DECEMBER 20239the fundamental management and control techniques, aiming to improve all processes continuously. For this, industries must be organizationally structured, with established quality policies and programs, measure customer satisfaction, and use appropriate tools and methodologies for risk assessment.Over time, the role of food safety experts has also changed. As the industry grows, technology develops, the demands and awareness of consumers evolve, and so does the understanding of quality management. As a result, every company goes through a certain level of maturity regarding quality management.It is important to highlight these stages of quality maturity that start with quality control. Product quality control is limited and focused on corrective inspection, that is, checking the uniformity of the final product by separating non-conforming prod-ucts. In addition, it aims to identify defects and develop statistical tools for sampling and control, usually by a knowledgeable HACCP team.Quality control is essentially an assessment of the final product before it is released on the market, i.e., at the end of the production chain. It has limited potential for correcting production defects or upgrading the final product quality by focusing on the inspection aspect of quality management.The next step of maturity item occurs with Quality Assur-ance.Quality assurance can be defined as `the part of quality management focused on systematic activities and providing confidence that quality requirements will be met.'Despite the close connection and involvement in quality management, quality control and quality assurance have fun-damentally different goals.Quality assurance aims to prevent defects and nonconfor-mities, while quality control seeks to identify weaknesses.Quality assurance relates to broader control and preven-tion, ensuring standardized processes and quality in all prod-uct acquisition phases through systematic management.This is a proactive approach aimed at a process that would eliminate product defects and includes development and testing.Finally, quality management is part of the strategic scope of an organization, and this phase is called Strategic Quality Management.It represents a vision of market-oriented management, with an eye on opportunities ahead of the competition and customer satisfaction. Inspection control of raw materials and products, laboratory control, hazard analysis and determina-tion of root cause analysis, and audit of systems and suppliers remain fundamental QM pillars. Maturity or evolution has been achieved because the entire organization is included in the quality management vision.Through the support of the management and ownership structure, a culture of food safety includes:Flexibility - To anticipate and configure system require-ments in time to minimize risks.Reporting - Employees are encouraged to report safety-re-lated issues. The most crucial ingredient in this culture is trust. Awareness - Like respon-siveness, everyone within the system knows what to do as part of a more extensive system.Education - Constant in-vestment of everyone involved in the processes, significantly based on previous mistakes. The enemy of every organization is `business as usual.' Even after a problem has been identified and corrective action initiated, day-to-day operations are not uncommon to slowly return to the old routine. Honesty ­ People are more likely to report problems if they know they won't be criticized in a prejudicial way because of their role.Food safety culture starts at the top and flows down. A management's attitudes, actions, and decisions set the tone for everyone else in the food chain. Clear and consistent messaging is essential, but leading by example is even more important. Responsible companies regularly assess their culture and take measures to improve it. Their organizational culture goals are regularly updated to ensure alignment with their company's vision, values, and strategy. Food affects our senses, but it can also affect our health. This is why the food industry must comply with quality requirements and maintain quality standards
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