FOREIGN BODY IDENTIFICATION

Overview

A “foreign body” is anything that should not be in the production line, whether it is organic (hair, nails, mould, plant matter, insect etc.) or inorganic (plastic, stone, glass, metal etc.).

Foreign bodies can contaminate goods at multiple stages in the food supply chain from production at the farm through to retail sales and even the consumer’s own home…

This can occur even with the most robust detection systems in place.

Foreign Body Identification Services

FIRI Consulting use Microscopy to determine the identity of foreign bodies found in products.

We are able to Identify type of glass through SEM/EDS analysis (Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDS). This gives the breakdown of the chemical composition of the glass, which is then used to identify the type of glass.

We can also do FTIR (Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy, also known as FTIR Analysis or FTIR Spectroscopy) analysis which is an analytical technique used to identify organic, polymeric, and, in some cases, inorganic materials.

Examples of Common Foreign Bodies Found