FOOD QUALITY MANAGEMENT
CHAPTER 1 – INTRODUCTION TO FOOD QUALITY MANAGEMENT
Food quality management is a necessary activity to realize food quality in food production processes.
Food quality (FQ) and quality management (QM) are the two basic components of food quality
management. It deals with the physical aspects of quality and with managing the people that have to
realise it.
Main challenges of food quality management complexity, food-people interactions and high quality
requirements.
Agri-food production chain refers to the production of food from agricultural products. The agri-food
production chain is different from other production chains because agriculture is a living system. Agri-
products have a short shelf life, are harvested seasonally and have large variability. They can also contain
risks such as pathogens, chemical contaminats etc. These characteristics influence the activities in the
production chains such as storage, packaging, quality control. Other characteristics of agri-food production
chains are:
- Complicated production chains
- Networks with many suppliers and customers
- Unintentional and unwanted by-products
- High turnover volumes but low-value products
- Big environmental impact
- Public interests and concerns (health, safety..) of stakeholders.
Quality requirements of food products and production
- Safety prerequisites microbiological, chemical and physical hazards should be below limits; food
should be allergen-free
- Authenticity concerns it is improtant food is authentic, is not altered; its origin should be
guaranteed
- Social/ethical interests food security, ethical concerns on child labour, fair trade, animal welfare
etc.
- Sustainability constraints reduction of gas emissions, reduction of food losses, use of alternative
proteins (to meat), effective water use etc.
- Health requirements nutritional density, presence of compunds that promote health, satiation
properties
- Convenience conditions packaging should be functional, easy to use for consumer
- Shelf-life requirements attention should be given to the consumer demand about extending
shelf life of products
- Sensory desires stability of taste, texture, flavour components, and presence of attractive color
and appearance.
Food quality management is a complex activity, as it must take into account the characteristics of
consumers, the properties of food, the business/economic environment, and characteristics of the food
supply chain.
Factors influencing Food Quality Management are:
- Consumer characteristics food producers have to make sure consumers are satisfied
, - Agri-food supply chain characteristics FQ Management is also influenced by the type of food
chain we are dealing with
- Food production system properties food producers take into account the characteristics of the
production process in order to solve problems at best
- Food business internal and external environment to realise FQ Management you have to take
into account who are your competitors, what kind of laws are present, who are your customers etc.
Perspectives on quality
Definition of quality = quality is meeting or exceeding the expectations of customers and consumers.
Customers = those who receive a product or service from a supplier in the production chain (any product,
can be raw material or finished product). For example, the milk factory is the customer of farmers that
supply the milk.
Consumers = they are the last customers in the production chain, because they use and consume the
product.
To make food quality more specific, we use two different models: a model on food quality and a model to
describe quality based on business performance.
- Quality from a food product perspective food properties are usually called quality attributes,
which can be perceived in different ways by customers/consumers. Two types of quality attributes
are present:
o Intrinsic attributes inherent to the physical product; they include flavour (texure, taste,
odour, color), convenience (easy to use and prepare), shelf-life (keepability, freshness),
safety, health.
o Extrinsic attributes they do not necessarily have a direct relationship with the product
properties, but still affect the perception of quality of consumers. Extrinsic attributes have
to do with the characteristics of the production system and the marketing aspects (e.g.
because the opinion of consumers is influenced by advertisements of a product).
NB: depending on the step in the food supply chain, people can have a different perception of
quality; for example, for consumers a good product has a texture/flavour they like and is healthy;
food producers are interested more in the packaging conditions, nutrient concentrations etc.
- Quality from a business perspective the quality of a product also depends on the performance
of the food business. From this perspective, quality is defined by 6 dimensions:
1. Product quality refers to the quality attributes described above.
2. Cost refers to the quality/price perception consumers have of a product.
3. Availability refers to the availability of products, ingredients, raw materials at the right
moment, in the correct amount and at the right place.
4. Flexibility refers to the ability of the food organisation to respond adequately to changing
requirements on products and processes, e.g. because consumer demands change or laws
change.
5. Dependability (or reliability) refer to the ability of the food organisation to meet quality
requirements, and consequently on the ability to provide confidence to consumer/customers.
