Guidelines for Evaluating Donated Product

From America’s Second Harvest

 

 

Discard product that show signs of contamination, including gnawed containers, rodent droppings, unknown spills on products, or rotten smells.  Contaminants such as these can make people sick:

 

Toxins

Cleaning products

 

Mold

Broken glass

Pet foods

Bugs

Rodent droppings and urine

 

 

 

Cans

Discard cans with:

4     Severe dents on side seam, near rim, or that prevents stacking

4     Side seam incomplete, blown out, or miswelded

4     Bulging or puffed ends

4     Pits or pinholes

4     Leaks

4     Missing or illegible labels

4     Pitted rust

Glass Food Containers

Discard jars with:

4     Loose cap or bulged safety seal

4     Foreign objects or unusual product separation

4     Missing or illegible lables

4     Mold (often white or dark and can be long, stringy, clumpy, or ropy)

4     Dirt, webs, insect skins, evidence of submersion, or leaks on screw tops

4     Cracks or chips

4     Home canned goods

Pouches

Discard pouches with:

4     Leaking seals, holes, or punctures

4     Cuts, cracks, or scratches that could leak

4     Misformed or incomplete seals or those with foreign objects trapped inside

4     Folded over wrinkles caused by one side being longer than the other

4     Missing or illegible labels

4     Severely wrinkled seals

4     Bulges on seams

 

Bags and Sacks

Discard bags and sacks with:

4     Rips, tears, punctures, or holes

4     Insect damage:

4     Look carefully for:

-        Bugs in seams

-        Bore holes

-        Movement or spots in products

-        Insect skins or chaff in bottom of containers

4     Rodent droppings or urine stains (use black light)

4     Rodent gnaw marks

4     Spills or stains from any unknown source or any contaminant

4     Missing or illegible labels

Boxes

Boxes with inner bag:

4     Look for contaminants on box

4     Look at inner bag – discard if it is

-        Torn, leaking, or contaminated

-        Has imperfect or leaking seals

-        Has moldy or foreign objects inside

 

To save good inner bags of food from damaged box:  Place inner bag into a plastic bag and insert label

 

Boxes without inner bag:

4     Do not use if opened

4     Look for contaminants or box

4     Look for insects, insect skins, webs, or chaff