They are very frequent in the food industry but also present in the pharmaceutical, cosmetic or toy industries. They are found naturally in raw materials, accidentally during the manufacturing process, during maintenance operations and more rarely during sabotage (social movements, voluntary pollution or lack of vigilance).

For the industrialist, his responsibility is immediately engaged (Decree of 30 July 1999, NOR: AGRG9901649A), the presence of one or more foreign bodies in its finished products can be catastrophic in case of recall. The first risk to be taken into account is obviously the health of consumers but the negative impact in terms of brand image which induces more or less serious financial losses for the company in question.

1) Raw materials: such as vegetables, condiments, seeds or other products from the fields, it is not uncommon to find shot, bottle shards, cigarette butts, nails, stones, bones, insects, wood, plastic, etc… Techniques exist to eliminate them such as de-stoners, traditional metal detectors but the packaging, often in big bags, containers or sacks, do not allow acceptable detection thresholds for the consumer in case of ingestion or chewing.

2) The process: each transformation of the product involves a risk: washing, cutting, chopping, grading, sieving, filling, dosing, packaging, capping, blistering, sealing, atomisation, sterilisation, storage, cubing, cooking, deep-freezing, etc…

3) All changes: the best being the enemy of the good, increases in production rates, improvements in equipment, change of supplier for raw materials, containers, capsules, often lead to unanticipated incidents.

ELCOWA, 25 years of experience in the search for foreign bodies or defects has a fully dedicated control centre in Mulhouse to help you quickly manage this type of crisis. Leader in Europe in this field, do not hesitate to contact us for any information, advice, free tests, estimates or controls.