Identification of tablets and capsules reported as foreign bodies

Recent months have seen an increase in the number of tablets and capsules, reported by consumers as foreign bodies in food products, being received for identification. Foreign bodies of this type can be of particular concern to the complainant, since they may be concerned about the possible side-effects of accidentally taking a medicine not intended for them. We have developed a multifaceted approach to the identification of these samples.

Reasonably complete samples can often be identified on the basis of their physical characteristics (e.g. colour, size, weight, lettering etc).

Analytical methods can be used on samples which have been degraded by only brief contact with food or drink. Drugs such as painkillers and antibiotics contain a large proportion of the active ingredient, and this can often be identified by FT-IR spectroscopy, comparing the spectrum obtained with data from published libraries of spectra. Tablets containing much smaller amounts of the active ingredient must be isolated by solvent extraction, after which it can be identified using either our new Q-TOF Gas Chromatography/Mass Spectrometry instrument, or by LC-MS/MS, which can detect compounds in a general screen analysis at levels several orders of magnitude lower than would be achievable using traditional instrumentation.

Close contacts are also kept with expert medical staff if further advice is required.

Contact: Mike Edwards
+44(0)1386 842017
mike.edwards@campdenbri.co.uk