Quality Assurance for the Food Industry

A Practical Approach

J. Andres Vasconcellos

• Publisher: CRC Press
• Year: 2003
• ISBN:
  9781135495268
• Edition: 1
• Topic: Technology & Engineering
• Subtopic: Food Science
• Index: Technology & Engineering

Food companies, regardless of their size and scope, understand that it is impossible to establish a single division devoted to "quality", as quality is the responsibility and purpose of every company employee. Applying this theory demands the cooperation of each employee and an understanding of the methodology necessary to establish, implement, and

Chapter 1

INTRODUCTION: CONCEPTS

The specific manufacturing area presented in this book is the food industry. The principles of quality assurance (QA) as a function of total quality management (TQM) and the methodology necessary to establish and implement a QA program are analyzed. These principles are useless without adequate technical and scientific training and a proper level of professional experience, all of which ensure that the program most appropriate to the individual company is established. These aspects imply a concerted effort on the part of the company, with the identification and evaluation of previously unconsidered parameters.

The goals of this book are to discuss different ideas about quality, starting with the basic concepts and principles behind TQM, and to present examples of programs that can be applied to the food industry using simple, proven formats. Another goal is for the student to gain an overall understanding of a QA program and, with a reasonable amount of experience, be able to set up an adequate system in his or her own company.

Quality assurance is a modern term for describing the control, evaluation, and audit of a food processing system. Its primary function is to provide confidence for management and the ultimate customer, in most cases, the consumer. The customer is the person a company must satisfy and who ultimately establishes the level of quality of the products a company must manufacture: He is the management’s guide to quality.

A company builds its product specifications and label requirements around customer preferences. Only by having a planned quality program can food companies continue to succeed in supplying the customer with the desired products. No other component in a QA program is more important than developing a strong organization in terms of both ability and mission. This requires careful thought and discussion. Haphazard organization and planning can result only in people working at cross-purposes.

Corporations are not the only principals concerned with organization and management. Industry’s counterparts, the government regulatory agencies, manage staffs that outnumber the employees of most food processors and are involved with the same food-related issues, although from a different reference point. What government regulators say and do have as great a bearing on product planning as any decisions made by industry personnel. This influence is based on two decisions by the United States Supreme Court that unequivocally held the chief executive officer of any company responsible for the actions of his or her subordinates, regardless of any consideration of company size, good intentions, lack of knowledge, or other mitigating circumstances.¹

THE DOCTRINE OF “STRICT” LIABILITY

This doctrine dates back to 1943, to the so-called “Dotterweich case.” It is sometimes referred to as “absolute” or “vicarious” liability. It states that the president of any food company can be found guilty of a violation of the Federal Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act (FD&C Act) even though he or she may not have been personally involved with the given transgression. The defendant is barred from relying on any assertion that he or she was ignorant of an offense.²

THE DOCTRINE OF “TOTAL ACCOUNTABILITY”

In 1975, the “strict” liability doctrine was upheld and expanded by the Supreme Court, when John R. Park, President of Acme Markets, Inc., which operated more than 800 food stores, was found guilty of violations due to rodent infestation in one of his companies’ warehouses. The Supreme Court maintained that “the requirements of foresight and vigilance” demanded of chief executives be upheld.³

Congress has held numerous hearings on new food legislation during which some witnesses have indicated that constitutional rights are being encroached by adhering to such a strict standard. The prevailing opinion, however, asserts “in the sensitive area of food safety, the public’s welfare takes precedence over any consideration of individual claims.”³

The court decision in the Park case, that the Chief Executive Officer of a corporation can be held accountable for the action of his subordinates, is very significant when addressing the question of organization and is particularly important in regard to consumer safety, and therefore, QA and Quality Control (QC) programs within the industry.

MANAGEMENT AND PRODUCT QUALITY

In the food industry, quality is a requirement for consumer acceptance. Total quality, or integral quality, means that all industrial operations, manufacturing, and the final product are subjected to acceptable processing and conformance with requirements. Integral quality begins with the support of upper management; time and effort are required to involve all personnel in the explanation of the need for the control of product quality. Management must provide proper job instructions to all employees, as some employees may not be aware of good practices. The successful operation of any production, manufacturing, or formulation process is dependent upon the degree of control that can be exerted on the process. Quality programs recognize elements such as “quality in production” and “control of production” as being essential aspects. These principles require that a producer or manufacturer plan the production or manufacturing process in such a manner that the process can be carried out under controlled conditions. This “process control” element is now recognized as being critical for the successful operation of a manufacturing industry in order to ensure that quality targets can be consistently achieved.

