FOOD QUALITY MANAGEMENT
Introduction
Food and drink manufacturers are required to come up with a system which enables the transportation of food and drinks to the market after production (Neff et al., 2009). The system should incorporate several resources, such as government policies, communities, farms, businesses, and people. There should be coordination of all these resources to ensure food is safely transported to the market (Miljöstyrningsrådet, 2007). A proper food and safety standard is necessary to come up with the required legislation to ensure companies produce food and drinks that are safe for consumption (Lusk et al., 2011).
Quality management systems are necessary for the food industry to guarantee the quality and safety of food and drinks (Orris and Whitehead, 2000). The need for firms in the food industry to provide consumers with quality and safe food has seen a rise in the use of quality management systems (QMS) (Beatty, 2006). The common QMS in the food industry in Britain are listed below:
- International Organization for Standardization -ISO 22000:2005. This is an international food safety standard that applies to companies in the food industry
- Safe and Quality Food (SQF) is a property of the Food Marketing Institute. The standard incorporates quality management and food safety certification for firms involved in the production and processing of food and beverages.
- British Retail Consortium (BRC). The BRC was developed in 1998 to respond to the demands of UK manufacturers and retailers. The standard has, however, become popular across Europe.
- International Food Standard (IFS). The IFS was developed by Italian, French, and German manufacturers and retailers. IFS aims to evaluate all firms that produce and process food.
- Global Food Safety Initiative (GFSI) GFSI is a business initiative that requires food and beverage companies to come up with food management systems. The management systems aim to ensure the production and distribution of safe and quality food (Baert et al., 2005).
- The Dutch Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Point (HACCP) was developed by the Dutch National Board of Experts (Ropkins, 2000). The standard was meant for firms in the Dutch market, but it is applied in other European nations.
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Developments in Food Safety Regulation
Food safety has evolved over the last few decades with the introduction of new trends. Food safety is enhanced by either integrated process-based approaches or performance-based approaches. The integrated process includes accreditation and regular audits by third-party auditors. Performance approaches include sample testing and inspection (Mellat-Parast, 2007). The development of the World Trade Organisation led to the elimination of trade barriers. These facilitated trade of food products between countries (Hanak, 2000). However, food and safety standards in developed countries have been accused of acting as barriers for less developed countries (Henson and Jaffee, 2006). The WTO established the Sanitary and Phytosanitary Agreement (SPS) to ensure that all countries participated in the global value chain. SPS required nations with stringent food safety standards to justify the cost benefits of their food safety standards.
Regulation of food safety in the UK
Food regulation in the United Kingdom is carried out in collaboration between the public and private sectors. Food and beverage firms, the government, and non-government agencies are among the major stakeholders. Food safety and quality management are carried out through statutory or private regulations (Henson, 2001). The Food Safety Act 1990 is an example of a statutory requirement aimed at ensuring food safety. The Act is aimed at regulating the food industry and protecting consumers. The law requires that firms exercise due diligence to ensure production and processing of safe.
Private regulation is whereby firms come up with their brand of food products (Lawrence et al., 2002). However, firms had to come up with a system that would enhance food safety and also protect retailers from liability in case of prosecution. Retailers began visiting suppliers and developed technologies that monitored the retailer’s food brands. Retailers also encouraged suppliers to utilize third-party audit safety systems. There was a need to come up with a minimum standard for food safety. The result was the formation of the British Retail Consortium (BRC).
Global Food Safety Initiative (GFSI)
The standard was formed because of the several food scares that took place during the 2000s. It is for this reason that several international retailers came together and formed the GFSI to protect consumers (GFSI, 2012). In 2000, the Global Food Safety Initiative was set up under Belgian law. GFSI comprises of several foreign retailers, and the objective is to certify food production and safety standards. Common food safety standard s ensures that the food and drinks are safe for consumption. GFSI enables stakeholders in the food industry to network and exchange ideas of food safety techniques. It is the responsibility of the GFSI to enhance cost-efficient in the supply chain by enabling a common food standard.
The GFSI states that food safety is not a competition since an incident can affect the entire sector due to globalization. GFSI does not provide firms with certification or accreditation (CIES, 2008). GFSI was not intended to set a common standard for food safety. The intention was to encourage innovation of food safety and quality management standards. GFSI also recognizes other standards, such as SQF Dutch HACCP, IFS, and BRC.
