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Food Control, Vol. 9, No. 2-3, pp. 163-170, lYY8

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PAPER

Food safety and total quality

management

A.W. Barendsz

Food safet y i s a grow i ng global concern not onl y because of it s conti nui ng

importance

for ublic

healt h but also because of it s mpact on i nternati onal tr ade.

The appli cati on of tot al quali ty management (TQM ) provi des t he best possibl e

care by conti nuously improvi ng products and serv i ces to meet or possi bly exceed

t he needs and expectat i ons of t he cust omer Designi ng a TQM system requir es a

profound know ledge of the agro-food i ndust ry, w hil e implementat ion ideall y

requir es an i nt egrated approach inv olv ing all part ies in t he agro-food chain. A n

effect i ve h ACCP programme requires equall y competent t echnologi es t o det er-

mi ne and monit or each crit ical point . The rol e of hazard characterizat ion and

ri sk assessment of foods cannot easil y be over-emphasized. An i ncreasing number

of companies are st ri vi ng or a cert if icate, to reali ze both ‘external benefi ts’ as part

of t heir mar ket strat egy and ‘i nternal benefi ts’ t o open up a w ay t o enormous

improvement s and effici ency. Thi s paper revi ew s recent development s i n HA CCP

cert if icati on, t he st andardizat ion of ri sk assessment , t he necessit y of chain for rna-

ti on in th e agro-food sect or and t he improvement of global communi cati on.

0 1998 Elsevier Science L t d. A l l ri ght s reserv ed

Keywords: HACCP; certification; risk assessment; agro-food chain

INTRODUCTION

HACCP A PART OF THE TQM SYSTEM

The title ‘Food Safety and Total Quality Manage-

ment’ can easily lead to many potential pitfalls. The

terms ‘Food Safety’ and ‘(Total) Quality Manage-

ment’ refer to more than 23000 entries in the

Food

and Human Nutri t i on

and

Food Sci ence and Tech-

nology Abstracts databases. Subjects which are high-

lighted are: HACCP certification, risk assessment,

formation of agro-food chains and communication.

These subjects will receive much attention over the

next few years. However, it must be borne in mind

that subjects such as integration of HACCP into IS0

9000, re-engineering and product development are

equally important in having a positive leverage effect

on a company’s performance.

*Due to circumstances

beyond the publisher’s control this

paper appears in print without author corrections.

Advisor Quality Management and Certification, TN0

Nutrition and Food Research Institute, Zeist, The

Netherlands.

As a consequence of some recent well-known food-

borne disease outbreaks, food safety is a growing

global concern, not only for its continuing importance

to public health, but also because of its impact on

international trade. Increasingly, export and home

markets are demanding products of consistent high

quality. With the demand for safer foods and with the

enactment of new agreements through the World

Trade Organization (GATT), new approaches such as

HACCP, IS0 and TQM have attracted widespread

support particularly in industrialized countries

(Burros, 1997).

. . .President Clinton’s 1998 budget proposes $43

million to be spent on a programme to detect

outbreaks of food-borne illnesses before they

become widespread and to improve food

safety......

About $12 million will be used to

increase the number of food safety surveillance

centres. More than $22 million will go to the

Food Control 1998 Volume 9 Number 2-3

163



Food safety and total quality management: A.W. Barendsz

FDA to pay for its seafood safety inspection

programme and

additional research and

development. The USDA will get $9 million to

help enforce new regulations that require micro-

biological inspection of meat and poultry for

harmful bacteria such as

E. coli

and

Salmon-

ells . . . . . .

The regulations that go into effect

require companies to adopt a system known as

HACCP (Hazard Analysis Critical Control

Point) which allows them to determine where

hazards are likely to occur, to take corrective

actions and to verify that they do work.. .

Simultaneously, the food industry places increasing

emphasis on product innovation as a mechanism to

sustain consumer interest and develop market growth

and market share. Further, TQM techniques such as

employee training and empowerment, data-based

team decision-making processes, bench-marking

operations against the best competitor companies and

partnership with suppliers who actively embrace

TQM, have demonstrated an ability to significantly

increase productivity and to improve profitability.

