IN Brief:
- Müller's Telford yoghurt plant operates Wipotec X-ray inspection systems across its production lines.
- The inspection arrangements differentiate foreign-body detection from rejection triggered by fill-level deviations.
- The most recently installed scanner arrived in 2025; existing configurations are tailored to each packaging format.
Wipotec X-ray equipment inspects yoghurt packs on Müller Yogurt & Desserts lines at its Telford factory, where individual formats dictate the conveyor and reject-system layout. Single pots, split cups and multipacks present different shapes, widths and handling requirements to the scanner. The latest of the installed machines arrived in 2025; the current development is an account of how existing inspection equipment has been adapted across the site, rather than a newly commissioned installation.
Approximately nine million yoghurt pots leave the Telford plant each week, according to Müller project engineer Daniel Edwards, with container sizes ranging from 125 g to 1 kg. At that scale the scanner, conveyor and rejection mechanism must work as one process. Packs need sufficient separation before entering the X-ray beam; a detected fault must then remain associated with the correct container until it reaches the discharge point. Linked cups and larger multipacks require different guides and reject movements from individual pots, even where the underlying inspection principle is unchanged.
Wipotec’s SC inspection machines use X-rays to examine packaged product and identify density differences that can indicate foreign material. That inspection principle can be applied to sealed foods without opening the package, but the achievable sensitivity depends on factors including the contaminant, product composition, package geometry and image settings. Yoghurt is a relatively consistent product compared with mixed foods, although fruit inclusions and changes in fill height can complicate interpretation. Each Telford system is tailored to its production line rather than installed with an identical configuration across every format.
Telford’s inspection lines use two reject stations so that packs showing possible foreign contamination can be diverted separately from those with fill-level deviations. The difference helps direct troubleshooting: inconsistent fill level may point towards a dosing or filling issue, whereas an unexpected dense object calls for investigation of product handling, raw materials or equipment condition. Both decisions depend on an accurate image, but each also requires reliable pack tracking between scanner and ejector. A sensor can identify a suspect pack correctly and still fail to protect the line if a subsequent reject acts on the wrong container.
Individual pack formats change the available margin for error. A single pot can usually be guided as one item, but joined cups have to remain aligned as the conveyor accelerates or changes direction. Multipacks occupy more of the belt and may present lids, seams and other structural features in the X-ray image. The line needs predictable gaps and stable presentation so that an inspection decision is associated with the correct pack at the reject station. Poor spacing can make a technically sound sensor ineffective in practice, particularly where production continues for long shifts.
Fill-level checks are sensitive to how each container travels through the X-ray beam. A tilted pot can alter the apparent position of the product surface, while pack edges, lids and inclusions can affect the image used for evaluation. The line’s inspection recipe must therefore be matched to a stable pack presentation, with test pieces and known product conditions used to verify the detection settings. The Telford configuration separates rejection routes, although the site has not disclosed numerical detection thresholds or line-by-line sensitivity data.
The separation of reject types may help plant personnel distinguish recurring faults and locate their causes, provided records are connected to the production line’s existing traceability and maintenance procedures. X-ray imaging is one control within a broader food safety system: it does not substitute for supplier approval, cleaning, equipment maintenance or packaging integrity testing. Its effectiveness depends on validation with relevant foreign-body test pieces and inspection conditions, as well as reliable diversion of rejected packs. Independent reject-rate comparisons and the details of Telford’s inspection data integration are not available.
Dairy production places additional demands on the equipment surrounding the scanner. Sealed yoghurt packs pass through areas subject to hygiene controls, while the conveyor has to remain accessible for cleaning and maintenance without disrupting the line’s normal handling pattern. Machine seals, belt materials and washdown exposure must be selected for the actual installation environment. Wipotec offers washdown-capable equipment, but the specific protection ratings of the Telford machines have not been detailed, so a common cleaning specification cannot be assumed for every line.
At Telford, X-ray performance depends on an integrated inspection station: aligned packs enter the beam, fault decisions are tracked through the conveying system and separate reject points remove the appropriate products. The approach accommodates different yoghurt containers without imposing an identical mechanical layout on every line. Its effectiveness is established through validation at each operating speed and pack format, rather than calculated from the factory’s weekly output alone.
