The energy dispersive X-ray fluorescence spectrometer (EDX) permits the easy and rapid identification of foreign matter adhering to or mixed into food products, pharmaceuticals, and other products. This shows an example of the qualitative analysis of a metal fragment on chocolate.
The instrument directly irradiates the sample with X-rays and measures the energy and intensity of the secondary fluorescent X-rays that are generated. This permits non-destructive characterization of the constituent elements of the sample (qualification) and measurement of their concentrations (quantification). This easy-to-use method is extremely rapid, as no chemical pretreatment is required and multiple elements are analyzed simultaneously, and can be used for solid, powder, and liquid samples.
