Preventing and Detecting Foreign Matter in Foods

In an earlier Processing column discussing hazard analysis (August 2003), consultant Richard Stier (phone 707-935-2829) listed the 12 most common foreign substances found in food as glass, metal, stones, wood, jewelry, insects, insulation, bone, plastic, personal effects, bullets, and needles. Any of these could cause injury and thus pose a hazard, but most are routinely removed by standard operations in food processing. This column discusses each of these materials in more detail and describes …