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In all food processing, preventing the contamination of finished products with foreign material (FM) is key to ensuring food safety. Examples of FM include pieces of metal, rock, glass, plastic, rubber (such as pieces of glove), bone fragments (above a certain size), and other extraneous materials. To help industry—in particular meat and poultry processors—reduce incidents of FM contamination, a group of food companies banded together during the COVID-19 pandemic to develop a model for FM assessment and prevention. The companies invited the North American Meat Institute (NAMI, now known as The Meat Institute) to help develop and publish this model in 2023. Our speakers, who represent two of the companies that led the development of the model, will discuss the best practices and corporate- and plant-level guidance shared in the “Foreign Material Maturity Model.” They will also discuss key points for conducting an FM Maturity Model Self-Assessment.

From this webinar, attendees will learn: 

• Common conditions/incidents leading to FM contamination
• Best practices for prevention of FM contamination at the corporate and plant levels, as outlined in the industry-developed “Foreign Material Maturity Model”
• Key points for conducting an FM Maturity Model Self-Assessment
• Examples of “do’s” and don’ts” when addressing FM issues