DETECTION OF PHYSICAL HAZARDS

Introduction

PMG Vol .02-Issue .39-October 2023 Food recalls can happen due to a variety of reasons, including the detection of foreign bodies in food products. In 2016, a very well-known chocolate manufacturing company has to withdraw its products from market due to the incidence of finding a piece of plastic from it. Presence of foreign objects in food products are considered as one of the major reasons for consumer complaints in food industry. They represent either a quality defect affecting company and brand reputation or a food safety hazard, due to potential injury or choking. Foreign bodies are sensitive issue for consumers and therefore requires special attention when the product has to be either directly consumed from the packaging (e.g., ready to drink, ready to eat, confectionary, ice cream) or while feeding a third person (e.g., babies or the elderly).

1. Understanding Physical Hazards

Physical hazards are either foreign materials unintentionally introduced to food products (ex: metal fragments in ground meat) or naturally occurring objects (ex: bones in fish) that are hazardous to the consumer. A physical hazard contaminates a food product at any stage of production.

Foreign bodies might be differentiated from the product by any of their physical characteristics: magnetic or electrical conductivity, density, color, shape, or dimension. Food processors should take adequate measures to avoid physical hazards in food. Physical hazards can be categorized into following two groups based on its incidence of its occurrence: a.Extraneous Foreign Bodies: These can be defined as unwanted / unintentional material which are not product associated and occurs in the product as the result of various agricultural, processing, transportation, and storage activities throughout the supply chain. e.g., glass, metal particles, plastic pieces, wood, hair, strings, stones, pebbles etc. b. Intrinsic Foreign Bodies: These are defined as product associated unwanted material which may present naturally in the raw material / product. E.g., eggshell, feathers, bone, hide (rind), cartilage, wood, leaves, larvae, eggs etc. 2. Sources of Physical Hazards a.Glass: light bulbs, glass containers and glass food containers b.Metal: fragments from equipment such as splinters, blades, needles, utensils, staples, etc. c.Plastics: material used for packaging; fragments of utensils used for cleaning equipment d.Stones: incorporated in field crops, such as peas and beans, during harvesting.

a.Wood: splinters from wood structures and wooden pallets used to store or transport ingredients or food products

b.Natural components of food: hard or sharp parts of a food (ex: shells in nut products).

3. Regulation for Controlling Physical Hazard

a hard or sharp object between 7mm and 25mm in length in ready-to-eat food, whenever the product requires minimal preparation or further processing, which would not (or may not) eliminate the foreign object. any object of any length up to 25mm, in food intended for special groups such as infants, surgery patients, and the elderly. FDA declares any food item to be adulterated if it contains: 1. 2. The 7mm-threshold is based on the several case studies related to foreign object contaminations, which states that objects below 7mm rarely cause injuries to individuals not in the special-risk group. Hard or sharp objects longer than 25 mm will also be investigated by the authorities, but in general they do not lead to immediate product recalls.

Physical hazard management:

Devices for preventing or minimizing physical hazard: 1. Sorters: This category of equipments is known to remove foreign bodies from a product identified as contaminates (e.g., agricultural material, nuts, cacao, or green coffee beans). For these equipments no corrective actions are taken when foreign bodies are identified through these devices, except in the case of abnormally high contamination or if a non-conventional type of material is discovered.

Following is the list of equipments that falls in the category of sorters: a) Drawer magnet b) Magnet traps c) Sifters d) Simplex sifters e) Duplex Sifters f) Optical and laser sorters 2. Detection Equipment: Detection Systems are usually installed at the last stage of the process to control foreign body hazards prior to dispatch to consumers. Detection devices should be installed at the end of the process, at or after packing, when no contamination is expected. These can be also installed at important intermediate process steps also for example at the filling or discharging of intermediate bulk containers. Following is the list of Detection System which are used in food industry: a) Metal detectors b) X-ray system The application of good manufacturing practice (GMP) and hazard analysis (HACCP) through the whole food supply chain, “from plant to plate,” is the most effective way to prevent and reduce contamination and thereby protect the consumer; this includes, for example, hygienic design of buildings and machinery, training of factory employees, eradication of pests or certification of raw material suppliers. In addition, separators, and sorters (e.g., filters, sieves, magnets, lasers) must be placed on production lines to improve foreign body reduction.