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Preventive controls for canned peaches - Peach pit fragments

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Introduction

Even though pit fragments are considered natural and intrinsic components of peaches, they may pose a risk of injury depending on their hardness, sharpness, size or shape.

Definitions

For the purpose of this document, the following definitions apply.

Hard pit fragment
means pits or pieces of pit that are firm, solid, and do not crush or crumble under pressure applied by fingertips.
Sharp pit fragments
means pits or pieces of pit having a thin edge or a point able to cut or pierce which can cause injuries to teeth, gum, and intestinal lining.

Guidance

The types of injuries that can be caused include injury to the gums, lips and teeth that can result from physical damage (cuts, breakage), in addition to other types of injury such as choking.

Canned peaches containing hard and sharp pit fragment(s) larger than or equal to (≥) 2.0 mm may be considered out of compliance with section 4(1)(a) of the Food and Drugs Act.

Three different shapes of pit fragments are commonly found:

Three different shapes of pit fragments: first one shaped as a shark tooth, the second has a pointed shape and the third has a sharp/cutting edge to it

Appropriate action(s) should be taken in a timely manner to prevent exposure of the population to the product and to prevent further distribution of the product. Follow-up action should include determining the cause of the problem.

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