Detecting Foreign Bodies in Food

Book excerpt: Foreign bodies are the biggest single source of customer complaints for many food manufacturers, retailers and enforcement authorities. Foreign bodies are any undesirable solid objects in food and range from items entirely unconnected with the food such as glass or metal fragments to those related to the food such as bones or fruit stalks. Detecting foreign bodies in food discusses ways of preventing and managing incidents involving foreign bodies and reviews the range of current methods available for the detection and control of foreign bodies, together with a number of new and developing technologies.Part one addresses management issues, with chapters on identifying potential sources of foreign bodies, good manufacturing practice (GMP), the role of the hazard analysis and critical control point (HACCP) system and how best to manage incidents involving foreign bodies. The book also includes a chapter on the laboratory identification of foreign bodies. Part two examines methods for the detection and removal of foreign bodies. There are chapters on existing methods, including metal detection, magnets, optical sorting, X-ray systems and physical separation methods. Other chapters consider research on potential new technologies, including surface penetrating radar, microwave reflectance, nuclear magnetic resonance, electrical impedance and ultrasound.Detecting foreign bodies in food is a standard reference for all those concerned with ensuring the safety of food. - Discusses ways of preventing and managing incidents involving foreign bodies - Reviews the range of technologies available for effective detection and control of foreign bodies