There’s a lot that a company can and should do to keep their products up to consistent

standards, and keep them safe and reliable for consumers. There are even basic ones
that every company should know and implement with all of their products. While this
list does not cover everything a company should do to keep their products safe, it does
lay a basic groundwork.

1. Ingredient Specifications

A final product can only be as good as the raw materials and ingredients put into it.
Therefore, the best starting point is developing ingredient specifications. Make sure to
review all information and modify the specifications as needs change. It’s also
important to discuss and settle these specifications with the supplier. The ingredient
specifications should be documented to maintain consistency. Ingredient
specifications documentation should include at minimum: names of ingredients, vital
product attributes, and important dates, but may require more information. This is all
to assure that the supplier has not changed the materials or standards.

2. Approved Supplier List

For each ingredient, it’s a good idea to have an approved supplier list that is available
to individuals responsible for purchasing and quality control. The approved supplier
list should contain at least the following information: ingredient name and internal
code; supplier name, address, phone number and other key contact info; trade name of
ingredient; and supplier code number.

3. Product Formulation/Recipe

Every food product should have a written documentation of the formula or recipe and
be available for use as a means to assure consistency between batches, lots, and even
days of production. For highly confidential formulas, the production worker does not
need all the details and a simplified recipe can be put in place to assure that the
product information stays secret.

4. Product Standards

One of the most important tools to assure quality in a finished product is the product
standard document. Product standards are defined by the physical, chemical and
microbiological characteristics of the final product. Physical characteristics including
size, shape, dimensions, weight, and volume are important, as are count per package
or container, presence of fines, or any other special features which define the
particular product.

Microbiological standards will depend on the specific food item. Food safety is the
responsibility of the processor, so consider pathogens and foreign materials when
developing product standards. Make sure rejection criteria for each product and
acceptable methodology for determining these are established. Your base minimum
rejection standards are based on regulatory requirements and practical production
experience.

5. Manufacturing Procedures
There should be a documented method of the processing procedures to ease
duplication from lot to lot, shift to shift and day to day. There are several key points to
consider when identifying the important processing operations such as time,
temperature, equipment required, order of addition for ingredients, and weight. After
the product is prepared, make manufacturing procedures or portions of the procedures
available to production employees.

6. In-Process Records

Another area that QWerks specializes in is in-process record keeping. It is important

to know what is happening with the product during the manufacturing process. Both
the quality control and production personnel should participate in daily maintenance
logs.

Things such as product weight, temperature, size and shape, ingredient usage, product
yield, scrap or waste, material balance and rework are examples of things that need to
be measured during the manufacturing process. The basin-process measurements used
in each operation are called Critical Control Points.

Keeping track of critical control points is important because small differences,

changes or mistakes can cause the finished product to be a health hazard, unsafe, and
costly to the business. Critical control points may be self-imposed or defined by
regulation when public health or product identity are of concern. In-process record
keeping can be done manually or by an automatic operation, and in some cases both.
It is also important to make adjustments to the in-process records.

7. Packaging and Labeling

All quality control programs should include packaging and labeling, after all the first
items that influence the consumer are the package and the label. There are two basic
packages necessary for food products: The primary package and the secondary
package. The primary package encloses the food and has direct contact with the
product; typically, a film, jar, bottle, carton or box. The secondary package is used to
hold together multiple packaged food items for shipment and is meant to provides
protection.

Packaging is selected and designed based upon the needs of that particular food item.
Regardless of the design of the packaging, the law requires product name, ingredient
statement, and manufacturing or distribution location to be on the package. Other
government regulations include the size of type or printing and for the overall graphs
to represent the contents of the container.

8. Good Manufacturing Practices and Sanitation

There are federal regulations called Good Manufacturing Procedures (GMPs) that
define specific procedures meant to minimize the contamination of food products by
those in manufacturing, processing, packaging, and warehousing facilities. GMPs are
an integral part of quality control- this is where QWerks could do the most good for
your company.
It is the responsibility of food business management and ownership to ensure that
GMPs are carried out by employees. Along with GMPs, a regular cleaning and
sanitizing program is essential to preventing contamination.

9. Warehousing

Warehousing involves three activities: receiving, storage and shipping.

Receiving

Some basic guidelines for incoming shipments are:

1. The storage space should clean and consistent with the first-in-first-out (FIFO) or first-
expiring-first-out (FEFO) rotation principle.
2. Before unloading materials, inspect the condition of the trailer. If it doesn’t meet standards,
reject the load.
3. Collect random samples from the shipment to analyze or evaluate the samples to make sure
they meet specifications.
4. After unloading, inspect the condition of the trailer and materials.
5. If the shipment does not meet specifications, be prepared to reject all or part of the load.

Storage

If the product isn’t stored properly, it can impact the quality of the product. The
product should be stored in an orderly manner under the proper conditions necessary
to maintain quality.

