Managing Food Safety and Quality

Approach to Supplier Quality Management

First, we need to understand the impact that the specification of materials has on each stage of the production process and on product quality and safety.

In view of this, technical specifications must be created in order to acquire materials as specified, and quality control must be drawn up for receiving analyses. These analyses will be carried out prior to receiving raw materials in accordance with the impact assessment. Analyses of the final product also control the quality of incoming materials whose parameters are not analyzed upon receipt.

Frequent audits of suppliers are also tools we use to ensure that the quality management system is implemented and effective. Suppliers certified to recognize GFSI standards are an important differentiator in the decision-making process, guaranteeing that the materials received meet the required quality standards.

Examples of How Effective Quality Management Practices Have Positively Impacted Customer Satisfaction and Business Performance

We know that quality products that meet the expectations of customers and consumers are the ones that sell the most and make the biggest profits. We have many examples of market leaders who have the highest sales volumes at the highest prices. Therefore, controlling quality, from the raw materials to the stages of the process and the final product, is extremely important. I’ll give you some examples of successful experiences I’ve had in my career. Starting with raw material suppliers, there was a need to approve suppliers of concentrated fruit juice for the production of beverage compounds. There was one supplier who caught our eye because his price was 18 percent higher than his competitors. We carried out qualitative analyses of the product, and the results were similar to other products from other suppliers, but the performance in production was spectacular. The product’s stability and appearance were far superior. We went to the supplier’s factory and found out that they have an extra step in their process, capable of making the product more homogeneous at a molecular level.

Taking the mass balance, the more expensive raw material gave us a process saving of 7 percent and put us on the same level as other competitors in order to seek out the best customers worldwide, thus making more profit.

Challenges in the Role of Food Safety Standards and Certifications

The biggest challenge is to implement a culture of quality and food safety.

When we talk about quality, food safety, etc., we must bear in mind that there are several variables that directly impact the performance and effectiveness of an organization’s quality culture.

"Quality professionals cannot simply draw up procedures, create strategies that are complicated to understand, and disseminate them without the proper deployment and frequent monitoring of activities"

All sectors of the company need to be engaged and committed to this purpose.

We do this by initially making excellence in quality and food safety part of the company’s values.

The challenge for the quality team is to implement a customized culture for each sector of the company, with simple, straightforward procedures that perfectly meet the quality objectives. Each sector of the company must know what to do and the impacts in the event of deviations and non-compliance with the established procedures.

Monitoring, performance indicators, well-established and deployed targets for all levels, and frequent audits guarantee compliance with the guidelines and quick and effective corrections in the event of deviations.

One Technology Trend Used to Facilitate Quality Monitoring and Improvement

Today, technology is increasingly helping us to improve the quality controls of our processes, resulting in defect-free products.

The trend is to have sensors monitoring products in real-time and industrial automation correcting deviations automatically without human intervention.

With these resources, we have seen process deviations measured in ppb (parts per billion) and no longer in % (percentage).

Significant savings in the consumption of inputs and ingredients are clearly observed in industries that use this technology, savings in rework, waste, a reduction in the number of returns, and customer and consumer complaints.

Advice, Suggestions, Warnings, Etc., to Professionals

Quality professionals have a systemic vision of the business. Know the impact of quality on all sectors of the company and vice versa.

Knowing the process in detail to draw up procedures in simple language that employees understand and comply with, knowing why. Always monitor the progress of quality, using key indicators and especially in person at the process level, to help solve problems, not just identify them.

Quality professionals cannot simply draw up procedures, create complicated strategies, and disseminate them without the proper deployment and frequent monitoring of activities.