X-Ray Inspection on the Rise in Asia


Sales of Mettler-Toledo Safeline's AXR x-ray inspection machines show robust growth

Mettler-Toledo Safeline has revealed steady growth in sales of its AXR x-ray inspection system in Asia. Launched in December 2009, the AXR was developed to provide Asian manufacturers with high-performance and cost-effective product inspection technology to comply with local and international food safety regulations. Growth in the use of packaging formats that pose problems for traditional contaminant detection in the region as well as Mettler-Toledo's expertise in customising technology to meet product inspection challenges have led to the AXR's increased popularity.

The Mettler-Toledo Safeline AXR system offers fully automated product inspection and rejection of contaminated products. The technology provides exceptional detection of metal, high-density plastic, glass, stones and rubber and can simultaneously perform in-line quality checks including measuring mass, counting components, identifying missing or broken products, monitoring fill level, checking for damaged packaging, and ensuring seal integrity.

Mettler-Toledo has reported that the largest growth in sales for the AXR system has been in China and Thailand, driven by the growth in demand for convenience products, such as instant noodles. These products are packaged in plastic containers that have traditionally proved harder to inspect, as the density of the packaging at corners and edges can mask contamination. The manufacturers that use this packaging format require x-ray technology capable of overcoming this detection challenge.

Since the initial launch of the AXR, Mettler-Toledo Safeline has introduced a number of mechanical and software enhancements to optimise the technology for the requirements of Asian food manufacturers. In response to requests from producers of noodle snacks for tailored solutions for their specific x-ray needs, Mettler-Toledo developed software capable of detecting contamination in the edges of these plastic pots, without masking out the rest of the product, ensuring complete contaminant detection. This customised software has now been introduced as standard in all AXR systems.

Another significant area of growth has been small and medium enterprises in China. In order to penetrate the overseas export market, more and more of these smaller manufacturers are looking to the AXR system as a turn-key solution to demonstrate compliance with food safety regulations both locally and globally. Its comprehensive and highly sensitive product inspection and contaminant detection at high throughput speeds make it the ideal technology for Asian manufacturers to ensure that their products meet the high quality standards that consumers expect.

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