Food Safety Focus (47th Issue, June 2010) – Food Incident Highlight

Soluble Coffee in Jars Susceptible to Breakage

On 20 May 2010 , the Centre for Food Safety (CFS) issued a food alert advising the public not to drink five soluble coffee products contained in glass jars susceptible to breakage. The CFS has alerted the trade to stop selling the products.

Glassware that is defective or prone to breakage poses physical hazard to consumers. Other foreign matters such as metal fragments and stone chips are also sometimes found in pre-packaged food products and may cause cuts when ingested. Food manufacturers should adopt good manufacturing practice, choose suitable food packaging materials and exercise care in handling equipment and products. In case a fault is found in the production chain, measures should be implemented to recall the products and inform the public immediately.

The five affected soluble coffee products, from left to right, "CAP COLOMBIE", "ALTA RICA DECAFF", "SURAYA", "ESPRESSO" and "ALTA RICA".