The top challenge for processors in foreign objection detection is there is not one single perfect way to detect every object that may have gotten into the product stream to avoid a recall. Good manufacturing practices (GMPs) around keeping plastic, glass, wood and metal out of their finished products is much more effective than trying to pick it out, says Donna Schaffner, associate director of food safety, quality assurance and training for Rutgers Food Innovation Center, Bridgeton, N.J.
“That is under the control of the processor,” she explains. “That is a personnel issue and a management issue, more than buying expensive equipment, [to keep] the contaminants from getting there in the beginning or at least keeping them being added by the processing plant.”