Foreign bodies in foods: guidelines for their
prevention, control and detection (second edition)

Identify and exploit the latest technology for the prevention, control and detection of foreign bodies in foods, as part of a systematic food safety assurance programme.

The seriousness of foreign bodies as hazards in foods is well recognised by both food companies and enforcement bodies. A foreign body incident can jeopardise consumer health, result in prosecution and significantly undermine a company's image. A wide range of measures, exploiting various technologies, is now available to food companies to help with the prevention, detection and control of foreign bodies. Understanding these - including their strengths, applications and limitations - is an essential part of devising an effective strategy for food safety assurance with regard to foreign bodies. This guide is designed to help food companies achieve that understanding and use it to implement foreign body prevention, control and detection systems appropriate to their processes, products and business.

The guide builds on the widely used first edition, with extensive revisions reflecting the significant technological advances and the practical experience gained in the intervening nine years. Developed by a working group of foreign body experts drawn from food companies and equipment manufacturers, the emphasis of the guide is on practical systems and procedures, from which companies of all sizes can identify those most appropriate to their needs. Part A deals with control and prevention of foreign bodies whilst Part B covers detection and removal, and Part C provides useful reference information - such as contact details for suppliers.

Contents

Introduction

Part A - Effective control and prevention of foreign bodies in foods

• Definitions
• Scale of the problem
• Reasonable precautions and due diligence
• Suggested procedures for investigating a foreign body incident
• Control factors

Part B - Foreign body detection and removal methods

• Selection of detection and rejection systems
• Metal detection systems
• X-ray detection systems
• Vision and optical detection systems
• Physical separation systems
• Manual sorting
• New and emerging foreign body detection technologies
• References

Part C - Appendices

• Theory and operation of metal detection systems
• Theory and operation of X-ray detection systems
• List of suppliers for metal detection and X-ray detection of foreign bodies
• Bibliography
• Glossary of terms

Softcover - 86 pages