Shipping

Shipping is the last step in which food businesses have direct control over product
quality. Ship items on a FIFO/FEFO basis and use the same guidelines in shipping
that were set up in receiving.

10. Laboratory Analysis

Laboratory analysis is the part of the quality control program that is implemented
after the product is produced. The samples that will be tested in this phase should be
random and pulled out regularly for every batch. For some analyses, very simple
methods are used in the laboratory, while other methods are more complicated and
require specialized equipment.

All laboratory analyses should be performed in a room away from the processing area.
If there is not space for a separate area, there are other ways to obtain laboratory
analysis results from outside, independent labs or from a combination of in-house and
independent testing.

A qualified individual should conduct all analyses and report the results to ensure they
are in line with quality control standards. All test results should be recorded and
compared to the product specifications and standards. Failure to meet these standards
should be communicated so that additional action can be taken if necessary.
11. Recall Plan

Even the best-laid plans often go awry, and it’s important to be prepared for the
worst-case scenario. A product recall is when a company has to bring back product
from the distribution system. Whether the product recall was the result of voluntary
action by a business firm or involuntary action due to Food and Drug Administrative
(FDA) action, an unorganized recall process could ruin a business’ public image.

There are three classification as best described by the FDA for a recall:

1. A Class I product recall is the most urgent type of recall that the FDA will issue. In a FDA Class
I Recall, there is significant and immediate danger of death or other serious injury from the
use of the product being recalled.
2. A Class II product recall is an intermediate threat level recall. A Class II recall is issued where
there is no immediate danger of death or other serious injury linked to the product, but the
risk of death or a serious injury is still present.
3. A Class III product recall is the least serious type of recall. A Class II recall is typically issued
when there is no immediate or perceived danger of any health issues, but items have been
released that are in violation of FDA regulations.
4. All recall plans should be developed and communicated to appropriate individuals within the
firm before any crises arise. All plans should at minimum include:
5. A product coding system that is simple, yet broad enough to minimize financial loss.
6. A record keeping system to identify and associate specific products, product codes, carriers,
destinations, personnel and their assigned responsibilities for a recall.
7. A strong communication system within the company.
8. Established procedures for evaluating and correcting the situation.

Remember, a recall program is an insurance policy and will not prevent the adverse
situation from occurring. Food quality is an expectation from consumers.

All the food quality control procedures discussed in this article are designed to keep
the quality of products consistent, reliable, and safe for consumers. And while there is
a lot to organize, keep track of, and report, there is a tool out there that can make it all
a little easier. This is where QWerks comes to the rescue to not only help in the day-
to-day operations, but help simplify the process. Find out how QWerks can help your
business today.

THAI Catering ensures food safety and quality management for inflight food service
according to the International Food Safety Standard which is the Corporate Social
Responsibility - CSR. Not only food safety control but also special requirements from
airline customers are complied. Development of quality hygiene and food safety
standard is done continuously. To ensure the most efficiently, best quality and
services, the international standard system GMP, HACCP and ISO 9001 have been
integrated in THAI Catering Department.
Management process is based on the technologies of food production. "Refrigerated
Food " by the Cold Chain Production process control throughout the food chain (Food
Production Chain) to avoid the food in the temperature danger zone (Danger Zone) to
preserve the quality of fresh food and safe for consumption. Appropriate advanced
technology and efficient are used. The food processing to take basic hygiene or GMP:
Good Manufacturing Practices, a Prerequisite Program of the management of food
safety system HACCP is to focus on better management throughout the supply chain
process.

Food (From Farm to Fork or From Farm to Table) from the hygiene of the raw
materials of production, safety of buildings, manufacturing facilities, using
appropriate technology, hygiene and good personal staff, storage, transportation and
services. To ensure good quality, safe food free from harmful contamination through
all stages of food production. The management of food safety (Food Safety) has
implemented the HACCP - Hazard

Analysis Critical Control Point using the international standard accepted by customers
and the airlines.

 IFSA/AEA: World Food Safety Guidelines for Airline Catering, 3rd version, June 2010,.
 CODEX Alimentarius Commission, Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Point (HACCP) System
and Guidelines for its application. Annex to CAC / RCP 1-1969, Rev.4-2003.
 QSAI - Catering Quality Assurance Program, Food Processing Safety Standards &
Interpretation Guidelines.

Process control and food safety according to HACCP Manual, an analysis of the CCP
- Critical Control Point to control potential hazards in food, focusing on prevention
and control and early attention to problems as well. The verification of quality by
Hygiene Audit and microbiological analysis. The types of foods and products to
control the quality and food safety effectively.

Responsive and attentive to the specific needs of each customer airlines. THAI
Catering use the ISO 9001 to manage and deliver services that meet customer
satisfaction and impression to customer airlines. In addition, THAI Catering has
followed the correct principles of halal food production under the guidance and
supervision of relevant government departments to ensure customer confidence in the
quality of halal food service.