Here, TQM is limited to agro-food businesses that

want to achieve increased profit through quality

management. The application of TQM provides the

best possible care through continuously improving

products and services to meet, or possibly exceed, the

needs and expectations of the customer. Established

techniques and processes are commonly used to assist

the manager in continuously evaluating quality trends

and to identify improvement opportunities. To

achieve the required standards, quality management

throughout all stages of the agro-food chain is very

important. Therefore, the policy of food companies

will increasingly be directed towards food safety,

ensured by effective quality management. This

strategy will be reflected in their business plans. In

order to enable an effective communication

throughout the company it is important at this point

to discuss the various perceptions of quality and why

they must be understood before business strategies

can be developed.

Quality has been defined in several ways:

Quality is fitness for use (Juran).

Quality is the totality of features and character-

istics of a product or service that bear on its

ability to satisfy stated or implied needs. (IS0

8402-1994)

Although Juran’s definition is the most concise, the

official IS0 definition offers more for further study.

What are the stated and implied needs of both the

customers and the consumers with respect to food?

In

Table

some stated and implied needs or expec-

tations of the consumer are presented. Without any

doubt, food safety (‘good for health’), spoilage,

composition and weight (or volume) are the most

important characteristics of quality (van den Berg,

1993). Bearing in mind ‘Quality, being the totality of

Table Some stated and implied needs (expectations) of the

c*nsumer

Good for health

No (acute) danger

Not harmful in the long run

Delivery

At the right time

The right quantity

No uncertainty about spoilage

Product

The right product

Type, species

Properties

Composition

No doubt about

The composition or

Contents (fairness)

Packaging

In the right packaging

Good condition

Proper information

Clean

Easy to use

To open

To pour

To recycle

Price

A correct invoice

Good with respect to

Flavour, taste

Appearance

Consistency

The possibility to raise complaints

features and characteristics’ this summary clearly

demonstrates that quality has several dimensions.

These dimensions must be differentiated for further

discussions.

Four dimensions can be recognized, namely

(1) Operational quality: Do we reach our goals as a

company? In this dimension the quality costs are

the primary criteria to be considered.

(2) Relational quality: Are we able to make friends

and remain so? The satisfaction of customers and

fellow workers are of prime importance.

(3) Functional quality: Do we supply products and

services as wanted by our customers and consu-

mers? The functional properties of the product

and service are the interesting performance

criteria.

(4) Professional quality: What is the quality,

including the safety of our food products in the

opinion of experts

? Professional quality criteria

such as sensoric characteristics, water activity,

pH, composition, etc. are of prime importance.

Mandatory integration of HACCP into a

company’s structure requires that the quality manage-

ment system is designed accordingly, in order to

ensure that the regulatory perspectives are addressed

in addition to the company’s quality perspectives.

Examining the quality dimensions sheds light on the

relationship between the management levels in the

organization and various quality management systems

such as HACCP, IS0 and TQM. A quality manage-

ment system must be designed accordingly (Barendsz,

164 Food Control 1998 Volume 9 Number 2-3




Table 2 The relation between TQM, IS0 9000 and HACCP

quality dimension organization level quality management system

Quality

Quality Organization

management

dimension level system

Operational quality Policy

TQMRealization of policy goals

Strategy Leadership

Direction

Satisfaction

Relational quality

Management

IS0

Ability to make/keep friends Organization

Responsibility

F, L, Q-management Procedures

Functional quality

Operations

HACCP

Customer. customer needs

51’S Instructions

Processes

Specifications

Products

Report forms

People

Premises

Procedures

Professional quality

The opinion of the expert

1996 . Good manufacturing process (GMP) cannot

be used as the basis for a quality management system.

GMP represents a set of barely standardized guide-

lines for the safe production of food stuffs. However,

GMP can be very effective when control measures

are considered by the HACCP team (Table 2).

