of staplers and staple wires

In food manufacturing companies, there are hazard analysis critical control points (HACCP) that prevent unsafe material (physical, chemical, or biological) from entering food from all identified points: packaging materials, the machines used in production, and the raw materials. Once the food reaches the kitchen, though, the control points become less strict although still as critical.

Case in point: Someone dug through the freshly cooked rice in the rice cooker over lunch. He was able to pick out a foreign object among the cooked grains. Of course, I just had to blurt it out (without thinking... again!):

"Oi! There's a stapler in the cooked rice!"

With a fast follow-up:

"Oops, I meant STAPLE WIRE, not stapler."

That made for a laugh. However, if the staple wire weren't spotted, the person eating the rice could have been injured. Now that definitely wouldn't be a laughing matter.

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