British Retail Consortium (BRC)
The BRC is a group of retail firms in the UK who have come together to establish a common food safety standard. The standard mainly applies to firms that produce food and beverages for the BRC private label products (Bergström and Hellqvist, 2004). BRC was first developed in 1998, and the current standard was revised back in 2011. In 1990, the Food Safety Act introduced the aspect of due diligence. This meant that retailers in the UK had to take responsibility for the food products they sold. It was the responsibility of retailers and other stakeholders to ensure that food products were safe for human consumption. Retailers were forced to evaluate supplier activities from production to distribution. The result was increased costs for both producers and retailers.
Produce incurred cost of meeting retailer requirements while retailers incurred costs establishing quality control departments. The aim of the departments was coming up with requirements that producers and suppliers had to adhere to the BRC Standard, 2005. In 1998, Sainsbury, Somerfield, Safeway, and Tesco came together and formed the British Retail Consortium Food Technical Standard. The standard comprised of guidelines suppliers had to comply with when storing and transporting food products. The standard ensures that retailers fulfilled their legal mandate of consumer protection under the Food Safety Act. BRC established a common mechanism for suppliers. Suppliers had to have certain factory environment controls, a quality management system, and HACCP implementation. The BRC has ensured that there is one standard in the United Kingdom.
The objective of BRC is to ensure retailers perform their mandate as required by the constitution. The other aim is consumer protection by ensuring the processing and distribution of quality and safe food and drinks. BRC acts as a benchmark for food processing companies and can be used to evaluate the firm’s performance. BRC is dependent on Good Manufacturing Practices (GMP), the Dutch HACCP, and other quality management systems. BRC also requires routines such as evaluation of suppliers and regular audits to enhance quality management. BRC issues certification to retailers on the condition that they meet certain requirements. Food producers must undergo audits carried out by third-party auditors to qualify to be offered a certificate. The BRC must approve the third-party auditor. BRC is common in the United Kingdom and several Scandinavian countries (Aranea, 2011).
Hazard Analysis Critical Control Point (HACCP)
The standard is aimed at reducing hazards during food production. It also ensures that food safety across the supply chain until it reaches the consumers. Firms must ensure that HACPP is carried out during the entire food production. When a firm is adhering to the BRC, the firm is required to implement HACCP plans (BRC Global Standards, 2011). HACCP was initially developed for NASA to ensure that astronaut’s food was safe while they were in space. The main aim of HACCP is ensuring food hygiene during processing (Taylor, 2001). Food hygiene can be affected by bacteria, mould, chemicals, which can cause the presence of toxins in food. Physical hazards such as glass or metal in the food can find its way into the food and cause harm (Van Rijswijk, 2008). Food items such as nuts and milk can become allergen products if they are found in food they are not required to be present in.
HACCP is focused on food safety and quality and is not concerned with the quality of the food processing company. HACCP is combined with quality management systems to come up with aspects that ensure food hygiene. HACCP comprises of seven principles (Bertolini, 2007):
- Carrying out a hazard investigation
- Establishing critical control points (CCP).
- Developing a mechanism to monitor CCP
- Coming up with mechanisms to ensure that HACCP procedures are working.
- Developing documentation on all procedures and their applications.
- Ensuring that any procedures that are not in control are quickly corrected.
- Developing a system that will monitor the activities of the CCP.
The above principles are necessary to ensure the objective of HACCP to provide safe food to consumers is met (SCV, 2008).
International Food Standard (IFS)
IFS was created in 2002 and was meant for the private labels of retailers. The IFSS aimed to develop a brand for product safety (IFS, 2010). The need to come up with a safety standard for food production increased due globalisation of markets facilitating the movement of goods across countries (International Featured Standards, 2010). Audit of supplies was a crucial aspect of retail systems, and audits were conducted by the quality and assurance departments of retailers.
In 2003, the IFS was upgraded, and version 3 of the standard was introduced by a group of German retailers from the German Retail Federation. The following year saw the introduction of version 4 by French retailers. Versions 6, which is the latest version, was developed in 2011. The standard as developed to achieve the following objectives:
- Cost reduction for suppliers and retailers
- Enhancing transparency through the entire supply chain
- To partner with accredited bodies to enhance food safety
- Developing a common food safety and quality management standard.
