Playing it food safe with X-ray
The best defence is good offence
when it comes to food safety. Hygiene,
contaminant detection, allergen control,
food fraud and even packaging all play a
role in earning and maintaining consumer
trust. The most recent FSA Public
Attitudes Tracker reporti has shown a
rise in public concern about food issues
– with contamination coming out as the
top food safety issue of concern.
Confidence in the food system overall
is generally good, and 61% of those
surveyed agree that the people who
produce and supply food make sure it is
safe, honest and ethically approved. At
a time when food safety awareness is
rising amongst consumers, Managing
Director of Sparc Systems Phil Brown
talks through the physical hazards and
the role x-ray plays in keeping food safe
for consumption.
10 FDPP - www.fdpp.co.uk
INCREASED ACCOUNTABILITY FOR FOOD
PROCESSORS
Ever-increasing consumer expectations,
more stringent retailer demands and
strict government regulations have
moved food safety from an important
issue to a critical priority for food
manufacturers. The best-case scenario
for an organisation who is found to have
foreign matter in their finished product
is bad PR and brand collateral damage
- the worst is prosecution and/or huge
penalties.
Phil comments: “The Hazard Analysis and
Risk-Based Preventive Controls (HARPC)
standards that recently superseded the
previous Hazard Analysis and Critical
Control Point (HACCP) principles mean
that food processors are now mandated
to document all potential product risks,
including naturally occurring hazards
and anything that might intentionally or
unintentionally get introduced to their
facility. This means greater transparency
across the entire supply chain and that
means processors need to take greater
accountability for any foreign matter in
their plant and products.”
X-RAY - A GREAT TEAM PLAYER
Metal detectors have always been a
manufacturers’ first port of call as a
cost effective and low maintenance
way to pick up foreign matter in the
food production process and these are
still vital in food safety. Research has
shown that metal is the most common
contaminant source - it’s in the factory,
in farms and fields. Some metals, such
as the very thin aluminium used in fizzy
drink cans, are impossible to see if in
shards embedded into food. This means
they wouldn’t be detectable in an x-ray
machine, either inside or on top of a food
product.