About this course
This course covers the controls food facilities use to prevent physical contamination from glass, brittle plastic, and other foreign material — one of the most direct consumer safety risks in a food operation, since a fragment in a finished product can cause immediate injury and an immediate recall.
Physical contamination is treated as an adulteration issue under the FD&C Act and is a specific focus area under the FDA's GMP requirements as well as GFSI-benchmarked standards such as BRCGS and SQF, which require facilities to maintain a glass and brittle plastic register, minimize non-essential glass and brittle materials in production areas, and follow strict breakage response procedures. The underlying policy in most facilities is "no non-essential glass or brittle plastic" — where glass or brittle materials can't be eliminated, they're inventoried, inspected on a defined schedule, and protected (for example, covered with shatterproof film).
This course is intended for all employees who work in or near production, packaging, or storage areas where glass, brittle plastic, or other foreign material hazards (metal, wood, ceramic) may be present.
After completing this course, learners will understand what qualifies as a foreign material hazard, know their facility's glass and brittle plastic inventory and inspection practices, and know the correct breakage response procedure — stopping the line, securing the area, and following defined cleanup and product disposition steps.
Topics covered
- Categories of physical/foreign material hazards
- Glass and brittle plastic registers and inspections
- Breakage response and line shutdown procedures
- Product disposition after a suspected contamination event
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