High-speed sensing and detection system for automatic removal of packages with seal quality issues from a food packaging line

Contamination of packed foods due to micro-organisms entering through air leaks can cause serious public health issues and cost companies large amounts of money due to product recalls, consumer impact and subsequent loss of market share. The main source of contamination is leaks in packaging which allow air, moisture and micro-organisms to enter the package. In the food processing and packaging industry worldwide, there is an increasing demand for cost effective state of the art non-contact inspection technologies that are capable of reliably detecting leaky seals and delivering products at six-sigma.The proposed new technology will develop non-destructive testing technology using digital imaging and sensing combined with a differential vacuum technique to assess seal integrity of food packages on a high-speed production line.This technology can also be applied to non-food processing industries where seal integrity is an important factor to the finished product.