Microanalytical Methods Identify Foreign Materials for FSMA Compliance (Food Safety Tech)
Food Safety Tech
March 10, 2016
By Debra L. Joslin, Ph.D., McCrone Associates
Implementation of FSMA will result in greater scrutiny of foreign material in food products at every stage of production, as well an entirely new pressure to locate and eliminate the source of contamination from the supply and production chain. Identifying foreign materials found in food products is the first step in determining their source, and therefore in determining how to prevent a given foreign material from being introduced into the product. For identification of small particles ranging from 1–1000 µm, microanalytical techniques are essential.
Examining and Isolating Foreign Material
Before the foreign material is prepared for analysis, the material is examined under a stereomicroscope. Ideally, isolation of the foreign particles from the host matrix and preparation of the foreign particles for microanalysis is performed in a cleanroom, which mitigates the introduction of environmental contamination not related to the initial contamination problem.