FOOD SAFETY AND QUALITY CONTROL

QUALITY CONTROL - MEANING, PRINCIPLES, TOTAL QUALITY MANAGEMENT - PRINCIPLES

1. QUALITY CONTROL FOOD SAFETY AND QUALITY CONTROL R.SUBHA, ASSISTANT PROFESSOR

2. INTRODUCTION FOOD SAFETY Food safety is a scientific discipline describing handling, preparation, and storage of food in ways that prevent food-borne illness.

3. CONT.. Food safety is a global concern that covers a variety of different areas of everyday life. The principles of food safety aim to prevent food from becoming contaminated and causing food poisoning. This is achieved through a variety of different avenues, some of which are: Properly cleaning and sanitising all surfaces, equipment and utensils Maintaining a high level of personal hygiene, especially hand-washing Storing, chilling and heating food correctly with regards to temperature, environment and equipment Implementing effective pest control Comprehending food allergies, food poisoning and food intolerance

4. QUALITY CONTROL A system of maintaining standards in manufactured products by testing a sample of the output against the specification. Quality control - set of measures and procedures to follow in order to ensure that the quality of a product is maintained and improved against a set of benchmarks. Any errors encountered are either eliminated or reduced. The focus of quality control is to ensure that the product and product manufacturing are not only consistent but also in line with customer requirements.

5. QUALITY CONTROL PRINCIPLES IN FOOD INDUSTRY RAW MATERIAL CONTROL Raw materials are the basic ingredients used to create food products. (fruit and vegetables - farmed and harvested; cows, chickens, pigs and sheep - farmed for their meat, eggs and dairy products and various other items). Naturally, raw material control is directly related to process control as raw ingredients will need to meet certain guidelines before reaching processing phases

6. PROCESS CONTROL This principle relates to the process of food manufacturing. Ultimately, preventative measures are used alongside corrective measures – preventative strategies can only resolve a certain number of quality issues due to outside factors such as environment, storage and other such conditions. Many manufacturers work according to the Hazard Analysis Critical Control Point (HACCP) system as a result of this unpredictability. This system focuses on food safety as well as spoilage and other potential food risks. Total Quality Management (TQM) and ISO 9000 standards also relate to manufacturing processes and quality guidelines.

7. Finished Product Inspection The third principle focuses on the final product – the packaged food that is then sold to consumers and suppliers. There are many forms of testing done at different stages – visual observation, physical tests and chemical tests are just some examples. Microbiological testing is very effective for determining health and sanitation controls, with a stringent monitoring process that incorporates records, data collection and the analysis of trends. External inspectors are also used alongside internal testers. Systems are designed for immediate corrective action when any products have raised red flags at any stage of the inspection, to reduce safety and hazard risks.

8. WHAT IS TOTAL QUALITY MANAGEMENT A management approach to long-term success through customer satisfaction. In a TQM effort, all members of an organization participate in improving processes, products, services, and the culture in which they work.

9. PRINCIPLES OF TOTAL QUALITY MANAGEMENT: Customer focus Organizations can establish this focus by trying to understand and meet their customers’ current and future requirements and expectations. Leadership Organizations succeed when leaders establish and maintain the internal environment in which employees can become fully involved in achieving the organization’s unified objectives. Involvement of people Organizations succeed by retaining competent employees, encouraging continuous enhancement of their knowledge and skills, and empowering them, encouraging engagement and recognizing achievements.

10. 4. Process approach Organizations enhance their performance when leaders manage and control their processes, as well as the inputs and outputs that tie these processes together. 5. System approach to management Organizations sustain success when processes are managed as one coherent quality management system. 6. Continuous improvement Organizations will maintain current levels of performance, respond to changing conditions, and identify, create and exploit new opportunities when they establish and sustain an ongoing focus on improvement.

11. 7. Factual approach to decision making Organizations succeed when they have established an evidence-based decision making process that entails gathering input from multiple sources, identifying facts, objectively analyzing data, examining cause/effect, and considering potential consequences. 8. Mutually beneficial supplier relationships Organizations that carefully manage their relationships with suppliers and partners can nurture positive and productive involvement, support and feedback from those entities.