THE PROBLEM:
A large supplier to a major beverage company discovered unknown particles in their powdered flavoring product and needed to identify them.
THE ANALYSES:
Magnetic dust was isolated from the food product on tape and analyzed using scanning electron microscopy (SEM) coupled with energy dispersive x-ray spectrometry (EDS). The results indicated that the metals in the powdered flavoring consisted of flakes, beads and turnings of steel and stainless steel.
THE OUTCOME:
Utilizing this information, the supplier initiated a thorough inspection of their facilities to identify equipment that may be contributing to the problem.