Physical hazards in food

The presence of foreign bodies in food is of major concern to the producer. 25% of consumer complaints are related to the physical contaminants in food. Physical contamination can occur at any stage of the food chain and therefore all reasonable precautions must be taken to prevent this type of contamination.

Among physical hazard sources include: food, glass, ceramics, wood/plants, metal, cookware metals, stones, rubber, plastic, cloth, insects and rodents.

 Unlike chemical hazards, physical hazards do not have to enter the body passing through cell membranes when digested and absorbed in the digestive tract. Instead physical hazards and fecal material, are technically considered “outside the body” when they remain in the tract or pass through until eliminated from the body through defecation.

According to FDA a foreign object in food is categorized as a physical hazard if it meets all the following criteria: There is clinical evidence of physical trauma or injury from ingestion. Medical authorities recognize the type of object as a potential ingestion hazard. Subsequent processing or intended use of the product does not eliminate or neutralize the hazard.

Illness and injury can result from hard, foreign objects in food. These physical hazards can result from contamination and/or poor procedures.
Physical hazards in food