physical hazards; foreign bodies; hazard analysis; health risk; HACCP

The food safety is the main concern of the politicians and inhabitants in whole Europe. According the currently valid legislation the food should be save. The food should be safe from all aspects: chemical, microbiological, physical and radiological. Physical hazard/foreign body in food is perceived by public as something to be very simply solved by food business operators. However, foreign body is the biggest single source of customer complaints received by food business operators, retailers and enforcement authorities. In even the best-managed processes, the accidental presence of unwanted items could occasionally occur. Foreign body in food is believed to be a matter of concern to all food business operators. However, the level of inclusion of physical hazards by Czech food business operators in the hazard analysis is still low. Consumers experience with foreign bodies in food or even health problems caused by foreign bodies is continuing high level. Consumer complaints regarding foreign bodies reported from food products should be an important question for the food industry that should implement corrective actions to prevent such unwanted events.