumably swallowed during a dental appointment, was recovered by using an esophagoscope and thought to be a piece of dental impression material, probably alginate. It was identified as being of nondental origin by means of visible light and scanning electron microscopy (SEM), the latter coupled to an energy dispersive X-ray analyzer. Histologic examination revealed some amorphous crystalline material surrounded by parakeratin and exfoliated squamous cells. The material was essentially radiolucent. A known dental alginate impression material contained diatomaceous earth filler (siliceous shells of diatoms), but no microscopic symmetrical figures were seen in the foreign body. After dehydration, both materials were carbon-coated and observed in an SEM at 20 kV at magnifications up to 2000X. The spectrum of secondary X-rays produced by the scanning electron beam revealed only magnesium in the foreign body and mostly silicon in the dental alginate. There are no known dental products that contain magnesium as the only inorganic ingredient and so the foreign body is believed to be not of dental origin. The patient may have had an antacid or laxative having magnesium as a major ingredient in the stomach, and this may have been refluxed from the stomach after stimulation of the normal gag reflex during the dental procedure.

In the last 40 years, machine vision has evolved into a mature field embracing a wide range of applications including surveillance, automated inspection, robot assembly, vehicle guidance, traffic monitoring and control, signature verification, biometric measurement, and analysis of remotely sensed images. While researchers and industry specialists continue to document their work in this area, it has become increasingly difficult for professionals and graduate students to understand the essential theory and practicalities well enough to design their own algorithms and systems. This book directly addresses this need.As in earlier editions, E.R. Davies clearly and systematically presents the basic concepts of the field in highly accessible prose and images, covering essential elements of the theory while emphasizing algorithmic and practical design constraints. In this thoroughly updated edition, he divides the material into horizontal levels of a complete machine vision system. Application case studies demonstrate specific techniques and illustrate key constraints for designing real-world machine vision systems. · Includes solid, accessible coverage of 2-D and 3-D scene analysis.· Offers thorough treatment of the Hough Transform—a key technique for inspection and surveillance.· Brings vital topics and techniques together in an integrated system design approach.· Takes full account of the requirement for real-time processing in real applications.