X-ray detects hidden chicken bones

A new x-ray and colour vision hybrid system, allows faster poultry processing, by detecting embedded bones and defects missed during the deboning of chicken carcasses, its manufacturer claims.

X-ray dectection offers poultry processors the assurance that bones and defects are identified before carcasses progress to the next stage of processing. Inspection systems can also alert operators to foreign materials that could disrupt processing lines and potentially harm consumers.

New EU hygiene regulations now require all food businesses to implement a documented safety management system based on Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Point (HACCP) principles.

HACCP is a tool to assess hazards and establish control systems that focus on prevention rather than relying mainly on end-product testing. It is an internationally accepted systematic method of identifying specific hazards in plants and measures for their control to ensure the safety of food.

Baader-Johnson's BAADER 886 InspeXtor is a hybrid x-ray and colour vision system gives processors a second pair of eyes allowing early defect detection, the company claims.

Maintaining processing speed while ensuring all bones and defects are removed prior to upstream processing is a problem due to variations of meat thickness in chickens.

The system, unveiled at International Poultry Expo in Atlanta last month, detects bones missed during the deboning process and other defects in carcasses before they progress to the next stage of the operation.

German-based Nordischer Maschinenbau Rud.Baader manufacturs poultry processing equipment and has subsidiaries and operations in over 70 countries.