The Food Safety Authority says its hotline is getting frequent reports about food contaminated with foreign objects including insects, glass and chewing gum.
Over 3,400 consumer complaints were handled by the authority's advice line in 2017 - with over a third relating to unfit food.
The overall number of calls rose by 6% last year, with a 42% rise in complaints about non-display of allergen information on food products.
Others issues included poor personal hygiene habits of staff working in the food sector.