Furthermore, one must realize that quality manage-

ment is only one part of a company’s management

system. Integration of quality with with financial

management and logistics must also be possible.

Having established the above relationship one can

concentrate on the development and implementation

of a HACCP system. In view of the TQM concept

such a HACCP system must be compatible with the

IS0 9000 series as this is the global quality standard.

For this reason it is recommended that the strong

points of HACCP (the systematic and professional

approach) are combined with appropriate IS0 9000

standards and the expertise of food technology

combined with that of the industrial organization

where it is required (Hathaway, 1995; Barendsz,

1996). For example,

the HACCP-principles, as

proposed by the Codex Alimentarius, lack a few

organizational elements needed to make HACCP a

certifiable quality (food safety) management system.

The standards in the IS0 9000 series are predomi-

nantly directed at the standardization of the indus-

trial organization.

Their weak point is their scant

attention to the professional quality dimension.

In other words, when a company implements a

HACCP quality management system and further

efforts with respect to TQM are made, it is advisable

that all efforts in the HACCP venture are directed

towards realizing a HACCP process control plan

which satisfies the format requirements of an IS0

quality plan. Furthermore, ventures with respect to

product quality, occupational hygiene or environ-

mental control can be performed likewise.

The stages completed by a company during the

development, implementation and maintenance of

their HACCP quality system are:

‘Taking stock’ of existing knowledge with respect

to HACCP and the safety of their products;

Analysis of actual and potential hazards and an

assessment of prevailing risks;

Assurance by validation of the processing steps

and monitoring at the critical control points;

Documentation, a complete and consistent

coverage of the HACCP system as it is intended to

be by the company’s quality policy;

Verification, a procedure to verify whether the

HACCP system functions as intended and to

develop new initiatives for quality improvement.

Each phase is characterized by specific activities

which often require external assistance. These needs

depend upon the development phase and knowledge

status of the food company. For example, one can

distinguish:

A need for education, instruction, in-company

training and sometimes even supervision;

A need for advice with respect to hazard analysis

and risk assessment, quantisation of standards and

critical limits in view of legislative and customers’

requirements, interpretation of measured data and

validation of the production processes;

A need for tools to automate the cumbersome

management of documents such as specifications,

instructions, procedures and report forms and a

need for tools to integrate quality data with other

management and information systems;

The need for a systematic approach to audit and

verification of the HACCP system (when are we

ready?) and HACCP certification (how do we tell

it our clients?).

An increasing number of companies are striving

for a certificate, to realize both ‘external benefits’ as

part of their market strategy and ‘internal benefits’ to

open up a way to enormous improvements and

efficiency.

HACCP CERTIFICATION

The risk of disrupting domestic and export markets

because of food safety issues is considerable. The

emergence of international standards for food

production and processing will enable commercial

and contractual arrangements to minimize the

frequency of disruptive food safety incidents. In the

Netherlands, a further step has been taken. In May

1996, criteria and rules were formalized which are to

be obeyed when an operational HACCP system is to

be certified. This could be one of the newly emerging

standards.

The present situation can be described as follows,

Food companies, like any other industries, want to

commercialize their investments. The same holds true

when they have invested in the development, imple-

mentation and maintenance of a HACCP system.

Such an investment can be commercialized in several


165




ways. For instance, externally as a marketing tool

(how do we tell it to our clients and the inspection

agencies?) and internally by reducing the number of

audits. Therefore, many companies have approached

TN0 requesting the development of an official

HACCP Certificate.

(3)

The following initiative was taken by TN0 and

seven other certifying bodies. It must be remarked

that these seven certifying bodies are all accredited by

the Netherlands Council for Accreditation (RvA) to

execute audits for system certification in the agro-

food industry. Thus, they meet the requirements

described in the document IS0 45012.

