8 replies to this topic

[catherinepc]

Hi,

 

I would like to get advise on the issue below:

 

Flavouring Powder  were sent to 3rd party lab for lab analysis and the result received is contain 17.4mg/kg of Iron (as Fe) . Method used by the lab is ICP-OES. Does this mean that the sample product is contaminated with metal ?

This is the first time we sent for Iron analysis.

 

The process for this powder flavour is emulsion liquid > spray dry > sieve > pack into LDPE. 

 

The normal parameters that we sent for testing is according to regulation for flavouring are As, Pb, Hg, Cd, Sb, which is always within the limit. 

 

Thank you. 

 

This is the first time it was sent for Iron analysis.

[pHruit]

What is the flavouring powder made from?
Iron is naturally present in many natural raw materials - fruits, vegetables, meat etc.

17.4mg/kg is very low if e.g. there was contamination with metal fragments, so it seems far more likely to be natural presence from raw materials. That's what I'd be looking at first.

Out of curiosity, have you or a customer identified this level as a problem?

[catherinepc]

What is the flavouring powder made from?
Iron is naturally present in many natural raw materials - fruits, vegetables, meat etc.

17.4mg/kg is very low if e.g. there was contamination with metal fragments, so it seems far more likely to be natural presence from raw materials. That's what I'd be looking at first.

Out of curiosity, have you or a customer identified this level as a problem?

Hi, thank you for your reply.

The flavouring powder is a mixture of liquid flavouring substances, modified starch, capsul etc. It is first sprayed then mixed with corn starch and anticaking agent. We also suspecting that it is from raw materials.

 

We sent some sample to customer and they use magnet to go through the flavouring powder and found about 5 particles (in 50g sample) attracted to the magnet. So they suspected in metal. Our spray dry machine have magnet bar and before packing we have sieving. 

 

Samples sent collected from lab scale machine and production scale machine. Both have the same reading for iron. 

[Scampi]

Test each of your raw materials independently before you conclude it's your process

 

I agree with pHruit, it's likely naturally occurring iron

 

 

What size particles did they find?  Remember, the general rule of thumb for "metal contamination" is based on choking hazards, so if these are very small, where exactly is the hazard?  If it were lead (Pb) sure, it would be considered contaminated, but not iron

[Charles.C]

Hi,

 

I would like to get advise on the issue below:

 

Flavouring Powder  were sent to 3rd party lab for lab analysis and the result received is contain 17.4mg/kg of Iron (as Fe) . Method used by the lab is ICP-OES. Does this mean that the sample product is contaminated with metal ?

This is the first time we sent for Iron analysis.

 

The process for this powder flavour is emulsion liquid > spray dry > sieve > pack into LDPE. 

 

The normal parameters that we sent for testing is according to regulation for flavouring are As, Pb, Hg, Cd, Sb, which is always within the limit. 

 

Thank you. 

 

This is the first time it was sent for Iron analysis.

Hi catherine,

 

So is there a Malaysian limit for Fe ppm in this category (Food flavourings) ? (= definition of contamination?)

[catherinepc]

Test each of your raw materials independently before you conclude it's your process

I agree with pHruit, it's likely naturally occurring iron


What size particles did they find? Remember, the general rule of thumb for "metal contamination" is based on choking hazards, so if these are very small, where exactly is the hazard? If it were lead (Pb) sure, it would be considered contaminated, but not iron

[catherinepc]

Test each of your raw materials independently before you conclude it's your process

I agree with pHruit, it's likely naturally occurring iron


What size particles did they find? Remember, the general rule of thumb for "metal contamination" is based on choking hazards, so if these are very small, where exactly is the hazard? If it were lead (Pb) sure, it would be considered contaminated, but not iron

They said needle size. They claim they found the particles which they assume “metal” but they never shows us the photo of it. How can we proof that our product does not contain any metal particles.
Our R&D is the one that request us to send the sample to lab to analyze the Iron(Fe) content. But I don’t think this can proof anything because the concern now is the foreign particles that found in the powder.
Is it normal for customer to use magnet to check sample?

[catherinepc]

Hi catherine,

So is there a Malaysian limit for Fe ppm in this category (Food flavourings) ? (= definition of contamination?)

In malaysia regulation,we only need to check metal contamination As, Pb, Hg, Cd and Sb for flavours.

[Charles.C]

Hi,

 

I would like to get advise on the issue below:

 

Flavouring Powder  were sent to 3rd party lab for lab analysis and the result received is contain 17.4mg/kg of Iron (as Fe) . Method used by the lab is ICP-OES. Does this mean that the sample product is contaminated with metal ?

This is the first time we sent for Iron analysis.

 

The process for this powder flavour is emulsion liquid > spray dry > sieve > pack into LDPE. 

 

The normal parameters that we sent for testing is according to regulation for flavouring are As, Pb, Hg, Cd, Sb, which is always within the limit. 

 

Thank you. 

 

This is the first time it was sent for Iron analysis.

Hi catherine,

 

 

I did a little googling on this topic and, TBH, the results surprised me, eg -

 

Toxic Dose

Iron poisoning can occur when doses of 20 to 60 mg/kg or more of elemental iron is ingested with most cases reporting primarily gastrointestinal symptoms.^[4] Systemic signs and symptoms shown in serious toxicity occur at higher doses exceeding 60 mg/kg.^[5] Ingesting above 120 mg/kg may be fatal.^[4] The therapeutic dose for iron deficiency anemia is 3–6 mg/kg/day. Individuals who have ingested less than 20 mg/kg of elemental iron typically do not exhibit symptoms.^[4] It is unlikely to get iron poisoning from diet alone with iron supplements being the cause of overdose. The amount of elemental iron in an iron supplement can be calculate based on the percentage it constitutes for per tablet. For example, a 300 mg tablet of ferrous fumarate will contain 100 mg of elemental iron or 33%

https://en.wikipedia.../Iron_poisoning

 

 

The above info. seems individually disturbing with respect to yr sample but assuming this item is utilised in small quantities the significance presumably also relates to potential customer / projected daily intakes, eg

 

https://www.livestro...you-go-on-iron/

 

I have not seen any limits published for food but JFI (from google/USA) -
 

The present recommended limit for iron in water, 0.3 mg/l (ppm), is based on taste and appearance rather than on any detrimental health effect.

 

Have you previously sent other related samples of this type of product for testing ? If so what levels of Fe were reported ?

 

Maybe yr process needs a metal detector ?? (offhand a positive, validated, MD result is presumably rejectable)