Quality Management Systems in Food Industry - Essay Example

Critically evaluate the importance of introducing Quality Management Systems (QMS), including food hygiene (e.g. HACCP) to companies in the British food industry Access to a secure supply of safe food is a human right. Everyone who is involved in food production, processing, sale and service has a role in ensuring that the food that reaches our tables will not be a hazard to human health. National Food Control systems are designed to ensure the existence of a safe food supply, and promote the good health of local populations. Food legislation in many countries around the world requires that food businesses have conducted a hazard analysis and introduced measures necessary to ensure the production of safe food. Guidelines for food safety management systems (FSMS), based on general requirements for hygiene and principles for Hazard Analysis Critical Control Point (HACCP) are defined internationally by the FAO/WHO (CODEX - 2001). Quality Management Systems (QMS): "QMS is a system that outlines the policies and procedures necessary to improve and control the various processes that will ultimately lead to improved business performance" (Quality Management System, 2006). QMSs are used to control the quality and safety of products. QMS is a well-documented system that ensures consistency and improvement of work practices. This includes products and services produced (What is QMS, n.d). QMS is based on standard procedures specified for achieving effective quality management. The use of a QMS will ensure that all aspects of a business are working efficiently and cost effectively. QMS will provide a competitive advantage, which can increase marketing and sales opportunities; this will help a company gain new customers as well as retaining existing business. By working within a QMS the whole workforce will be involved which improves communication, morale and job satisfaction. The ISO 9001-2000 standard is a guide for the establishment of a quality system. ISO 9001 comprises 6 clauses and is designed to be used as a guide for the quality management process of an organization. It is not prescriptive, but allows managers to design and implement a quality management system appropriate for their business needs. Food Safety Systems Currently in Place in UK: The EU and the World Health Organization (WHO) state that "food safety is a shared responsibility from farm to fork. It is the duty of the Industry to meet the requirements of the Food Safety Act 1990, which provides controls for all parts of the food industry" (Free Factsheets, 2005). Safety Standards for Agriculture: Some of the examples are British Farm Standard ('Little Red Tractor'), Freedom Food and LEAF. In all methods, production standards, covering food safety, environmental protection, animal-welfare issues and other characteristics are specified. Also in all cases farms are inspected regularly so that the standards are maintained (Free Factsheets, 2005) EurepGAP: Its aim is to agree standards and procedures across Europe for Good Agricultural Practices (GAP) (Free Factsheets, 2005). In the UK the organic standards are overseen by the Advisory Committee on Organic Standards and enforced by various organizations. Food Manufacturing: Food manufacturers have various safety systems to ensure quality and safety. Three prominent systems are (Free Factsheets, 2005): Good Manufacturing Practices (GMP): 'Good Manufacturing Practice' is a term used to describe effective manufacturing operations, well-designed food safety and quality assurance systems and a commitment and discipline from all to ensure products meet food safety, quality and legal requirements. Manufacturers have access to various specialist advisors to this end including the Institute of Food Science and Technology (Free Factsheets, 2005) Hazard Analysis Critical Control Points (HACCP): This is described in detail later. Quality Assurance Standards: These are the standards such as International Standards Organization (ISO 9000) and the European Standard (ES 29000), which ensure that food manufacturers follow well, documented procedures. Food Retailing Standards: British Retail Consortium (BRC) Standard: First standard was published in 1998. The Global Food Safety Initiative (GFSI): It's a retail led network of over 50 food safety experts and their trade associations worldwide. Food and Drug Administration (FDA): "FDA of the United States is the government agency responsible for regulating food (human and animal), dietary supplements, drugs (human and animal), cosmetics, medical devices (human and animal), biologics, and blood products in the United States. The FDA is a division of the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), which itself is one of the 15 Cabinet-level Departments of the United States Government." (Food and Drug Administration, 2006). It is FDA's responsibility to ensure that the foods are safe, wholesome and sanitary. It is also FDA's responsibility to ensure that the products are honestly, accurately and informatively represented to the public. (What FDA Regulates, n.d). Hazard Analysis Critical Control Point (HACCP): The food businesses have to ensure that the food safety risks are minimized and hence have to implement the food safety management system. However with the so many food safety regulations to comply with it becomes difficult for the business to know where to start with. A common foundation for building a food safety management system is based on Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Point methodology (HACCP) The most widely accepted tool for managing food safety is HACCP. The principles of HACCP can be traced backed to, 1) Codex Alimentarius Commission which was created to develop food standards, 2) guidelines and codes of practice by the Joint Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) and World Health Organization (WHO) under Food Standards Program for the United Nations. HACCP has been recognized as the fundamental element of the food safety systems by the Global Food Safety Initiative, made up of global food retailers. It is also a key component of numerous food safety standards (Food Safety, n.d). Many of the principle of the HACCP are also found in FDA-regulated low-acid canned food industry. FDA has also