The food industry deals with extremely sensitive products requiring routine inspection and quality control. This is necessary, from sourcing raw materials to delivering final products.Quality control directly impacts customers’ satisfaction,brand reputation, and the company’s financial performance. Consequently, preventing and fixing quality issues can result in superior products, an improved reputation for the brand, and a large customer base.
Objectives of Quality Control in the Food Industry
Quality control is necessary for all food products to be safe and healthy for consumers. The quality status of the product must be meticulously documented and verified at every stage of the production process because these items directly impact consumers’ health.
Ways to Enhance Quality Control in the Food Industry
- Conduct Ingredient Specifications
Finding the best raw materials is the first step in every production process. The ingredients’ quality will determine how well the final product turns out. Having a set of specifications for the ingredients used in production is essential.
These specifications cover things like purity, uniqueness, and moisture content. To achieve adequate quality control, it is also necessary to know from where each batch of ingredients was supplied and in what state.
- Setup Approved Supplier List
Each raw material used in food production should have an approved supplier list and ingredient specifications. Regular evaluation and revision of this list are required.
The list should contain details like the ingredient’s name, the supplier’s name, address, and code number. The procurement team must collaborate with quality assurance to create, examine, and update this list of authorized suppliers.
- Perform Incoming Goods Inspection
After being sourced and arriving at the manufacturing facility, the raw materials must be inspected. This makes it easier to confirm that the materials adhere to the specifications.
A visual inspection of the products should be done with tests for things like pH levels, moisture content, etc. Any raw materials that don’t comply with the specifications should be quarantined or returned to the source until a decision is made.
- Carry Out Production Formulation
The production team will create the final product after the raw materials have been authorized. This is accomplished by adhering to manufacturing guidelines that contain information on recommended weights, ingredients, batch sizes, and processing times.
To ensure consistency in the final product, these instructions must be thorough and adhered to precisely. Every action taken by the production team during the manufacturing process should be documented.
- Comply With the Plan
A food industry with an FDA license is required to follow strict and thorough quality control measures. Your HARPC (Hazard Analysis and Risk-Based Preventive Controls) plan, a step-by-step process for ensuring the safety of your food products at every stage, should serve as your starting point.
You should comply with safety regulations and ensure your quality controls are effective by following this approach. The preventive steps you must take and the corrective actions you must take if preventive steps fail are outlined in your HARPC plan.
Additionally, the FDA will thoroughly review your HARPC plan during inspections and when you apply for your license. Ensure your staff members are aware of the plan’s potential repercussions and that they fully understand it.
- Everything Depends Heavily On Traceability
Your supply chain needs to be traceable and verified from beginning to end. In the worst-case scenario, traceability can save lives by ensuring a quicker response. Still, naturally, you want to discover the issues far earlier. The new norm in the manufacturing of food and beverages is transparency at every stage of the supply chain, so you best be ready to put it into practice.
When you consider the modern era of global supply chains, traceability becomes crucial. Your data will be kept in one location where it can be accessed by all necessary parties using a centralized platform, like a cloud-based manufacturing software suite. Additionally, it will enable you to track quality control KPIs and identify the root cause of failed batches.
- Be Strict About PPE Violations of the Law
Personal protective equipment (PPE) policy violations are not a matter of convenience or a fashion choice. In the worst case, they may be liable for injuries, lapses in quality control, OSHA and FDA violations, and product recall.
To increase adherence to PPE regulations, it is necessary to ensure they are straightforward and well-posted. Ensure you communicate to your staff how important adequate PPE is for upholding quality standards.
Although you should also invest in PPE that is comfortable to wear and doesn’t prevent workers from performing their jobs, you may have to take a firmer hand with unannounced visits and inspections and consequences for those caught violating PPE rules if you need help achieving compliance.
- Have Your Procedures Automated
Generally speaking, the more human involvement you can remove from your process, the better. For food and beverage quality regulation, an automated manufacturing process brings numerous benefits, such as transparency, worker safety, increased efficiency, and cost savings.
Manufacturers of today’s food and beverages have found manufacturing IoT to be especially valuable. These automated systems can detect quality control issues more quickly because they operate continuously, eliminating the need for inspections.
Ensure you take advantage of the benefits of automation for quality control when you weigh the costs and advantages of incorporating technology advancements into your production process.
- Pay Attention to Food Defense
Food safety and food defense are two rather completely different species. Food defense protects against deliberate adulteration, while food safety focuses on unintentionally introducing pollutants. It poses a greater threat than you may expect, and the financial consequences of failure could bankrupt a company.
Take advantage of the opportunity provided by the FDA’s free Food Defense Plan Builder program. Feel free to ask for help if you need it. Obtaining complete buy-in from your manufacturing floor staff is the most critical. The first line of defense against adulteration is them.
Conclusion
The concept of high stakes is quality control in the production of food and beverages, and the stakes have only gotten higher due to rising production needs and worldwide supply networks.Fortunately, the food industry has access to cutting-edge technology and resources today, making it possible to keep up as long as your culture is established on an unwavering commitment to quality. EC Global Inspection is your number plug in this regard. We ensure your food-related products maintain a consistent level of quality, from warehouse to end consumer.