The seven certifying bodies agreed to form one

Central Board of HACCP Experts (Figure I). All

socio-economically involved parties were invited and

agreed to become a member of this board. The board

currently consists of an independent chairman, secre-

tary and HACCP expert, three experienced auditors

from the certifying bodies, five representatives of

several associations and two representatives of the

main inspection agencies in the Netherlands (Central

Board of HACCP Experts, 1996).

At the beginning of the discussions three main

principles were directly agreed upon, being:

Further discussions in the Central Board of

HACCP Experts led to a scheme of regulations for

HACCP Certification, which was underwritten by the

seven certifying bodies.

The criteria for the certification procedure cover

aspects such as:

The contracts between the certifying bodies, the

National Council for Accreditation and the

Central Board of HACCP Experts;

Contract conditions between the certifying bodies

and their clients, including agreements with

respect to length of the contract, confidentiality,

reports, etc.;

separate entities. In due time one standard may

emerge. For the time being, companies must

have the choice either to go for a HACCP certifi-

cate, a IS0 certificate or both.

Reference documents for the criteria for HACCP

certification are:

Codex Alimentarius,

Alinorm 93/13, ‘Guidelines for the Application

of the HACCP System’,

Alinorm 97/13, ‘Objectives of the General

Principles of Food Hygiene’,

EU Council directive 93/43/EEC, ‘On the

hygiene of foodstuffs’,

The Dutch Food and Drug Act, as renewed on

14 December 1995.

(1) HACCP certification by third parties is a

complete voluntary action at the request of the

food company; they want to have their efforts

tested and to obtain a trustworthy certificate indi-

cating that their quality management system

matches the ‘due diligence’ principle of the Food

and Drug Act.

(2) For the time being, the HACCP and the IS0

9000 system certificates are to be regarded as

A practical subdivision of the food industry into

branches in order to ensure that the specific

expertise and abilities of the HACCP auditor

match the specific problems to be encountered in

the various branches. This is the quintessence of

CENTRAL BOARD OF HACCP EXPERTS

REGULATIONS AND AGREEMENTS

CRITERIA FOR HACCP AUDITORS

(INCLUDING DISTINCTION OF SPECIFIC BRANCHES)

CRITERIA FOR TESTING AN OPERATIONAL HACCP SYSTEM

LOGO’S OF THE SEVEN CERTIFYING BODIES

Figure 1 Central Board of HACCP Experts Regulations and Agreements Criteria for HACCP Auditors (including distinction of specific

branches) criteria for testing an operational HACCP system logos of the seven certifying bodies.





the proposed approach for a trustworthy certifica-

tion of operational HACCP systems.

Strict requirements are formulated with respect to

the expertise and abilities to be matched by the

HACCP auditor. It is essential that the HACCP

auditor has a good view of both the operational

aspects of a quality management system (consistency,

effectiveness, etc.) and the food safety aspects. The

HACCP auditor shall have proven expertise in the

areas of system certification and the food products

involved, processes and relevant legislation. This

latter ability requires at least a BSc-level qualification

in food technology, 4 years’ experience in the food

industry and 2 years’ experience in a quality assur-

ance function. If the certifying body so decides, the

HACCP auditor can in fact be an audit team, namely

a combination of a lead assessor and a food profes-

sional to examine whether all food safety aspects are

properly dealt with.

To the above-stated general knowledge of the food

branch, specific knowledge with respect to HACCP is

added. The criteria for testing an operational

HACCP system are well known.

The Codex principles for HACCP form the basis

for these certification criteria. However, in order for

‘HACCP’ to be more than a ‘food safety procedure’,

namely a quality (food safety) management system, a

few additional elements from the IS0 quality

standard are used:

General information with respect to the company,

specifically describing which products are pro-

cessed and at what location;

A management responsibility paragraph;

Corrective actions formulated in such a way that, if

required, a recall procedure will be triggered;

A verification procedure that verifies both the

intended functioning of the quality management

system and the actuality of all food safety aspects.

