Forensic Geology
Forensic geology is interesting.
A few years ago a food manufacturer had a problem with some small stones getting into the product. This was very rare but a handful of customers complained and sent in the particles they had found. The small stones looked like Quartz grains found in some granites that 'weather' or disintegrate in warm wet climates. This observation lead to the simple suggestion that the company look at its ingredient supply chain to see which products came from tropical countries.
A supplier of a minor ingredient was tracked down in such a country where the warehouse procedures were not quite good enough to ensure that no unwanted particles got into the product stockpiles. The procedures were tightened up and the problem went away.
