Food Quality Programs and Systems

In general, these quality programs and systems are quality control, quality assurance and quality management.

They are generic in nature and are widely used by business organizations not only in the food industry, but in all industry sectors, as well as in some public sector organizations.

These programs and systems differ in their scope of activities and the complexity of their structure or framework.

Quality control programs are basics quality programs and quality management systems are more types of quality systems.

The term “quality management” describes a dynamic management perspective with an offensive and strategic vision.

In food industry, the objectives of these programs and systems is to achieve the food quality and food safety requirements.

In the food industry, a quality program is an activity or set of activities performed to ensure that the food quality and food safety requirements of a food are fulfilled.

Food quality requirements are established by laws and regulations and by customers and consumers.

A food industry quality system is an integrated set of documented food quality and food safety activities, with clearly established inter relationships among the various activities.

The objective of a quality system is to provide a food company with the capability to produce a food that fulfills all quality and safety requirements.

It also reduce a gap between customers’ risk perception and experts’ risk judgment and reach a level of risk perception where ‘distrust’ or unacceptable risk switches to ‘trust; or acceptable risk.

Quality control programs are common examples of quality programs; quality assurance systems and quality management systems are examples of quality systems.

Both quality programs and quality systems are used extensively in the food industry.

For any food company embarking on the adoption of a formal quality management system there are a number of avenues down which they might proceed.

The most obvious start is the introduction of a Hazard Analysis Critical Control Point (HACCP system.

The food manufacturer is in business to make and sell good at a profit.

Consumers will only buy and make repeat purchase of the food is perceived as being good value for money and generally only if they can rely on the product being of a consistent standard.

A firm needs therefore to establish a reputation for making a product to a certain standard and to maintain it.
Food Quality Programs and Systems

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The meaning of quality assurance systems

Quality assurance systems in the food industry are much more extensive in scope than quality control programs.

They include the inspection, testing, and monitoring activities of quality control programs, along with additional activities that are devoted to prevention of food safety hazards and quality defects.

The activities are integrated and interrelated to form a system.

Quality assurance systems are intended to provide confidence to a food company’s management, its customers and to government regulatory agencies that the company is capable of meeting the food quality and food safety requirements.

These quality systems include documents that describe operations and activities that directly relate to food quality and safety.

In companies that operate with quality management systems, the quality activities are integrated into the quality management system.
The meaning of quality assurance systems

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Quality Control Programs

Quality Control Programs
Quality control program activities consist of inspecting, testing and monitoring associated with raw material control, process control and finished products control.

The main objective of food industry quality control programs is to determine whether the quality and safety requirements are fulfilled by detecting whether unacceptable levels of hazards or defects exists of foods.

If an unacceptable level of a hazard or defect is detected, the food might be repaired or reworked to remove the hazard or defect so that it fulfills the requirement, or it might be rejected entirely and scrapped.

The goal of a food company’s quality control program is to ensure that all requirements are fulfilled so that only safe foods of acceptable quality are sent to its customers or to consumers.

In companies that operate with quality systems, the quality control activities are integrated into quality systems.
Quality Control Programs

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