Sources of Physical Contamination in Food Production

Every product offered for consumption in food production areas must be clean and free of foreign matter. It means that the food that contains any substance that should not be in it has been physically contaminated and it has a physical risk.

First of all, food should be free from the physical risks it contains. Meat products are made of bones, unwanted fats and cartilage structures; fruits and vegetables should be cleaned from the core, woody structures and rotten parts.

It is also necessary to pay attention to environmental factors during production. These are wooden equipment in the production area, breakable materials, small metal parts such as staples and jewelry that may be found on the working personnel.

Such items, fragile equipment made of glass, porcelain, ceramics and hard plastic should not be kept in production areas. When broken, these materials break into very small pieces and carry the risk of spreading to every point of the production area.

In cases where the use of equipment made of frangible material is mandatory, a procedure should be established regarding what to do in case of breakage and the equipment should be listed. Equipment should be checked periodically according to the risk analysis.

In case of detection of fractures and cracks, they should be recorded and removed from the production area.

When wooden materials are deformed, they form splinters and pose a risk of contamination. A list should also be created for the wooden equipment that must be used in the production area, and the equipment should be checked periodically according to risk analysis and necessary actions should be taken.

All personnel working in the production area should be given training on sources of physical contamination, prevention of contamination and what to do after contamination. In this way, physical contamination can be prevented.