Detection and prevention of foreign material in food: A review

Keila Payne; Corliss A O'Bryan; John A Marcy; Philip G Crandall

doi:10.1016/j.heliyon.2023.e19574

Detection and prevention of foreign material in food: A review

Heliyon. 2023 Sep 4;9(9):e19574. doi: 10.1016/j.heliyon.2023.e19574. eCollection 2023 Sep.

Authors

Keila Payne¹, Corliss A O'Bryan², John A Marcy³, Philip G Crandall²

Affiliations

¹ Food Safety and Quality Assurance, Tyson Foods, Springdale, AR, USA.
² Department of Food Science, University of Arkansas, Fayetteville, AR, USA.
³ Center of Excellence for Poultry Science, Dept. of Poultry Science, University of Arkansas, Fayetteville, AR, USA.

Abstract

This review highlights the critical concern foreign material contamination poses across the food processing industry and provides information on methods and implementations to minimize the hazards caused by foreign materials. A foreign material is defined as any non-food, foreign bodies that may cause illness or injury to the consumer and are not typically part of the food. Foreign materials can enter the food processing plant as part of the raw materials such as fruit pits, bones, or contaminants like stones, insects, soil, grit, or pieces of harvesting equipment. Over the past 20 years, foreign materials have been responsible for about one out of ten recalls of foods, with plastic fragments being the most common complaint. The goal of this paper is to further the understanding of the risks foreign materials are to consumers and the tools that could be used to minimize the risk of foreign objects in foods.

Keywords: Food; Foreign materials; Recalls.

Publication types

Review