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

What is the meaning of chemical hazards?

Chemical hazard are chemicals that can get into food by improper storage of chemical or chemical containers or by using chemicals improperly.

Generally, industrial pollutants are unintentional contaminants of foods,, even if regulated, may be difficult to control.

Some toxic chemical compounds can occur naturally in foods and in the environment.

Chemical hazards can cause food borne disease and the consumer health. This includes naturally occurring substances, such as allergens, and toxins and contamination of food with chemicals substance, their residue or their degradation products at levels that can harm the consumers.

Chemical hazards include:
• pesticides
• food additives and preservatives
• cleaning and sanitizing supplies
• toxic metals that leech through worn cookware and equipment
• lubricants used on equipment

The above chemicals must be approved by federal agency before they can be legally used. If a chemical leaves a residue in food, the cognizant agency is responsible for establishing a tolerance level – the amount of residue that can legally remain in or on raw and processed foods.
What is the meaning of chemical hazards?

Chemical hazard in food industry

A food safety hazard can be defined as any factor present in food that has the potential to cause harm to the consumer.

Food safety hazards may be biological, chemical or physical object.

Chemical hazards can cause food borne disease and the consumer health. This includes naturally occurring substances, such as allergens, and toxins and contamination of food with chemicals substance, their residue or their degradation products at levels that can harm the consumers.

Some chemicals added to foods also make them unsafe. One potential chemical hazard is an excess quantity of sodium nitrite. This potential hazard was recognized decades ago when controls were established by the USDA to minimize this risk.

Other chemical hazards which should be considered include agricultural chemicals such as pesticide, herbicides, insecticides, fertilizers, antibiotics and other animal drugs, antibiotics, sulfa drugs, cleaning and sanitizing agents, oils and greases.

The above chemicals must be approved by federal agency before they can be legally used. If a chemical leaves a residue in food, the cognizant agency is responsible for establishing a tolerance level – the amount of residue that can legally remain in or on raw and processed foods.

Under some circumstances, chemical hazards can be eliminated or reduced through processing operations. For example, washing and peeling of agriculture produce is a very effective method for eliminating or reducing residues of agricultural chemicals.

Establishing safe food handling practices to avoid chemical hazards in the food supply, again like biological and physical hazard controls, will increase not only the safety of the food supply but also the margin of profit, reduce legal liabilities and promote good will to improve consumer confidence.
Chemical hazard in food industry

Food Spoilage and Physical Factors

Food Spoilage and Physical Factors
Food spoilage can also be caused by physical factors, such as temperature, moisture and pressure acting upon the foods.

Moisture and heat can also produce hydrolytic rancidity in fats; in this case, fats are split into free fatty acids, which may cause off odors and rancid flavors in fats and oils.

Excessive heat denatures proteins, breaks emulsions, removes moisture from food and destroys nutrients such as vitamins.

However, excessive coldness, such as freezing, also discolors fruits and vegetable, changes their texture and/or cracks their outer coatings to permit contamination by organisms.

Food under pressure will be squeezed and transformed into unnatural conformation.

The compression will likely break up the surface structure, release degradative enzymes, and expose the damage food to exterior microbial contamination.

Many health officials consider physical factors to include such things as sand, glass, wood chips, rat hair, animal urine, bird droppings, insect parts and so on. These things may not spoil the food, but they do present hazards.

Some these foreign substances do lead to spoilage.

Furthermore, insects and rodents can consume and damage stores foods and insect can lay eggs and leave larvae in the foods, causing further damage later.

Such foods are no longer reliable since they contain hidden contaminants.

The attacks of the by insect and rodents can also contaminate foods further with microbial infections.
Food Spoilage and Physical Factors

Product Recall: Hazard Evaluation and Recall Strategy

Product Recall: Hazard Evaluation and Recall Strategy
Hazard Evaluation
An important step in recall procedure is to evaluate the existing hazard to determine if a recall is warranted. The company or regulatory agency should answer the following:

• Has disease or injury already occurred?

• Could exposure to humans be a health hazard?

• Asses hazard according to population of greatest risk (children, hospital, retirement communities, etc)

• Degrees of seriousness if exposed?

• Likelihood of occurrence (exposure)?

• Consequence of hazard (immediate or long term)?

• Classification of recall I, II, III

Recall Strategy
All companies should have a detailed plan to follow should the hazard evaluation warrant a recall. Some critical elements to consider in planning recall strategies are:

• The depth of recall (warehouse, wholesale, retails, consumer levels).

• Whether or not to issue a public warning, to what signet of the public the warning would be directed, and through what media (general, newspaper, TV, radio or though special groups: doctors, etc.)

• Method of recall effectiveness checks to determine how many have received the recall notice.

Product Recall: Hazard Evaluation and Recall Strategy