Understanding the Scope of Quality Control in the Food & Beverages Industry

A lot of food products are susceptible. It is why the food industry must adhere to quality requirements and maintain quality standards. Food is one item we repeatedly buy from the same brand, believing that it meets our expectations and is of excellent quality. Even a tiny blemish on quality could damage a brand’s reputation in this industry. In this case, profits might go down the drain for the company. Therefore, quality control measures are of the utmost importance for food brands. Quality control (QC) identifies and corrects defects in finished products and is a reactive process. To achieve constant customer satisfaction, the sources of quality problems must be identified and eliminated. It is an aspect of quality management that involves inspecting products for defects, and it is typically done by a team that has been designated for that purpose. 

Quality Control and Quality Assurance: What is the Difference? 

When it comes to making sure products are of a high standard, quality control, and quality assurance are frequently used in the same way, but how do they differ? 

Despite their close ties and inclusion in quality management, quality control and assurance have fundamentally different goals. Quality assurance is intended to prevent defects, while quality control is intended to identify defects.  

To learn more, let us take a closer look at both terms. 

What does Quality Assurance mean for the Food and Beverages Industry? 

Quality assurance (QA) is a set of activities designed to ensure that products developed through the development processes are high quality. As a proactive process, it targets the process by which a product is made to prevent defects from occurring. QA aims to eliminate defects during development by improving development and testing processes. 

Quality assurance requires establishing an effective quality management system and assessing its effectiveness. Additionally, all development team members are responsible for ensuring quality is achieved.

What does Quality Control mean for the Food and Beverages Industry? 

QC is an activity that aims to identify defects in the actual products to ensure quality. During this process, the quality inspectors identify and address any defects in the final products.  

To improve quality, one needs to identify and eliminate sources of quality problems. It further ensures that customer quality expectations are met. Quality management refers to inspections and is typically handled by a specific team of experts responsible for testing products for defects.  

Going forward, we will look at the benefits of quality control methods and the best way to implement them. 

Quality Control: Why it is So Important? 

Below are some reasons why companies dealing in foods and beverages should not ignore quality control:

• Lower production costs

Companies can significantly reduce their production costs by conducting effective inspections and controls during production and operations in the food industry. Substandard products and waste increase production costs even more. Keeping track of the quality of products and wastages makes production more efficient and lowers the cost of manufacturing. 

Related Article: Digital Records helping Manufacturing Companies to reduce the Quality Costs to Halves

• Positive Customer Experience

Quality control enhances the goodwill of a company by manufacturing goods that are of higher quality and meet the needs of customers. Consequently, offline, and online advertising channels result in a positive brand reputation. Businesses with a positive reputation can raise funds quickly. Moreover, a company with a good reputation is more likely to survive in a highly competitive market if its goodwill is enhanced. 

• Streamlines Pricing

It is possible to ensure uniform product quality by implementing quality control measures in the food industry. It dramatically simplifies price-fixing. Companies no longer must worry about commodity prices changing continually. 

• Maximize Revenue

By maintaining quality control, a company can produce superior quality products, attract new customers to the brand, and increase sales. In addition to providing maintenance of current demand, it generates a new market for the company’s products. With the rise of social media, it has become more critical for brands to watch what is happening. Negative customer feedback can undermine a brand’s reputation. 

• New Production Technique

Quality control systems guarantee that commodities are produced at the desired standard and a reasonable rate. In addition, quality control aims to ensure that production methods and designs are improved by obtaining technical and engineering data about the product and its manufacturing process. 

• Increased Employee Engagement

Having a quality control system that works effectively increases employee engagement. Employees tend to be more motivated and willing to work toward the company’s goals when they feel like they are working in a company that produces good products of higher quality. These employees are also more likely to comply with the company’s quality control standards while performing their tasks. 

Quality Control: What is the Most Appropriate Way to Manage It? 

You might put a lot of effort and time into growing your company but recalls of food, poor products, and negative customer experiences and health impacts will drastically reverse any progress. So, it makes sense that quality control should be of high priority within your company. 

You can only ensure that by using the suitable systems, tools, and policies to provide a strict review of all goods before they leave the facility. The use of metal detectors and X-ray machines can help to detect foreign objects when checking items or goods. It is necessary to monitor temperature and climate systems to detect any contaminants or hazards. For this, you may need to set up calibration and maintenance management systems. Uniforms with proper security measures and restrictive design can protect human elements such as hair and liquids from entering the workplace.  

Lastly, you need an inspection process in place that considers both industry standards and the government’s regulations for both safety and sanitation. For example, certain fluids or goods must remain in a specific state without settling. Also, make sure you use the right equipment to ensure that raw materials and processed foods do not tend to become inedible.

From the above discussion, it is quite clear that businesses need a comprehensive quality management solution like Qualityze to ensure proper quality controls in various stages of production – from inspection of incoming materials to manufacturing the quality goods, equipment calibration to maintenance, and customer experience management. 

Qualityze offers a set of integrated modules that helps streamline all the critical processes contributing to quality of food products. It is delivered on a compliance-ready platform, i.e., Salesforce.com. It comes with impressive in-built capabilities. 

If you want to explore product functionalities or have any other queries regarding Qualityze EQMS Suite, please feel free to contact our customer success team on +1-877-207-8616 or write to us at info@qualityze.com. We will get back to you at earliest. You can also get your free demo scheduled to see a virtual tour of product interface and functionalities.

Related Article: Understanding the Scope of Quality Control in the Food & Beverages Industry