Baby Macro Organic Tomato Chicken - 2cm Blade found

Woolworths have issued a product recall after an Adelaide mother found a metal blade inside a baby food product.

Baby Macro Organic Tomato Chicken with Pasta Puree - 2cm Blade found:

Blade in baby food pouch.jpg   6.78KB   2 downloads

Comments attributed to Woolworths:

'All Macro baby food in this type of packaging is x-rayed'
'Our initial investigation shows the product was not spoilt which indicated the blade entered the packaging not long before the customer found it' - which seems to imply malicious contamination but difficult to see how someone would not notice a slit and leaking product!

Either way, time for all Woolworths suppliers to check and ensure their blade control procedures are 'belt and braces'!

Stories like this always ring the suspicion bell for me - I am not familiar with the exact process that the baby food goes through but I think that small razor blades are not a part of it and it seems that historical data suggests that generally when blades are found in baby food it is almost always food sabotage by a disgruntled employee or some other nut job that used to work for the company and got fired 20 years ago and has been plotting revenge ever since. 

Stories like this always ring the suspicion bell for me - I am not familiar with the exact process that the baby food goes through but I think that small razor blades are not a part of it and it seems that historical data suggests that generally when blades are found in baby food it is almost always food sabotage by a disgruntled employee or some other nut job that used to work for the company and got fired 20 years ago and has been plotting revenge ever since. 

You would think sabotage after filling would be noticeable - the pouch is pierced and product leaking?

The packaging would probably come in a roll so it would be impossible for a  blade to be in there without it being curved or protruding so damaging the pouch.

On filling I guess if an operator or maintenance left a blade in the filling chamber it could possibly fall in but the chances are extremely remote. If as I suspect the product is aseptic then the filling chamber is normally enclosed. The opportunity for malicious contamination here is limited as any packs when it is opened are regarded non sterile and are normally automatically rejected on an aseptic machine.

Sabotage or extortion then?

You would think sabotage after filling would be noticeable - the pouch is pierced and product leaking?

 

The packaging would probably come in a roll so it would be impossible for a  blade to be in there without it being curved or protruding so damaging the pouch.

 

On filling I guess if an operator or maintenance left a blade in the filling chamber it could possibly fall in but the chances are extremely remote. If as I suspect the product is aseptic then the filling chamber is normally enclosed. The opportunity for malicious contamination here is limited as any packs when it is opened are regarded non sterile and are normally automatically rejected on an aseptic machine.

 

Sabotage or extortion then?

I reckon you are onto it..... extortion seems a higher probability. Its something most large manufacturers will have to deal with at some stage......unfortunately. 

Hi Tony,

I was once informed of, probably non-anecdotal, experience of a just-fired employee dumping smaller pieces of same item in a biscuit mix ultimately for a thin plastic pack. One might have thought that packaging integrity would soon fail but problem only (luckily) detected by QA random sampling before exported. Perhaps retort pouches are stronger than they look (never used myself).

Unsurprisingly, above problem was not confined to one unit which is presumably the current horror element.

Also was last time that company did not immediately "monitor" ex-employees off the premises.

Rgds / Charles

The opportunity for malicious contamination here is limited as any packs when it is opened are regarded non sterile and are normally automatically rejected on an aseptic machine.

 

Sabotage or extortion then?

Never assume malice when incompetence will do

 

Unsurprisingly, above problem was not confined to one unit which is presumably the current horror element.

 

Rgds / Charles

Well, there goes incompetence