Are you identifying all food contaminants?

There are many physical contaminants that can get into food, but identifying them isn’t always as straightforward as it may seem.

From bones in raw meat, to plastics, glass and metal, it’s crucial that food manufacturers find out exactly what the contaminants are and how the objects got into the food.

In addition, by removing contaminants found in food products, you can ensure consumer safety, comply with food regulation standards and avoid costly product recalls, which can cause catastrophic damage to a business.

Below, we’ve identified the common contaminants to look for in food products, and shared advice on how you can improve your identification and compliance process.

 

Common contaminants

Bones from raw meat

It’s inevitable that some small bones may creep into your raw meat products, and if they go undetected they can be extremely harmful for consumers.

This issue is high on the agenda for food manufacturers and makes food inspection processes incredibly important.

 

Glass, metal, stone and plastics

When food products are being prepared items from the building can unfortunately contaminate your food.

For example, plaster, flakes of paint, broken glass, screw fixings from your physical environment, or parts of equipment such as pieces of metal can be picked up.

To avoid this, it’s good practice for food manufacturers to ensure equipment and preparation areas are cleaned regularly and kept in good condition.

 

Vegetable matter

Sometimes the ingredients itself can cause the contamination, as unintended and unwanted ingredients can remain in food after it has been prepared, such as pips or stalks, or stones from harvesting.

 

Other objects

Other common contaminants can include fingernails and jewellery, and any other substance that food products can come in contact with during your manufacturing process.

It’s important that food service professionals have a thorough system in place to identify contaminants before food products are sent to end-users.

 

How Sparc can help

At Sparc, we have a range of X-ray inspection equipment that offers pinpoint precision alongside other features such as accurate label verification.

Our Theia offers advanced and practical combination X-ray and checkweighing capabilities, which can help to significantly reduce giveaway and increase profitability.  

To watch the Theia in action, click here.

With automated processes it removes and minimises the need for human intervention and delivers consistent identification of contaminants.

It can accommodate all product formats in sizes up to 400mm x 400mm x 200mm – and up to 6000g – this allows most common food retail package sizes to run from small pods up to family packs, and it provides fast, accurate rejection of out-of-tolerance or contaminated packs into lockable stations.

 

For more information about Sparc Theia, click here and to learn how you can benefit, contact us.