Jul 22

Consumer product testing: cookies

Non-destructive testing of consumer products is not new, with many laws protecting consumers. However, producers and suppliers do not test products unless explicity legally required. We offer simple analysis and testing for any users.

In this example, we illustrate how a packet of cookies can be quickly inspected by CT scanning and X-ray imaging, with the unexpected result that a metal particle was found. The CT scan of the packet of cookies reveals a dense particle in one cookie, which could only be observed by normal X-ray images of a single sample (the entire packet obscures this detail in a normal X-ray image). The CT image allows isolation and removal of the particle (less than 0.5 mm diameter), which allows further spectroscopic analysis by XRF which confirms its metallic nature: Iron.

21072014_02 cookies 1

21072014_02 cookies 2

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cookie inclusion

metsl particle

Also find below some videos of the microstructure of a single cookie, indicating some cracks and the largest one in blue in the videos.

cookie video

cookie video2

Analysis performed in Volume Graphics VGStudioMax 2.2