X-Ray systems can generally detect a wide array of contaminant types; all high density (metal, glass, rocks & stone, bone) and some rubber and plastic materials (depending on their density and size); the old adage 'if it sinks in water it's detectable' largely holds true. Different contaminants though, depending on their density, are detectable to different degrees. As a rule of thumb, the lower the density of the contaminant, the larger it will need to be to be detected.

​

The charts below illustrate the density of a variety of material types; of course various other factors combine to determine actual detection capability in a given application. In the charts, the farther to the right a material is shown, and the farther it is separated from the 'Typical Food Products' vertical bar, then the easier it should be to be detect with X-Ray (Important: Note the scaling - plastics, for example, are inherently more difficult to detect than metals):

​

1. All material types, showing a range for each category

2. Metals detail

3. Glass detail

4. Rocks & Stone detail

5. Ceramics detail

6. Rubbers detail

7. Plastics* detail

​

*Note that while most native plastics are either borderline, or not detectable, for some common plastics there are functionally equivalent X-Ray Detectable plastics available that are much more likely to be detected.