Why bakeries increasingly inspect their products with X-ray
Baking is among the industries with the highest number of product recalls. How X-ray inspection protects customers and brands, and why bakeries are moving from metal detectors to X-ray.
The bakery industry has grown significantly in recent years as consumers look for healthier alternatives to traditional baked goods. Manufacturers are adjusting recipes so their products keep a great taste, offer higher nutritional value and build customer trust. But that trust can be lost with a single complaint.
Contamination in bakery products
Raw materials pose a significant risk in food production: they may contain small stones and other contaminants that damage machinery and end up in the finished product. In baked goods, these can be fragments of stone or parts of ovens. Film or aluminium can also get into the product during processing and packaging.
If this happens, there is a risk of injury to the customer and a product recall is practically inevitable. The US FDA ranks baking among the five industries with the most product recalls.
According to a 2011 study by the Grocery Manufacturers Association, the average product recall costs about 10 million dollars, ranging in reality from less than 1 million to more than 100 million. And that does not include indirect costs such as damage to the brand’s reputation and lost future sales, which in the long run can exceed even the direct costs.
How X-ray protects customers and the brand
An X-ray system on the production line detects a wide range of contaminants, not just metal ones. This is the main, but by no means the only, reason food manufacturers are moving from metal detectors to X-ray.
X-ray also checks the overall quality of products. In bakeries, it has helped many manufacturers reduce complaints by checking product integrity and shape and monitoring the filling. Only products of the highest quality reach customers, which builds the brand and repeat purchases.
Mekitec X-ray systems for bakeries
Mekitec X-ray systems are designed specifically for the food industry and developed in cooperation with food manufacturers:
- simple operation that line operators can handle,
- software with food-specific functions such as fill, piece count or integrity checks,
- compact dimensions for easy integration into an existing line,
- an attractive price-performance ratio, so the system pays off for a family bakery as well as a large manufacturer.
The need for inspection usually starts with contaminant detection and gradually expands to comprehensive quality control. This is where X-ray brings the most value.
