Plan Automation Technology Blog

How Safe is X-Ray Inspection for Food?

Posted by Mat Bedard on Wed, Feb 5, 2014 @ 16:02 PM

X Ray Inspection of Food resized 600As Health Canada and Food Safety regulations and customer expectations for the quality of food products continues to increase, the demand for increasingly accurate and sophisticated quality control methods is also on the rise. One of the most effective tools for any quality control expert is X-ray inspection technology. These devices can scan the interior of different food products to find foreign objects and quality defects that could be dangerous to an unsuspecting customer.

Many companies in the past have been leery of using x-ray inspection technology in their quality control efforts. Their primary concern? Radiation. These companies were afraid that their workers would protest bringing x-rays into the workplace, and that customers would switch to another brand to avoid products that have been exposed to x-rays.

While these companies may be justified in their concerns about radiation, the use of x-rays for inspecting food is not something that you should fear. To the contrary, x-ray inspection equipment is something to be embraced, as such equipment actually helps make your company’s products safer.

The Difference between X-Rays and Radioactive Materials

When people think of radiation, the typical image that comes to mind is a fluorescent green goo in a rusty old barrel emblazoned with a radiation warning symbol. In movies and other popular media, coming too close to this material, or actually touching it, normally results in death almost immediately. It is true that direct exposure to large amounts of radioactive materials is very dangerous. However, it is important to know that radiation exposure is something that all life on Earth has lived with for millions of years.

The light of the sun, which provides the energy that plants need to survive, brings with it ultraviolet radiation as well. Every day, people are exposed to background radiation, even our own bodies produce radiation in incredibly minute quantities. The majority of the radiation that forms the “background radiation” in the world comes from radon gas, which seeps from uranium-rich soil and rock formations.

Beyond these sources, people are also exposed to cosmic radiation from space (despite millennia of exposure, there’s been no word of anyone getting invisibility powers). These forms of radiation are all naturally occurring, and we are all being constantly exposed to them.

X-rays, like all of the above forms of radiation, occupy a spot on the electromagnetic radiation spectrum. However, the x-ray radiation emitted by a food inspection system differs from the radiation emitted by a radioactive material in two key ways:

The x-rays employed by a food inspection system can be turned on and off. When not actively in use, a food inspection system is completely safe because the flow of x-rays is halted as soon as power to the system is shut off.  Furthermore, cabinet X-ray systems are fully shielded allowing for the vast majority of radiation to be contained inside the system. Any radiation leakage are well within the Radiation Emitting Device Act regulations (RED Act) which is enforced by Health Canada.

Your Daily Dose of Radiation

Even when a food inspection device is in operation, the amount of radiation that nearby workers are exposed to is miniscule. To put it in perspective, occupational exposure limits are given in terms of the permitted maximum dose. The SI unit of radiation dose is the sievert (Sv).  As occupational exposure levels are normally low, smaller units – millisievert (mSv: a thousandth of a sievert) or microsievert (μSv: a millionth of a sievert) are more commonly used.

Background radiation exposure from everyday life exposes the average person to roughly 2,400 μSv (2.4 mSv) of radiation a year. This typically far exceeds the radiation exposure received from an x-ray inspection system in the food industry. The typical maximum dose rate immediately adjacent to an x-ray inspection system is <1 μSv (0.001 mSv) per hour. Which means an operator would receive 2,000 μSv (2 mSv) per year when working 50 weeks a year and 40 hours each week in direct contact with an x-ray system.

Even as a food quality manager who works closely with these machines, such heavy exposure is unlikely.

Protection Measures

When it comes to safety when dealing with any kind of radiation, there are two key principles to consider: distance and shielding.

Most manufacturers of x-ray inspection equipment rely more on shielding over distance to enhance the safety of their equipment, since shielding is something that they can control. The denser a particular material is, the more effectively it will block radiation. Since stainless steel is an incredibly dense material, it is often used not only for the x-ray machine itself, but for the casing as well.

In recent years, breakthroughs have been made in the science of x-ray technology, increasing the accuracy and sensitivity of the detection equipment. This enhanced sensitivity allows manufacturers to lower the power of the x-ray source, reducing radiation emissions.

In most cases, an x-ray manufacturer cannot control the layout of your factory, but with unit automation and computer readouts, modern x-ray devices can relay critical information to an operator who is located in an entirely separate room, largely negating the need for close proximity to the radiation source while the x-ray is in use.

In case of a catastrophic failure, x-ray inspection systems have built-in indicators and failsafe devices to prevent them from exposing workers radiation. If so much as an indicator light burns out, the machine shuts off right away. These built-on safeties are compliant with all Canadian legislations such as the Ministry of Labor, Pre-Start Health and Safety (PSHSR), the CSST, etc.

Overall, x-ray inspections systems have no appreciable impact on the quality of the food they scan, and can detect problems such as broken seals and foreign objects that could pose a risk to consumers much more quickly and accurately than older methods of detection such as a visual check, metal detection, etc. In short, x-ray systems are a safe, reliable technology that vastly improve your ability to establish food quality and safety while speeding up your ability to produce product.

Learn more about X-Ray Inspection of Food

If you would like to learn more about X-Ray Inspection of food and how it can increase your product inspection standards please download our entire free ebook, “How Safe is X-Ray Inspection of Food” here or contact us to learn more. 

How Safe is X Ray Inspection of Food - Plan Automation

Topics: X-Ray Inspection, X Ray Inspection for Food