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Feature
Total Quality Management in food processing industry
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Monday, 16 February, 2009, 08 : 00 AM [IST]
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Irum Khan, Mumbai
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It is the quality of our work which will please God and not the quantity
-Mahatma Gandhi
Total quality management (TQM) has been one of the finest strategies prescribed for bringing in effective quality improvement in the organisation. It is a method which calls for the involvement of the management and employees to bring in continuous improvement of the production of goods and services. However, the concept is not much heard about in the food sector where the need is much realised. Says Rajaram of Intertek, a company into testing, inspection & certification services, " The food sector is a highly disorganised sector hence it may not be convenient to implement TQM in the industry. Besides, there are fixed laws for the certification of food safety. However, there are many companies which are implementing this programme."
Any food manufacturing unit demands 3 basic factors - hygiene, safety and quality.
TQM calls for a commitment to quality and excellence from every executive in the organisation. It is dedication to continuous improvement on the part of every employee in the manufacturing or related unit in a systematic way.
It calls for following a daily regime and steps which can be as simple as keeping the premises clean, following more hygiene in daily work and finding out ways that can make work easier and interesting to achieve. Here, every member has the right to identify problems and give suggestions for rectification. The most promising factor in this concept is that every connected unit is treated as a consumer and along with the development of the product the development of the organisation is achieved.
With the new FSSAI Act coming up it is believed that similar changes are bound to occur. Says Mohan Patankar, joint commissioner, FDA Maharashtra, "The most important change by FSSAI coming in will be that the burden would be shifted to the manufacturers from the enforcing agency. This would call the manufacturers to take up the responsibility."
FSSAI emphasises more on quality and hygiene than on adulteration. According to Patankar, there is no term like "Adulteration" in the FSSAI law book.
The existing food laws can very well be integrated with the TQM programme and implemented in a simpler but assured manner. Under the previous Prevention of Food Adulteration Act (PFA), an offense meant a minimum of 6 months imprisonment and a sum of Rs1000 as fine but in FSSAI the scope for compounding is given. The opportunity to improve is given to the manufacturers. Even the chain of transition will be linked. In FSSAI the rule is simple, if a manufacturer does not comply with the certified practices he is out of the business.
Laws like Hazard Analysis Critical Control Point (HACCAP), Good Manufacturing Practices (GMP), ISO and such others are very effective programmes for food safety.
HACCP was developed to foresee and rectify error before it occurred and thus establish zero deficiency. The entire process of preparation of food is monitored by HACCAP. Before HACCAP there were other conventional methods of quality assurance like sending the final product for testing and if the product was found defaulting the process of recall or destruction of product began. But this method led to more expenditure.
HACCAP ensured quality right from the preparation to the product delivery point. HACCP enables the producers, processors, distributors, exporters, etc, of food products to utilise the technical resources efficiently and in a cost effective manner in assuring food safety. Simlarly, under the FSSAI law, substandard products can be sent for correction after issuing a notice for the monetary compounding amount to the manufacturer.
GMP is another phenomenon which takes the holistic approach of regulating the manufacturing and laboratory testing environment itself. Documentation of every aspect of the process, activities, and operations involved with drug, food and medical device manufacture is important in GMP. Additionally, GMP calls for testing of all manufacturing and testing equipment to be qualified as suitable for use, and that all operational methodologies and procedures like manufacturing, cleaning, and analytical testing) utilised in the food manufacturing process have been authenticated according to the certification norms.
Such certification along with a holistic programme and a hired consultant to monitor the progress will help India establish a quality food industry. TQM ultimately is not a law book but a routine regime that can be implemented in making food safety a habit. Says Patankar, "If an entrepreneur wants to establish a food business then only those would have a brighter chance to grow who have a stronghold in food safety laws."
In October 2007, an amendment to Rule 50(16) was added that demanded recruitment of a supervisor with specific qualifications to monitor food safety. This amendment can be considered one of the most important steps towards acknowledgement of food safety.
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