Bread rolls on a conveyor with one roll outlined in yellow where a blue plastic fragment sits, labeled Foreign Object Detected

Use cases

How do food plants detect foreign objects on open product lines?

A camera above the conveyor checks every open product as it passes, and Video-to-Action AI flags foreign objects on the surface, such as plastic fragments, glove pieces or metal parts. The affected product is removed before it is packed. Objects inside the product need X-ray imaging.

Food & Beverages

Quality Assurance

What it catches

On open product lines, such as baked goods, snacks or ready meals, Video-to-Action AI flags anything on the surface that does not belong:

Plastic fragments, including the blue plastic plants use so it stands out
Glove pieces and packaging scraps
Metal parts, such as small fasteners
Other loose material lying on the product or belt

Why other checks miss it

Metal detectors only find metal, and low-density plastic can be hard for X-ray to see. Visual inspection at line speed relies on someone noticing a small fragment among thousands of identical products. A camera checks the surface of every unit, which covers the gap those systems leave.

How it acts

VITA, Maneva's quality and downtime agent, decides on every unit in real time. When it sees a foreign object, it triggers the line's reject mechanism, so the product is removed before it is packed, and logs the event with its image.

Logged events show where foreign material enters the line, for example after a particular machine or at a station where gloves are changed, so the team can remove the source, not only the product.

What cameras can and cannot see

A camera sees the surface. Objects inside the product still need X-ray. If your line already runs X-ray imaging, the AI can learn from those images too. The camera sits above the conveyor, before packing. Some lines can start with cameras they already have; many need at least one off-the-shelf camera placed for the task.

Result

Every unit is checked, not a sample, and each removal is logged for your food safety records.

See it on a line like yours →

More for food and beverage plants: AI for food and beverage lines →

Frequently Asked Questions

Didn't find what you need? Our team will walk you through Video-to-Action AI and show how it fits your production environment.

Does it replace our metal detector or X-ray?

No. It adds a visual check for what those systems can miss on the surface, such as plastic and glove pieces, and works alongside them.

Which products does foreign object detection work on?

Any open product a camera can see clearly as it passes, such as baked goods, snacks, ready meals and produce. The model is trained on images from your own line.

Can it detect objects or defects inside a product?

If you use X-ray, infrared, or thermal imaging cameras, we can absolutely teach the AI to detect what those cameras reveal. If a human can see it in the image, the AI can likely learn it too. At the end of the day, it all comes down to what the camera sees — our AI can analyze and act on whatever that is.