Any physical object that ends up in food where it does not belong, such as glass, metal, plastic, hair or packaging fragments.
Largely, yes. Foreign matter is the physical object itself, and in food safety terms an object that can injure a consumer, such as glass or metal, is classed as a physical hazard.
Glass, metal, hard and soft plastic, wood, stones, hair, insects, jewellery and fragments of packaging are among the most frequently reported, along with items shed from worn equipment.
Keep glass and brittle plastic away from open food, maintain equipment, inspect incoming ingredients, enforce no jewellery and hair restraints, and use sieves, magnets or metal detectors where the risk warrants it.
Isolate and dispose of the affected food, investigate where the object came from, record the incident, and take corrective action so the source is fixed and it does not recur.
Routine minor incidents are managed internally with records, but a serious contamination or a customer injury may need to be reported to the local council or state authority, and it can trigger a recall if affected product has been sold.