established HACCP for the seafood industry, juice industry and meat and poultry processing plants (HACCP: A State-of-the-Art Approach to Food Safety, 2001). Seven Principles of HACCP: 1) Perform Hazard Analysis: The first principle involves understanding operations and determining food safety hazards that are likely to occur. This is about managers understanding as to how the people, equipment, methods, and foods all affect each other with due considerations also given to processes and procedures used to prepare the food. In this step operational process i.e. receiving, storage, preparation, cooking etc. occurring as the food enters and moves through the operation are considered. Also in this analysis control measures are determined which would eliminate, prevent or reduce food safety hazards. Some of the control measures are implementation of employee health policies, restricting or excluding the ill employees from entering the operational area, hand washing etc. (Managing Food Safety, 2006). 2) Decide on the Critical Control Points (CCPs): In this step the control measures that are absolutely essential for ensuring safe food are identified. "An operational step where control can be applied and is essential for ensuring that a food safety hazard is eliminated, prevented or reduced to an acceptable level is a critical control point (CCP)" (Managing Food Safety, 2006). CCP involves only those steps, which are absolutely essential to food safety; hence there are only few CCPs in each food preparation process. If there is a alter method which would prevent, reduce or eliminate a hazard to an acceptable level, then the former step is not a CCP. (Managing Food Safety, 2006). 3) Determine the Critical Limits: Each CCP have the boundary limit which define the extreme permissible values for the particular process. In order to control the food safety hazards the critical limits of the parameters must be achieved. For example, when cooking pork chops, the Food Code sets the critical limit at 145F for 15 seconds. Food may not be safe when the critical limits are not met. The critical limits are measurable and observable quantities. (Managing Food Safety, 2006). 4) Establish Procedures to Monitor CCPs: After determining the CCPs and the critical limits it is essential to keep track of the CCPs as food flows through the operation. CCPs are monitored and are kept under control by adhering to the established critical limits. (Managing Food Safety, 2006). 5) Establish Corrective Actions: It is quiet natural that sometimes during the operation the process parameters would go beyond the critical limits. In this step the plans are established which decides what should be done when the process parameters have gone beyond the critical values. The operator decides upon the actions that should be taken when the critical limits are not met. He then explains these methods to the employees and trains them to make the right decision in the prevailing situations. "This preventive approach is the heart of HACCP. Problems will arise, but you need to find them and correct them before they cause illness or injury" (Managing Food Safety, 2006). 6) Establish Verification Procedures: This step is to ensure that system is scientifically sound so as to effectively control the hazards. This principle also makes sure that the system is operating as per the specified plan. Periodically the managers carry out following activities, 1) observations of employees' monitoring activities, 2) calibrate equipment and temperature measuring devices, 3) review records/actions, 4) discuss procedures with the employees. These activities ensure that HACCP plan is addressing the food safety concerns. It also helps find out if any improvements or modifications are needed (Managing Food Safety, 2006). 7) Establish a Record Keeping System: Certain records have to be kept to verify that the system is working properly. Normally these involve HACCP plan itself and monitoring activities. These also comprise of corrective action or calibration records produced in the operation of a HACCP system. Also are included the verification records. Records serve to prove that ongoing, effective HACCP system is in place. The record keeping made is simple so that the employees would be able to maintain the records without any burden. (Managing Food Safety, 2006). The principles of HACCP provide us the simple approach to identify and control risk factors. Hence many food safety managements at retail level apply one or more of these principles. Though complete HACCCP system would be more ideal many managements implement more than systems so as to minimize the risk factors. Benefits of a HACCP based Food Safety Management System: The benefits of HACCP systems as specified in Benefits of a HACCP based Food Safety Management System, (n.d) are: 1) Process Based System: Business would definitely gain from clearly defined processes and procedures. Effective communication and continuous improvements in process would further help in functioning of the management system. 2) Customer and Consumer Confidence: Effectively implemented and applied food safety system and controlled food operating environment will improve customer and consumer confidence in the safety of food. 3) Risk Management: The methodology helps company move from retrospective end product testing and sampling approach towards a preventative approach, which reduces the product losses and liabilities. 4) Management Responsibility: It enables business management to demonstrate their commitment to the production and supply of safe products. 5) It helps to improve relationships between organizations in the food chain, customers and enforcement agencies. 6) The documentation in safety system helps inspection and verification of existence and running of the system. 7) Legal Protection: There is a general acceptance that HACCP based systems give the food industry the most effective management tool to enable the production and supply of safe food. In the event of an outbreak of food borne diseases the adoption of this approach can offer legal defense. 8) Trading Benefit: This system helps the companies to meet customer and legal requirements in both domestic and export market equally. 