Home / Investigations / Product Contamination
Product Contamination Investigation — Food, Pharma & Packaging
One contaminated batch. Every batch is now in question.
A foreign object in a pack, a microbial result out of limit, an undeclared allergen, a residue that failed an importer's test. We trace the batch back to where the contamination entered, for food, pharmaceutical and consumer-goods makers across Lahore, Karachi, Faisalabad and the Gulf, and close the gap before the next batch ships.
Report a contamination
Since the 1990s
30
years investigating
250+
investigations closed, incl. HiPOs
15
countries served
20+
countries of lead seminars
100+
nationalities trained
Five kinds of contamination
Choose what was found. See where we would look.
Foreign body · likely sources
Worn equipment parts, broken blades or screens, packaging fragments, or items carried in by people.
Hold today
The complaint sample, stock from the same batch and line, and the metal detector or X-ray records for that shift.
Evidence we collect
Equipment inspection records, screen and sieve checks, detector test logs.
1 in 10
People worldwide fall ill from contaminated food each year, an estimated 600 million.
Source: World Health Organization, estimates of the global burden of foodborne disease.
For exporters, contamination is also a market risk. Importing countries run alert systems that publish rejected consignments, and a rejection at the border can close a market for a whole product line. Residues such as aflatoxin in rice and spices are among the reasons consignments from the wider region are stopped.
A fast, independent account of where a problem arose, and a credible corrective plan, is often what an importer needs to keep buying.
How we trace a contaminated batch
01 · The sample
Preserved, identified and sent to an accredited laboratory, with the right tests specified.
02 · The trace
Backward to raw material lots and suppliers; forward to every batch that shares them.
03 · The line
Equipment, cleaning, changeovers and detectors on the line and shift involved.
04 · The supplier
Supplier approval, certificates, incoming tests and storage conditions.
A contamination complaint or a rejected shipment this week? A first call costs nothing, and tells you which batches to hold today.
You commission one investigation. You get a review of the whole system.
One complaint. Every line made safer.
Detection
Metal detector test logs signed, but test pieces never actually passed through.
Suppliers
Two raw material suppliers approved without a site visit or test history.
Traceability
Raw material lots not recorded against batches on the night shift.
Maintenance
Screens and sieves checked monthly, on a line that needs daily checks.
A typical example, based on what we see across many contamination investigations. Not a single client’s case.
The P3i approach
How we investigate a contamination. Fact-finding, not fault-finding.
Every P3i investigation is led by a senior investigator and supported by internationally qualified process specialists. You will not receive a list of people to blame, or a long list of generic actions. You will receive the facts, the proven causes, and a short plan that closes the gaps, in this case and across your system.
Independent
No products, repairs or contracts to sell you afterwards.
Senior-led
Thirty years of investigation, from the first call to the final briefing.
Beyond the event
Process specialists find the other cracks before they fail.
Ready to present
Written for boards, buyers, insurers and regulators.
How P3i does it for you
- 01
Hold the right batches
We tell you which batches to hold and how to keep the sample.
- 02
Direct the testing
Accredited laboratories, with the right tests specified.
- 03
Trace backward and forward
To raw material lots and suppliers, and every batch that shares them.
- 04
Find where it entered
Line, equipment, cleaning, supplier or packaging.
- 05
Protect every line
Detection, hygiene and traceability fixed across the site.
What you receive
Call us when
Free 30-minute case assessment.
Tell us what happened. In confidence, we will tell you what the investigation should cover, how long it will take and what to preserve today.
How we work with you
What happens after you call.
For a contamination, the first call covers which batches to hold, how to preserve the sample, and which laboratory tests to request. From there, this is the usual pattern.
First hour
A call with a lead investigator. You leave it knowing what to preserve today and who to call next.
Day one
An investigator on site, anywhere in Pakistan. Scope and fixed fee agreed in writing.
Week one
A private briefing on early findings, so urgent risks are dealt with before the report is finished.
Weeks three to four
The final report, the wider system review and a remedial work plan, presented to your team.
After
We come back to check the actions were completed and actually worked.
Typical timings for a single-site event. Complex, multi-party matters take longer, and we tell you so on the first call.
What you receive
A full investigation report. This is only its first page.
The summary is what leadership reads first. Behind it sits the complete file: every witness heard, every document and record examined, and every finding tied to numbered evidence, so a board, an insurer, a buyer or a regulator can test it.
1 · Established sequence
2 · Causes
3 · Wider system findings
4 · Remedial work plan
Illustrative summary page. Report length and structure depend on the scope of each case.
Inside the full report
- 01Executive summary SHOWNThe findings and actions leadership needs, on one page. This is the page shown here.
- 02Terms of reference & scopeThe questions asked, the boundaries of the investigation and who commissioned it.
- 03MethodHow evidence was gathered, and which analysis methods were chosen for this case, and why.
- 04Verified chronologyThe sequence of events, reconstructed from records, data and accounts, minute by minute where it matters.
- 05Site & technical examinationScene, equipment, failed parts, measurements and photographs, with specialists where needed.
- 06Witness evidenceInterview schedule, accounts in summary, and where the witnesses agree and where they conflict.
- 07Documents & recordsPermits, procedures, maintenance, training, rosters, CCTV, tracker and control-system data reviewed.
- 08Causal analysisImmediate, underlying and system causes, each one tied to numbered evidence.
- 09System reviewWhere the same weaknesses exist elsewhere in the operation.
- 10Findings & conclusionsWhat is proven, what is probable, and what remains open, stated plainly.
- 11Recommendations & work planTargeted actions, each with an owner, a date and a test of whether it worked.
- 12AppendicesEvidence register, photograph log, interview records, drawings and data extracts.
Every action has an owner, a date and a test of whether it worked. The evidence stays indexed, so any reader can check how each conclusion was reached.
From our files
See all 16 cases → Client names, people, locations and dates removed.
Questions we are asked
By quality and export heads.
A customer found something in our product. What first?
Keep the object and the pack, record the batch code, hold stock from the same batch and line, and preserve that shift's records. Throw nothing away before it is examined.
Do you do laboratory testing?
Testing is done by accredited laboratories. We direct what needs testing and why, then investigate where the contamination entered and why the controls missed it.
An export shipment was rejected. Can you help?
Yes. We trace the rejected lot back through storage, processing and sourcing, and give a corrective plan importers and buyers can review.
Will you only look at this batch?
No. Our process specialists review raw materials, hygiene, equipment, packaging and traceability across the site, and give targeted actions for the next gap.