FOREIGN BODY DETECTION IN FOODS USING THE ULTRASOUND PULSE/ECHO METHOD

A “Foreign Body” (FB) is any undesirable piece of solid matter (metal, glass, stone, plastic) present in a food product. It is naturally desirable by the food industry that all FBs are detected and removed before they reach the customer. A FB detector was developed based on the ultrasound pulse/echo method. Unlike the time-gating for flaw detection by nondestructive testing (NDT), a FB is detected by examining the amplitude ratios between the echoes from the container's outer and inner surfaces. Experimental results are presented to demonstrate the ability of the proposed system to detect glass pieces in packed beverages and other foods.

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