The Anritsu KD74 came out ahead in tests that included detecting small pieces of bone, stainless steel, plastic and glass contaminants in pork products, according to a spokesperson for the Danish Meat Association.
Contaminants in meat can lead to disruption further up the supply chain if detected and consumer injury if not, and so processors are investing in technology that provides a second pair of eyes and allows processing lines to operate faster.
During the initial round of testing, systems by Anritsu and Ishida came out ahead from a class of six.
The two leading systems were then selected for selected for the final round, with the ultimate decision based on contaminant detection, good stability and ease of operation, according to the DMI.
The KD74 uses advanced sensor and image processing technology, which provides "shape detection" to reveal misshapen products or meat with missing parts, the company claims.
Metal objects as small as 0.3mm in diameter can be detected as well as other contaminants including bone, shell, stone, rubber, and plastic, claims the manufacturer.
A masking function allows items such as clips on sausages and metal packaging to pass through the inspection system, while missing clips are flagged.
Suitable for wet, frozen and packaged products, the inspection system is constructed largely from stainless steel and therefore capable of withstanding the harsh washdowns now required in meat processing plants.
Operators use a 15 inch liquid crystal display (LCD) screen, which shows captured images of defective products and Windows operating software allows the results to be analysed later.
The KD74 x-ray system can also be used for general frozen foods, other meats, pre-packaged meals and confectionary.
Anritsu manufactures a range of checkweighers, metal detectors, rejectors and automatic combination weighers.