Metal Contamination: Can you really detect metal in your products?

There seems to be several food recalls every week due to metal contamination in finished product. If a metal detector was in place and operational, how is it that product has been recalled for metal contamination?

Food Safety of Japanese Imports

With the recent nuclear disaster issues in Japan there have been many media reports concerning the safety of both the food and water supply. FSANZ (Food Standards Australia New Zealand) have now taken this into consideration and requested that the regulator responsible for food importation in Australia, AQIS (Australian Quarantine Inspection Service) to undertake testing of food products imported from Japan.

This action comes off the back of both the Japanese and Singapore governments detecting levels of radionuclide well above the international CODEX guidelines. Australia’s actions follow that of other countries, namely China and South Korea who have also scaled up their testing regimes.

At this stage, The World Health Organisation has reported that leafy green vegetables, milk, egg and meat products are the biggest concern for possible contamination. Eating food containing radioactive materials could increase the risks of certain cancers in the future.

A check of your raw materials and review of raw material specifications should aid in the identification of any products that may have been imported from Japan. Another area to check is if your food safety risk assessment has considered the likelihood and consequence of increased levels of particular chemicals outside of regulatory limits.

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Food Safety Hazards

The identification of food hazards forms an integral part of reducing the overall liability that your food business may be faced with. It is through this identification that we can ensure that adequate controls are in place to reduce or eliminate the hazards to support a safe food product.
Food safety hazards can be categorised as being microbiological, chemical and physical. At a minimum, the HACCP (hazard analysis critical control point) concept requires the identification and control of food safety hazards.

HACCP Flow Process Charts

The first part when developing a HACCP plan is to undertake the 5 preliminary steps. The preliminary steps are intended to help you gather and collate background information that will help with implementation of the 7 principles of HACCP. The HACCP preliminary steps form an important precursor to effectively identifying and controlling food safety hazards within your food business.

Food Allergen Management in Your Business

It is very important for your business to be aware of food allergens and the effect they can have on susceptible customers. Allergic reactions to food can vary in severity and can be life threatening. You and your business also have a duty of care and a legal responsibility to produce safe food. By complying with basic legal requirements and implementing best practice allergen management you will be protecting yourself and your business.

Identifying Food Safety Hazards

Why is it that so many food businesses fail to identify their food hazards correctly? The identification and control of food hazards forms the basis of every HACCP Program. It is really HACCP 101! The worst case scenarios for not identifying and controling food hazards adequately are food poisoning outbreaks, product recalls and very bad media coverage (damage to your brand). So how do you work out what hazards could occur in your business?