Guidelines for the identification of
foreign bodies reported from food

Help prevent recurrences of foreign body incidents through reliable identification of the foreign body and the route through which it entered the food

The seriousness of foreign bodies as hazards in foods is well recognised by both food companies and enforcement officers. A foreign body incident can jeopardise consumer health, result in prosecution and significantly undermine a company’s image. Rapid and reliable identification of a foreign body is a central part of ascertaining how it got into the food and devising methods to prevent a recurrence. The guide contains a wealth of information to help with this identification

Based on the highly successful first edition, it has been extensively revised and expanded to provide wider and more detailed coverage based on considerable day-to-day practical experience of foreign body analysis. It describes the approaches that can be taken to the identification of foreign bodies as diverse as bone, hair and feathers, fish scales, insects and other invertebrates, microbial matter, metal and plastic, rocks and minerals, glass and ceramics, fibres and paper and board. It also considers the best way to isolate foreign bodies from foods for analysis, and the likely effects on the foreign body of processing and chewing. In addition to technical and laboratory personnel involved directly in the identification of foreign bodies, the guide will prove invaluable to anyone who commissions such analyses or has to make decisions on the basis of foreign body identification.

Contents

• Introduction
• Analytical methods
• Initial approach and classification
• Readily recognisable objects
• Vegetable matter
• Animal tissue
• Vegetable matter
• Insects and other invertebrates
• Rodent and other invertebrate contamination
• Microbial materials
• Metals
• Glass and ceramics
• Rocks and minerals
• Plastics and packaging
• Fibre and hairs
• Cloud and particulates in drinks
• Natural materials reported as foreign bodies
• Paper and cardboard
• Stains as foreign body complaints
• Drugs
• Effects of food processing and chewing on foreign bodies
• Isolation of foreign bodies from food
• Prevention of foreign body contamination
• Sources of expert help with foreign bodies
• List of suppliers
• References

Softcover - 290 pages - full colour