QC Deep-dive: Preventing glass contamination in cashews — lessons from the 2017 recall

Foreign bodies in food come in several forms:

• Metal — easy to detect with a metal detector
• Hard plastic — detectable by X-ray
• Bone, stone — X-ray + visual sorting
• Insects — visual + air current
• Glass — HARDEST — density similar to stone/debris, non-metallic, often transparent

Glass entry points in a cashew processing facility include:

• Broken factory lighting (shards landing on the conveyor)
• Legacy glass equipment (sight glasses, gauges)
• Imported raw-material packaging with glass
• Malicious tampering (rare but must be mitigated)

• 2017 — Star Snacks / Aldi: 2 lots, 28 states
• 2019 — Kroger: limited recall (metal, not glass, but same family)
• Multiple RASFF cases (EU) over the past 5 years covering cashew + dried fruit

No single method is 100%. Best practice uses multi-layer detection:

1. X-ray inspection (line scan) — detects glass ≥ 2 mm
2. Optical sorting (color + shape) — catches smaller transparent pieces
3. Hand sorting — final check for premium lots
4. Inbound raw-material inspection — reject any packaging with damage
5. Environmental control — "no glass above product" policy for lighting and equipment
6. Documented incident log — every glass breakage triggers a halt, clear radius, inspection

As Quality Manager at Hotanuts, I require:

Inbound (raw cashew at HCM port)

• ☐ Visual inspection of 80 kg bags — any damaged bag flagged
• ☐ 500 g sample per lot for X-ray screening
• ☐ Log batch with lot code HX-{origin}-{year}-{Q}-{lot#}

Processing (partner factory)

• ☐ "No glass above product" policy — no glass lighting or containers above the conveyor
• ☐ Pre-shift glass inventory check — count all glass items (lights, windows, equipment)
• ☐ On breakage: halt, clear 3 m radius, document, inspect 500+ samples around the incident

Outbound (pre-shipping)

• ☐ X-ray 100% of bags (not sampled)
• ☐ Metal detector back-up
• ☐ QC report signed with traceable lot code

• Certificate of Analysis (CoA) — moisture, count, defect %, Salmonella, heavy metals
• Incident log excerpt — noting any incidents during the batch cycle
• X-ray screening log (retained 2 years, available on request)
• Lot code traceable to origin + processing date

If you are sourcing from Vietnam (or any country), your minimum requirements should include:

• ☐ X-ray inspection line for every lot (not random sample)
• ☐ Documented "no glass above product" policy
• ☐ 24-month incident log
• ☐ BRCGS Issue 9 compliance attestation
• ☐ Sample CoA with Salmonella + glass-check result

If your supplier cannot provide these five items, change suppliers.

The 2017 Aldi case is why Hotanuts built a thorough QC process. We are not only a trade house — we are a QC layer between you and the supply. If you want peace of mind, ask for the full documentation stack — before placing your first container.