Food safety: the Italian startup Xnext sets up in Le Mans

The innovative Italian company Xnext has designed an inspection system that detects foreign bodies such as plastic and rubber in food in order to improve food safety. The startup has recently established one of its subsidiaries in Le Mans, Atlantic France, to target the French market and get closer to its first French customers. 

The Atlantic France region is a land of industry and innovation. Opening one of its subsidiaries in Le Mans was an obvious choice for Xnext, as Atlantic France has many agri-food businesses. 

An X-Ray machine to detect food contaminants

Created in 2014 and based in Milan, Xnext has made a name for itself in the field of food safety by developing the Xspectra Technology. This patented X-ray, multi-energy inspection system can “detect high and low density foreign bodies in food“, explains Fabio Pelosi, Business Developer at Xnext, to the newspaper Ouest-France. 

The machine can recognise high and low density contaminants such as plastic, rubber, bone, glass, wood. Then, once it has detected a foreign body, “the contaminated product is automatically ejected“. 

Xnext designs and manufactures machines that are intended to be integrated into the production lines of the food industry. They are made to improve food safety and reduce product recalls, which are costly for companies.

A fast-growing company

The company, which employs 40 people in Milan, generated a turnover of €3 million in 2021 and expects significant growth this year with 10 machines already installed and 30 already budgeted for the first months of 2022. 

Xnext plans to extend its technology to the pharmaceutical market, then to the recycled materials market to facilitate selective waste collection, and then to security checks at airports.