Plan Automation Technology Blog

X-Ray Product Inspection Machines and Sanitary Design Principles

Posted by Mat Bedard on Wed, Aug 3, 2016 @ 15:08 PM

Eagle 240 X-Ray Product InspectionBacteriological contamination is an enormous concern for companies that process raw meat. Infections such as listeria and e. coli are an enormous threat to the safety of food products and the customers who consume them.

Examples of foodborne bacteriological outbreaks continue to make the news each year, such as the e. coli outbreak in late 2015 that affected consumers in California, Washington, Utah, Montana, Colorado, Virginia, and Missouri.To prevent such outbreaks, organizations such as the American Meat Institute (AMI) have created a set of principles for sanitary food processing system design. X-ray product inspection machines help food manufacturers meet these principles and maximize the safety of their food products.

What are these principles, and how can x-ray product inspection machines help meet them?

The 10 Principles of Sanitary Design

To follow the principles for sanitary food processing system design as set forth by the American Meat Institute, food processing systems must:

  1. Be cleanable to a microbiological level
  2. Be made of compatible materials
  3. Be accessible for inspection, maintenance, cleaning, and sanitation
  4. Prevent product or liquid collection
  5. Minimize or hermetically seal hollow areas of the system
  6. Eliminate niches such as pits, cracks, seams, recesses, etc.
  7. Have sanitary operational performance that inhibits/prevents the harborage of bacteria
  8. Use hygienic design principles for maintenance enclosures to prevent product or liquid penetration/accumulation
  9. Possess hygienic compatibility with other plant systems (electrical, hydraulics, steam, etc.)
  10. Have clearly-written sanitizing protocols that have been proven effective, using chemicals that are compatible with the equipment and manufacturing environment


Following Sanitary Design Principles When Integrating X-Ray Inspection Equipment

The principles outlined in the AMI’s are directly related to the design of individual machines in a meat processing production line.

However, to meet the goal of minimizing contamination risks, it’s important to consider more than just the design of each individual machine in the production line. How each machine in your production line, from rendering machines, to conveyers, to product inspection machines and more needs to be carefully considered.

When choosing an x-ray product inspection system, there are a few things to check:

  • AMI Construction Rating. Meat inspection equipment with an AMI rating are designed to minimize the chances of bacteriological contamination. These systems will meet the majority of the sanitation guidelines for a single piece of processing equipment.
  • IP69K Rating. This ingress protection rating will protect the X-ray system and provide the ability for high pressure, high temperature caustic washdown minimizing the chances for bacteriological contamination.
  • Compatibility of Materials Used in the Equipment with Your Other Processing Equipment. Different kinds of metal alloys will respond differently to cleaning solutions. What cleans and sanitizes one material may corrode another. When looking for an x-ray product inspection system, consider if the system is compatible with your existing practices for cleaning and sanitizing your other equipment. Doing so can help simplify maintaining sanitation standards.
  • Method of Food Conveyance. There are several ways to move food along the production line, and it’s vital that your x-ray product inspection system is designed to be compatible with your system. This means more than just matching up one conveyor belt to another—it means using an x-ray scanning system that is designed for the state of the product that passes through it (packaged, loose meat slices, gravity flow of ground meat, etc.).
  • Specialized Components for all Food Contact Parts. The use of Antimicrobial belting for example will dramatically reduce the risk of bacteriological contamination.
  • Additional Product Inspection Capabilities. Aside from checking for the presence of contaminants in food, many x-ray product inspection systems can perform functions such as checking package weight, fill level, seals, and the fat content of meat. Placing these functions into a single device reduces overall complexity of your production line, meaning fewer chances for bacteriological contamination to occur.

By ensuring that your x-ray product inspection machine meets the principles of sanitary design, you can empower your company’s ability to prevent foodborne illness from contamination.

Learn more about how you can ensure safer food production today!

How Safe is X Ray Inspection of Food - Plan Automation

Topics: Product Inspection