To obtain quality results, therefore, the initiative must be taken at the highest managerial levels. A prudent chief executive must establish clear channels of communication between the persons making the decisions at the plant level and those executives responsible for setting policy. Senior managers should have access to operational data, and line supervisors should be able to report developments as they occur. Impediments to the exchange of information can only lead to low quality of operations and of the final product, and to many other problems.

For a company to attain production quality, management must make an effort to train all personnel in the concept of statistical techniques and the application of statistical practices to the production line, so that they may help to solve the problems of producing quality products.

Organizational Plan

According to Gould and Gould,⁴ a modern food plant is organized “around the M’s”; the first “M” of the food industry is management, responsible for ensuring that the company returns a profit on the invested capital. To make a profit, management must fully utilize the resources of materials, machines, manpower, methods, money, and the departmental managers within the plant. According to these authors, the most important M is manpower, vital to producing a quality product at a profit.

The working environment is the most critical factor for employees, and is often called the “common cause” of manpower wastage and production problems in food plants. Management needs to provide workers with the proper environment, appropriate tools, training, and instructions for them to do their jobs correctly. Dr. Joseph Juran has argued since the early 1950s that the “common causes” of problems in a manufacturing environment represent up to 85% of the system faults⁴ and are considered, in a TQM program, faults that can be removed only by management. They include the factors shown in Table 1.1 .

Total Quality Program

A total quality or an integral quality program implies the establishment of specific goals for quality improvement and the analysis of the costs associated with nonconformance of products and processes to established quality levels. The evidence and consequences of nonconformance must be conveyed to all personnel through newsletters, videotapes, personal contacts, statistical charts, and in open forums.

A company’s management must provide total support to a total quality program, conveying a consistency of purpose and continuity to the program organization, as well as to create excitement and enthusiasm at all levels of operations and in each individual employee. A manager should fully understand that workers work in the system, but managers work on the system. He or she must see to it that the company produces the highest quality product at the lowest possible cost, the fundamental purpose of a quality management program. A manager is responsible for the system as a whole and for its continued improvement.

The Working Environment

Workers

In the context of modern total quality concepts, the workers should assume the responsibilities, risks, and rewards associated with making their own decisions; this is to say that they should be empowered and considered an important component of the decision process, for they are the only people who make detailed observations of a system on a day-by-day basis. To help a company grow and thrive in today’s competitive marketplace, the workers need to play a major role in its success. They must make decisions that will enhance the productivity of the company, and they must take ownership of both successes and problems. Worker performance is directly related to how the system operates. Problems within the system are usually first detected by the workers. If workers complain about poor maintenance, and have the statistical data and facts to back up their complaints, good managers should not consider them to be troublemakers, but rather welcome their comments as contributions to the success of a quality program.

The general philosophy of today’s most successfully managed companies is that a shift has taken place from the QC technologist (and his or her laboratory) to the line employees and their responsibility for producing quality products efficiently. The QC technologist is still an integral part of the company plan to ensure product quality, but accountability has shifted to the line employees because they now understand the company’s standard of quality. They know their jobs depend on the efficient production of a quality product and that the laboratory will be evaluating and auditing their performance. One way to do this is to have workers inspect the item from the prior operation before proceeding. In this way quality feedback can be given on a much timelier basis. Each operation performs both production and quality inspection. In this way, a quality manager can pinpoint causes where most problems occur in a production line.

Table 1.1 Common Causes of Manpower Wastage in a Manufacturing Plant

There are two reasons for employee participation.⁵ The first one is to increase employee commitment to the resultant outcomes, as they will feel a greater stake or sense of ownership in what is decided. The second reason is that employees have a great deal of knowledge and skill relevant to the issue at hand (i.e., increasing quality, identifying problems, improving work processes), and their input should lead to higher quality decisions.

Managers and Supervisors

The manager works on the system as a whole. He takes action based upon the observations of the workers. Managers who share power and responsibilities make the workplace more efficient and make themselves more competent and productive. Workers enjoy being involved in the decision process and will develop pride and enthusiasm and become more effective when given a voice in the...