IFS applies to firms that are involved in food packing; those are involved in loose food products and food processing firms. If these firms comply with the IFS, then they will receive an IFS certification, which offers companies several benefits. Such benefits include increased consumer confidence in food products. The certification also reduced the time spent in auditing suppliers. It also reduces inspection costs incurred by the suppliers and retailers.
ISO 22000:2005
The International Organization for Standardisation is a body tasked with coming up with several standards for organisations in different sectors (ISO Strategic Plan, 2010). ISO has developed more than 18500 standards ranging from social development, environmental, and economic matters. In 2005, ISO developed the ISO 22000:2005 standard for food safety. The standard requires that all organizations in the value chain prove that they can control food hazards and ensure food is safe for consumption (CIES, 2007). The standard is diverse since food safety may be different depending on producers. The GFSI does not recognise ISO 22000:2005 since it does not provide technical specifications for prerequisite programs (Escanciano, 2014). .GFSI only recognises it when it is combined by PAS 220 and then referred to as FSSC 22000.
FSSC 22000
FSSC 22000 was developed by the Foundation of Food Safety Certification (Bureau Veritas, 2007). It is based on the ISO 22000 standard that ensures the removal of food safety hazards and ensures that firms comply with the standard. The standard is also based on PAS 220, which was developed to minimize food hazards during food processing. The standard was developed in 2004 and has become popular (FSSC 22000, 2012). The standards apply to firms that produce long shelf-life products, animal products, and perishable vegetable products. It also applies to firms that are involved in food ingredients such as vitamins and additives. Firms that comply with the standard receive accreditation from bodies licensed by the FSSC Foundation.
Safer Food Better Business (SFBB)
When establishing a food business, it is necessary to have a food safety management system in place. It is important to prove to regulators that the business can produce food and beverages that are safe for consumption (Taylor, 2008). The food safety management system is important and should be written down and followed as a core principle of the business. The problem is the majority of start-up businesses do not have such systems in place compared to large corporations. The reason for this is that it is costly for small businesses to implement these systems. Small businesses do not realise the value of adopting these standards (Fairman, 2004). The Food Standards Agency has resolved these issues by developing the Safer Food Better Business (SFBB), which specifically tailored for small food businesses. SFBB has packs that provide information on using the diary, cooking, chilling, and cleaning, and cross-contamination. The information will enable the business to comply with safety regulations and protect the business reputation.
Safe and Local Supplier Approval (SALSA)
It is a food safety standard with legal requirements on how firms should implement food safety standards. The standard is suitable for small and medium firms and is effective compared to BRC (Dora, 2013). Auditors will audit the firm’s ability to produce food that is safe for consumption. If the auditor is satisfied that the firm complies with the standard, then it will be awarded a certification. Certification is important as it opens up business opportunities with larger wholesalers and retailers. BRC is challenging for small and medium firms to implement; hence SALSA is a proper alternative for businesses looking to expand.
ISO 9001:2015
The standard applies to all industries that require a quality management systems certification, such as the food industry. The standard is risk-based and is focused on understanding the needs of interested parties such as regulators and consumers (Kafetzopoulos, 2015). ISO 9001:2015 is good for large corporations that already have Global Food Safety Initiative or BRC certified. Changes were made to the previous standard to ensure that it focused more on performance. Apart from being risk-based in incorporates the leadership into the quality management system (Kafetzopoulos, 2014). Involving the leadership in the management of the system motivates employees into achieving organisation objectives.
Conclusion
Food safety and quality management are important in today’s’ business environment as food companies are required to produce safe food for consumption. Globalisation and the scandals that have occurred in the food industry have resulted in the formation of food safety standards (Rohr, 2005). Standards such as IS0 9001:2015, SALSA.SFBB, GFSI, BRC, ISO 22000, IFS, and HACCP have been developed to ensure food processing companies comply with food safety regulations. For a safety standard to be implemented in a company, everyone within the company must have a similar goal to ensure the standard is effective. The standards mentioned above apply to either small, medium, or large companies. However, BRC has been practised as challenging for small firms to adopt. The reason is that it is challenging for small firms to interpret the standard.
Food safety has grown to become a global and sensitive issue (WHO, 2002). If the companies do not focus on food safety, then it is likely that they might suffer certain consequences. Therefore statutory regulations are important to ensure that firms comply with food safety standards. The food industry must ensure that food and beverages are safe to consume from production up to when they reach the consumer.
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