6. Service refers to giving support to consumers and customers.
, NB: point 1, 2 and 3 are part of the product quality; point 4, 5 and 6 are part of the organisational
quality.
Techno-managerial approach in food quality management
Variation in quality can occur because of a variation in food behaviour/technical aspects, or because of a
change in human behaviour/managerial aspects.
Technological aspects that can influence food quality are 1) the food itself, due to its properties and
decay processes; and 2) the production process.
Managerial aspects that can influence food quality are 1) the human itself, e.g. the behaviour and
decisions of the manager or workers in the food chain; and 2) the organizational processes, such as the
administrative conditions and management activities in the food chain.
This puts the basis of the techno-managerial approach on food quality management. This approach is based
on the characteristics of food (technological) and human (managerial) systems , and on the character of
food quality management. A food system is a complex system with dynamic and variable behaviour; the
complexity and variability of food production systems include:
- Heterogeneity of food products (= i prodotti uguali non hanno sempre le stesse caratteristiche)
because of their complex structure
- Variation in composition and concentrations because of the use of different plant varieties and
animal breeds, seasonal influences, weather and harvesting conditions
- Interactions between food processes
- Interaction of food material with contact material such as equipment, which can influence the
characteristics of the product.
- Continuous degradation of quality attributes due to a wide range of food processes e.g. microbial,
chemical, physical processes that can modify the product.
The techno-managerial approach supports the importance of understanding the behaviour of both food
and human systems, and their interdependency (how they depend on each other). The approach includes
the use of technological and managerial theories to explain food and human behaviour.
- Technological theories refer to aspects of food such as chemistry, physics, micro-biology, animal
and plant science, process technology, human nutrition.
- Managerial theories involve disciplines such as ethics, sociology, marketing, informatics, business
economics.
Challenges for the food quality manager
- Complexity of the agri-food production chain
- Interaction between food system and human system
- Consumers and society have high requirements on food quality, so high quality is difficult to
achieve
CHAPTER 2 – INTRODUCTION TO FOOD QUALITY (chapter discusses technological aspects of food quality)
Food quality is the result of food production processes. These technological processes involve the
transformation of raw materials into food products with certain properties.
, Food systems include product composition and dynamic food processes:
- Product composition refers to the presence and concentration of
nutrients/additives/contaminants, and intrinsic physical properties (e.g. pH).
- Food processes they are reactions and decay processes that take place in the food system, such
as chemical, physical, microbial and biochemical processes.
Product composition
Components of products can be classified in some major classes: nutrients, food additives and
contaminants.
- Nutrients consist of
o macronutrients (present in high amounts) the main ones are fats, carbohydrates,
proteins and aminoacids.
o micronutrients (in lower amounts) include vitamins and minerals.
Nutrients are important to provide the human body with essential components for its functioning.
The composition of micro and macronutrients in a product can be affected by factors such as
seasonal variability, cultivar differences, cultivation practices, breeding conditions and
environmental circumstances.
- Food additives they are substances or mixtures of substances that can be present in a product
because of production, processing, storage or packaging. Additives include preservatives (increase
shelf life of products), nutritional additives (add a nutrient to a product), coloring agents, flavouring
agents, texturising agents.
- Contaminants and residues undesirable components.
o Contaminants can originate from different sources e.g. the environment or due to
processing. These can be chemicals such as hydrocarbons, dioxins, heavy metals.
o Residues are particular chemical compounds used during food production that should not
remain in the product but remain in it. Examples are pesticides in plants and veterinary
medicines in meat or milk.
Food processes
They include the microbial, chemical, physical, biophysical processes and reactions that occur in food
systems and influence overall quality.
- Microbial processes involve the behaviour of microorganisms in food products, such as bacteria,
moulds, parasites, viruses. They can produce desirable compounds or undesirable compounds.
Microorganisms can be good if they produce desirable changes in food (e.g. microorganisms that
do fermentation in cheese-making); can be bad if they cause bad health effects pathogens; can
be “ugly” if they cause spoilage and limit shelf life of the product.
- Chemical reactions the main chemical reactions in food that can affect quality are
o Non-enzymatic (Maillard) browning involves amino acids and carbohydrates. It causes a
brown coloration of food, and can result in the production of volatile odour compounds. It
can negatively affect quality due to the loss of essential amino acids and the formation of
toxic compounds.
