Detecting Foreign Bodies in Food

Foreign bodies are the biggest single source of customer complaints for many food manufacturers, retailers, and enforcement authorities. Foreign bodies are any undesirable solid objects in food and range from items entirely unconnected with the food, such as glass or metal fragments, to those related to the food, for example bones or fruit stalks. Detecting Foreign Bodies in Food discusses ways of preventing and managing foreign body incidents, and reviews the range of both current and emerging methods and technologies available for detection and control.

Part I addresses management issues, with chapters on identifying potential sources of foreign bodies, good manufacturing practice (GMP), the role of the HACCP system, and how best to manage incidents involving foreign bodies.

Part II examines methods for detection and removal, with a discussion of existing techniques including metal detection, magnets, optical sorting, and physical separation methods. Other chapters present research on potential new technologies, including surface penetrating radar, microwave reflectance, nuclear magnetic resonance, and ultrasound.