9) Alignment with other management systems: HACCP based food safety management systems can be combined with other management systems such as ISO 9001:2000 (Food Safety, 2005). ISO 22000:2005: The International Organization for Standardization (ISO) has developed the ISO 22000:2005 Food Safety Management Systems Standard. Officially called ISO 22000:2005, Food safety management systems - Requirements for any organization in the food chain, ISO 22000:2005 is an international standard and defines the requirements of a food safety management system covering all organizations in the food chain from "farm to fork", including catering and packaging companies (ISO 22000:2005, n.d) The standard consists of the entire key elements considered essential for food safety. These elements include: system management, control of food safety hazards through pre- requisite programs and HACCP plans and continuous improvement and updating of system. ISO 22000:2005 is also suitable for companies which have already implemented ISO 9001:2000 and their food management systems and want to integrate both the systems. The advantages of ISO 22000:2005 are: 1) It applies globally to all food supply chain organizations; it's a truly global international standard. 2) It harmonizes with national standards. 3) It complies with the Codex HACCP principles. 4) It is an auditable standard providing for third party inspection. 5) The structure complies with the management system clauses of ISO 9001:2000 and ISO 14001:2004 (ISO 22000:2005, n.d). ISO 9000: ISO: 9000 series of quality system was formulated by International Organization for Standardization in order to meet the requirements of internationally uniform quality system. ISO: 9000 quality standards stipulate certain management practices as guidelines and minimum requirements for making quality of products and services conforming to the needs of the customers. These are developed for facilitating international exchange of goods, including food items. These principles are essentially self-disciplined standards based on the principle of harmonization of specification and continuous surveillance by the third party. Views against implementation of QMS, HACCP (Gall, 2005): 1) High cost of developing and implementing the QMS, especially the HACCP plan. 2) Higher costs also involved in maintaining the QMS. 3) There is objection from the employees. They are more of used to merely producing the results. For them monitoring processes, keeping the records and following the guidelines is an extra burden. 4) There is general tendency amongst the workers to resist any change in their work style. Hence there is opposition from the employees against the QMS system, which requires a lot of changes in the attitude and working style of the employees. 5) As the workload on the employees is increased, they demand for higher salaries and compensation costs. 6) Due to higher costs involved with the QMS the overall price of the product increases, hence the profit margins of the company are reduced. 7) There are also changes in the product line, which may restrict addition of new product lines, which ultimately results in loss of business opportunities. 8) Lot of time is required in training the employees, to get acquainted to the new style of working. This indirectly affects the production and the profits of the company. 9) For the small business with limited turnover, implementing and maintaining the QMS standards becomes even more expensive process. 10) Disproportionate inspection enforcement, more government paper work, it serves no useful purpose, inconsistency of inspectors etc are some of the other issues (Gall, 2000). Summary of QMS: Having the right QMS in place is very important. It is like the bridge of faith between the customer and the food industry. The proper implementation of the QMS keeps the risks involved with the safety to the minimum. In this age of Information Technology the customers have also become more aware of the quality standards. Hence for a firm there is no option but to implement the system however expensive it may be. Infact the cost incurred in implementing the system may be compensated by marginally increasing the cost of the product, remembering that the customer would be more willing to buy the assured expensive product than the cheap not assured product. The costs incurred in the QMS are worth not only for assuring safe and quality food products to the customers but also for the benefit of the employees. References: Gall Ken (2001) National Seafood Industry HACCP Implementation Survey Report. Sea Grant. Accessed on 22 May 2006. Accessed from: http://www.seagrant.sunysb.edu/SeafoodTechnology/HACCP00Survey/HACCP2000ReportVIII.htm Benefits of a HACCP based Food Safety Management System (n.d). Bsi Management Systems. Accessed on 21 May 2006. Accessed from http://www.bsiamericas.com/Food/FoodSafetyManagementSystem/DutchHACCP.xalter Food and Drug Administration (2006). WIKIPEDIA. Last Modified 20 May 2006. Accessed on 22 May 2006. Accessed from: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Food_and_Drug_Administration Food Safety (n.d). Bsi Management Systems. http://www.bsiamericas.com/Food/FoodSafetyManagementSystem/index.xalter Free Factsheets (2005). Inspiring People Through Knowledge and Learning. 15 March 2005. http://www.igd.com/CIR.aspmenuid=35&cirid=1529 HACCP: A State-of-the-Art Approach to Food Safety (2001). FDA BACKGROUNDER. US Food And Drug Administration. Accessed on 21 May 2006. Accessed from: http://www.cfsan.fda.gov/lrd/bghaccp.html ISO 22000:2005 - Food Safety Management System Standard. Bsi Management Systems (n.d). Accessed on 21 May 2006. Accessed from http://www.bsiamericas.com/Food/Standards/ISO22000.xalter Managing Food Safety: A Manual for the Voluntary Use of HACCP Principles for Operators of Food Service and Retail Establishments (2006). US Food And Drug Administration. Accessed on 21 May 2006. Accessed from: http://www.cfsan.fda.gov/dms/hret2-1.html Quality Management System (2006). WIKIPEDIA, Accessed 21 May 2006. Accessed from: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quality_Management_System What is QMS (n.d). Quality.Bsi. Accessed on 21 May 2006. Accessed from http://www.bsiamericas.com/Quality/Overview/WhatisaQMS.xalter What FDA Regulates (n.d). US Food and Drug Administration. Accessed on 21 May 2006. Accessed from: http://www.fda.gov/comments/regs.html Read More