CHAPTER 1 – INTRODUCTION TO FOOD QUALITY MANAGEMENT
Food quality management is a necessary activity to realize food quality in food production processes.
Food quality (FQ) and quality management (QM) are the two basic components of food quality
management. It deals with the physical aspects of quality and with managing the people that have to
realise it.
Main challenges of food quality management complexity, food-people interactions and high quality
requirements.
Agri-food production chain refers to the production of food from agricultural products. The agri-food
production chain is different from other production chains because agriculture is a living system. Agri-
products have a short shelf life, are harvested seasonally and have large variability. They can also contain
risks such as pathogens, chemical contaminats etc. These characteristics influence the activities in the
production chains such as storage, packaging, quality control. Other characteristics of agri-food production
chains are:
- Complicated production chains
- Networks with many suppliers and customers
- Unintentional and unwanted by-products
- High turnover volumes but low-value products
- Big environmental impact
- Public interests and concerns (health, safety..) of stakeholders.
Quality requirements of food products and production
- Safety prerequisites microbiological, chemical and physical hazards should be below limits; food
should be allergen-free
- Authenticity concerns it is improtant food is authentic, is not altered; its origin should be
guaranteed
- Social/ethical interests food security, ethical concerns on child labour, fair trade, animal welfare
etc.
- Sustainability constraints reduction of gas emissions, reduction of food losses, use of alternative
proteins (to meat), effective water use etc.
- Health requirements nutritional density, presence of compunds that promote health, satiation
properties
- Convenience conditions packaging should be functional, easy to use for consumer
- Shelf-life requirements attention should be given to the consumer demand about extending
shelf life of products
- Sensory desires stability of taste, texture, flavour components, and presence of attractive color
and appearance.
Food quality management is a complex activity, as it must take into account the characteristics of
consumers, the properties of food, the business/economic environment, and characteristics of the food
supply chain.
Factors influencing Food Quality Management are:
- Consumer characteristics food producers have to make sure consumers are satisfied
, - Agri-food supply chain characteristics FQ Management is also influenced by the type of food
chain we are dealing with
- Food production system properties food producers take into account the characteristics of the
production process in order to solve problems at best
- Food business internal and external environment to realise FQ Management you have to take
into account who are your competitors, what kind of laws are present, who are your customers etc.
Perspectives on quality
Definition of quality = quality is meeting or exceeding the expectations of customers and consumers.
Customers = those who receive a product or service from a supplier in the production chain (any product,
can be raw material or finished product). For example, the milk factory is the customer of farmers that
supply the milk.
Consumers = they are the last customers in the production chain, because they use and consume the
product.
To make food quality more specific, we use two different models: a model on food quality and a model to
describe quality based on business performance.
- Quality from a food product perspective food properties are usually called quality attributes,
which can be perceived in different ways by customers/consumers. Two types of quality attributes
are present:
o Intrinsic attributes inherent to the physical product; they include flavour (texure, taste,
odour, color), convenience (easy to use and prepare), shelf-life (keepability, freshness),
safety, health.
o Extrinsic attributes they do not necessarily have a direct relationship with the product
properties, but still affect the perception of quality of consumers. Extrinsic attributes have
to do with the characteristics of the production system and the marketing aspects (e.g.
because the opinion of consumers is influenced by advertisements of a product).
NB: depending on the step in the food supply chain, people can have a different perception of
quality; for example, for consumers a good product has a texture/flavour they like and is healthy;
food producers are interested more in the packaging conditions, nutrient concentrations etc.
- Quality from a business perspective the quality of a product also depends on the performance
of the food business. From this perspective, quality is defined by 6 dimensions:
1. Product quality refers to the quality attributes described above.
2. Cost refers to the quality/price perception consumers have of a product.
3. Availability refers to the availability of products, ingredients, raw materials at the right
moment, in the correct amount and at the right place.
4. Flexibility refers to the ability of the food organisation to respond adequately to changing
requirements on products and processes, e.g. because consumer demands change or laws
change.
5. Dependability (or reliability) refer to the ability of the food organisation to meet quality
requirements, and consequently on the ability to provide confidence to consumer/customers.
6. Service refers to giving support to consumers and customers.
, NB: point 1, 2 and 3 are part of the product quality; point 4, 5 and 6 are part of the organisational
quality.
