Assessment of the Presence of Foodborne Physyical Hazards in South East Europe Using Data from EU Rapid Alert System for Food and Feed

Introduction: The European Union (EU) established the Rapid Alert System for Food and Feed (RASFF) database to capture information in respect to various food safety and food fraud aspects. Foreign bodies are considered to be objects, not typically present in food, that result in injuries, diseases, or psychological trauma. Presence of this hazard has not, in general, been explored and is often neglected in research and food safety trainings.

Purpose: The purpose of this paper was to analyze the presence of foreign bodies, during the extended period of 12 years. It provides information on 731 incidents of foreign matter contamination deployed in terms of types of foreign bodies and food products engaged, from 13 countries of South and East Europe.

Methods: All notifications recorded in the RASFF database from countries of SE Europe were extracted for January 01, 2004 to December 31, 2015. Data regarding year of notification, product category, country notifying, and foreign body were further processed. The chi-square test for association elucidated relationships between regions and types of foreign body or food industries.

Results: Analysis of foreign bodies noted that the top three materials were (i) pests (82.1%), (ii) metal (4.6%), and (iii) glass (3.3%). Chi-square confirmed a statistically significant association between the types of foreign bodies and regions in which they occur (Χ² = 79,870, P<0.05). Analysis of food categories involved in these notifications revealed that the top three product categories were (i) nuts, nut products, and seeds (35.4%), (ii) fruit and vegetables (27.2%) and (iii) bakery and confectionery products (12.0%). Chi-square confirmed a statistically significant association between the types of food industries and regions in which they occur (Χ²=130,218; P<0.05).

Significance: Results from a wide range of foreign bodies demonstrates the most dominant types of foreign bodies present in food products, from the two European regions, and provide clear realtionships between types of foreign bodies, types of food industries, and geographic regions.