There are many challenges in food manufacturing but one continuous challenge is the discovery of foreign bodies in finished products. This is a challenge that all food manufacturing have to deal with from time to time, and may in fact be more common than you think. Food Safety magazine reported 72% of respondents from a FlexXray survey experience contamination incidents at least quarterly or monthly, with 26% reporting them as often as a weekly event, so you are no way near alone in this challenge. Food safety authorities report that foreign body contamination is a frequent consumer complaint, that being said with huge amounts of food produced daily the percentage that reaches consumers is still relatively small as they are often detected during routine quality assurance checks, metal detections, or x-ray checks and therefore never making it to market.

Firstly let’s be clear what we mean by foreign bodies, this refers to an object or material that should not normally be present in food and pose a safety or quality risk.

Physical contamination is one of the four common food safety hazards and could be anything from metal, plastic and glass fragments, to insects, hair, stones.

What to do if you detect a foreign body contamination?

Even with strong food safety systems in place foreign body contamination can still occur but with quick actions and thorough reviews the impact can be minimised.

Stop and control immediately

The first priority is to prevent any further contamination.

• Stop the production line
• Isolate the affected batch
• Clearly label and quarantine the product

Contain before you investigate.

Secure the foreign body evidence

This is a crucial step for traceability and root cause analysis.

• Carefully remove the object, and place it in a sealed container with a clear label
• Record:
  1. Date and time
  2. Production line
  3. Product/batch number
  4. Person who found it

Define the contamination scope (traceability)

Understand how far the issue could extend.

• Identify:
  1. Affected batches
  2. Raw materials used
  3. Check equipment
  4. Time window of production as well as surrounding batches, to ensure it isn’t a bigger issue than it first appears. Contamination often happens over a period of time so nearby batches could also be affected. It is recommended you go back as far as the last known goods check to when the issue was found and controlled. It is better to over-isolate first, then release safe products, rather than risk missing contaminated batches.
• Use traceability records to track
  1. Upstream (ingredients/suppliers)
  2. Downstream (products already shipped)

This step will determine how big this issue is.

Contamination risk assessment

• Determine consumer risk
• Type of foreign body (metal, glass, plastic, organic)
• Size and shape (sharpness ingestible)
• Likelihood of more contamination
• Consumer risk (injury, choking etc.)

Outcome

Low risk- resulting in internal corrective action
High risk- possible escalation (withdrawal/recall)
In 2024 a BRCGS review reported 4-28% of all recalls were due to physical contamination, with metal fragments (often coming from equipment) being the biggest cause.

Root cause analysis

Discover why and how this contamination happened using tools like 5 whys and Fishbone (Ishikawa) diagram, to review the areas such as:

• Equipment condition (wear, breakage, missing parts)
• Production line inspection
• Staff practices (are they complaining with food safety protocols)
• Raw material contamination
• Packaging materials

Corrective action

Once you know how the foreign object ended up in your product, the next step is to address it. This might involve repairing or replacing faulty equipment, retaining your team, adjusting processes, or changing suppliers. The goal is simply to eliminate the cause, keep production safe, and ensure that it doesn’t happen again.

Preventive measures

Once the immediate problem has been fixed, measures should be put in place to prevent the issue from occurring again. This could include:

• Regular equipment checks
• Installing detection systems such as metal detectors or x-rays
• Improve staff training
• Reviewing production processes, as well as assessment of HACCP controls to ensure no gaps exist in your food safety management.

Decide on product disposition

Once you’ve assessed the risk, you need to decide what to do with the affected product. This could mean releasing it if it’s proven safe, reworking it if that’s possible, or disposing of it if there’s any doubt about safety. The decision should always be based on food safety risk, traceability, and company policy, ensuring only compliant products leave the site and that every decision is clearly justified and recorded.

Escalation

If there’s any chance that contaminated product has already left the site, the issue needs to be escalated immediately. This means involving senior management, and if needed starting a product withdrawal or recall. Customer and relevant authorities may also need to be informed, depending on the situation. The focus is on acting quickly, being transparent, and keeping people safe. Everything should be clearly documented, and communication kept consistent throughout.

Documentation (critical step)

Keeping clear records is a key part of handling any foreign body incident. Everything should be documented including:

• What was found
• When and where it happen
• Which batches were affected
• What actions were taken

You should also include the risk assessment, investigation findings, and the final decision on the product. Good documentation helps with traceability, audits, and shows that the issue was managed properly and in line with food safety requirements.