Techno-managerial approach in food quality management
Variation in quality can occur because of a variation in food behaviour/technical aspects, or because of a
change in human behaviour/managerial aspects.
Technological aspects that can influence food quality are 1) the food itself, due to its properties and
decay processes; and 2) the production process.
Managerial aspects that can influence food quality are 1) the human itself, e.g. the behaviour and
decisions of the manager or workers in the food chain; and 2) the organizational processes, such as the
administrative conditions and management activities in the food chain.
This puts the basis of the techno-managerial approach on food quality management. This approach is based
on the characteristics of food (technological) and human (managerial) systems , and on the character of
food quality management. A food system is a complex system with dynamic and variable behaviour; the
complexity and variability of food production systems include:
- Heterogeneity of food products (= i prodotti uguali non hanno sempre le stesse caratteristiche)
because of their complex structure
- Variation in composition and concentrations because of the use of different plant varieties and
animal breeds, seasonal influences, weather and harvesting conditions
- Interactions between food processes
- Interaction of food material with contact material such as equipment, which can influence the
characteristics of the product.
- Continuous degradation of quality attributes due to a wide range of food processes e.g. microbial,
chemical, physical processes that can modify the product.
The techno-managerial approach supports the importance of understanding the behaviour of both food
and human systems, and their interdependency (how they depend on each other). The approach includes
the use of technological and managerial theories to explain food and human behaviour.
- Technological theories refer to aspects of food such as chemistry, physics, micro-biology, animal
and plant science, process technology, human nutrition.
- Managerial theories involve disciplines such as ethics, sociology, marketing, informatics, business
economics.
Challenges for the food quality manager
- Complexity of the agri-food production chain
- Interaction between food system and human system
- Consumers and society have high requirements on food quality, so high quality is difficult to
achieve
CHAPTER 2 – INTRODUCTION TO FOOD QUALITY (chapter discusses technological aspects of food quality)
Food quality is the result of food production processes. These technological processes involve the
transformation of raw materials into food products with certain properties.
, Food systems include product composition and dynamic food processes:
- Product composition refers to the presence and concentration of
nutrients/additives/contaminants, and intrinsic physical properties (e.g. pH).
- Food processes they are reactions and decay processes that take place in the food system, such
as chemical, physical, microbial and biochemical processes.
Product composition
Components of products can be classified in some major classes: nutrients, food additives and
contaminants.
- Nutrients consist of
o macronutrients (present in high amounts) the main ones are fats, carbohydrates,
proteins and aminoacids.
o micronutrients (in lower amounts) include vitamins and minerals.
Nutrients are important to provide the human body with essential components for its functioning.
The composition of micro and macronutrients in a product can be affected by factors such as
seasonal variability, cultivar differences, cultivation practices, breeding conditions and
environmental circumstances.
- Food additives they are substances or mixtures of substances that can be present in a product
because of production, processing, storage or packaging. Additives include preservatives (increase
shelf life of products), nutritional additives (add a nutrient to a product), coloring agents, flavouring
agents, texturising agents.
- Contaminants and residues undesirable components.
o Contaminants can originate from different sources e.g. the environment or due to
processing. These can be chemicals such as hydrocarbons, dioxins, heavy metals.
o Residues are particular chemical compounds used during food production that should not
remain in the product but remain in it. Examples are pesticides in plants and veterinary
medicines in meat or milk.
Food processes
They include the microbial, chemical, physical, biophysical processes and reactions that occur in food
systems and influence overall quality.
- Microbial processes involve the behaviour of microorganisms in food products, such as bacteria,
moulds, parasites, viruses. They can produce desirable compounds or undesirable compounds.
Microorganisms can be good if they produce desirable changes in food (e.g. microorganisms that
do fermentation in cheese-making); can be bad if they cause bad health effects pathogens; can
be “ugly” if they cause spoilage and limit shelf life of the product.
- Chemical reactions the main chemical reactions in food that can affect quality are
o Non-enzymatic (Maillard) browning involves amino acids and carbohydrates. It causes a
brown coloration of food, and can result in the production of volatile odour compounds. It
can negatively affect quality due to the loss of essential amino acids and the formation of
toxic compounds.
