CiboTech owner Dan Madgwick spoke at the Marion Kiwanis Club meeting Tuesday. He told the club about his food testing business, which opened in March.

“We have some of the cleanest food in the world in the U.S.,” but we also have some of the most discriminating consumers, he said.

His business specializes in testing physical contamination and determining its source.

The large majority of physical contaminants are parts of ingredients that don’t belong in the finished product, like apple stems or seeds in an apple pie, he said.

Of more serious contaminants, most are parts of animals caught in harvesting foods that grow low to the ground, Madgwick said. Charred bits of food are also relatively common.

Human body parts — like a fingertip found in chili — cause the most headlines, but they are usually fraudulent, he said. Glass and metal pieces usually get into food at the end user’s own kitchen, he added.

Madgwick studied biochemistry and anthropology in college, planning to work in criminal forensics before “falling into” food forensics. He is now working toward a doctorate in food science.

Club members served a dinner Thursday for Circles of Hope, with about 35 people present. The club will set up for a blood drive July 14.