Ultrasound detection and identification of foreign bodies in food products

Abstract

This paper introduces a concept based on an ultrasound reflection measurement with an echo classifier which has shown ability to detect and classify foreign bodies (FBs) in commercial food samples. The probed products were different kinds of cheese and marmalade. The FBs ranged from bone to steel and their size were 1 to 14 mm in diameter. The frequency was 5 MHz and the probing depths were 25, 50 and 75 mm. The research showed that all of the FBs investigated could be detected and identified in one of the tested food products. The best detection temperature interval was 1–5°C. Discrimination of FBs was more difficult in the inhomogenous samples than in the homogeneous samples investigated.