The heart of HACCP certification remains the

audit of the ‘Hazard Analysis Critical Control Point’

paragraphs. During this experimental year the

scheme for HACCP certification given above is

continuously up-dated. Discussions between the

HACCP auditors of the various participating certi-

fying bodies are aimed at harmonizing the ‘width and

depth’ of the HACCP audits. Special attention is

requested with respect to the determination whether

an (un)identified risk must be treated as a CCP, can

be treated as an AP (Point of Attention) or can be

totally ignored. Risk assessment procedures are

required to harmonize discussions of this kind.

RISK ASSESSMENT

Because analytical methods have improved dramatic-

ally over time, the ‘zero risk’ approach has become

unrealistic. Risk assessment procedures are required.

In risk assessment the following simplified formula is

often used.

RISK = PROBABILITY * EFFECT

The effect, the damage caused, is often expressed

in terms of personal injury, number of victims, etc.

This has led to the accepted use of health risk as a

measure for expressing the risk of unsafe food. Many

publications are devoted to ‘health risk assessment’

(Figure 2).

The health risk procedures applied to assess the

risks associated with chemicals and other substances

in foods are mostly composed of four steps (Baird-

Parker, 1995; Notermans and Jouve, 1995):

Hazard identification: A qualitative indication that

a substance may adversely affect human health;

Hazard assessment: A qualitative and quantitative

evaluation of the adverse affects;

Exposure assessment: A qualitative and quantita-

tive evaluation of the exposure to a substance

likely to occur;

Health risk assessment: integration of above steps

into a quantitative estimate (probability) of

adverse affects likely to occur in a given

population.

. tlealth nsk assessment

.

Hazard identification

. Hazard assessment

.

Exposure assessement

. Risk assessment

fi

Producers’ nstc assessment

* Hazard idendification

Probability of occurence)

* Validation of prev. measures

Probability of failure

actueal risk

no measures)

Acceptable risk

Figure 2 Health risk vs. producer’s risk.

Food Control

1998

Volume 9 Number 2-3

167




In the literature various difficulties have been

described that will be encountered when precise

quantitative relationships (dose-response curves) are

to be determined between a particular concentration

of a micro-organism or other contaminant, the prob-

ability of infection in individuals or a specific risk

group of the population, and the severity of the

disease.

It can hardly be expected that a HACCP team can

generate such information. Acceptable risk standards

(critical limits) are formulated as part of (worldwide)

‘health risk’ programmes by governmental and indus-

trial agencies based on toxicological data and socio-

economic acceptance data. The acceptable standards

(critical limits) are expressed as concentrations or as

numbers per gram.

The HACCP team must therefore be able to

demonstrate the safety of its products based on its

ability to meet these standards (critical limits) using

an effective quality management system. This system

is based on information regarding the frequency of

occurrence of hazards and the probability of failure

of their validated control measures (raw material

specifications, process control, hygienic provisions,

educational programmes, QA measures, etc).

A TQM-driven company will want to know:

0

0

the residual risk, being the actual risk under

standard production circumstances, in relation to

the acceptable risk and;

the calculated risk, including the financial conse-

quences, being the risk in a situation when the

standards and critical limits are not met due to the

failure of control and assurance measures.

Based on the FMEA (Failure Mode Effect

Analysis) technique, a method from which HACCP

was derived, the producer’s risk can be assessed by

calculating the so-called Risk Priority Number

(RPN). This type of risk assessment, which is directed

towards the estimation of the producer’s risk, offers a

similar approach to that commonly used for the

assessment of risks in occupational health, nuclear

reactor safety, etc.

As an example,

Table 3

presents part of an

Food safety issues are triggered by various hazards,

HACCP analysis, namely a risk-ranking procedure for

including:

each hazard identified during the production of a

vegetable salad. In this case the nitrate content and

the presence of micro-organisms are identified as

hazards for the lettuce.The HACCP team values the

following risk parameters on a scale of l-10: the

severity of the hazard (E), the probality of occurrence

(F) and the probability that the existing control and

QA measures will fail (FPM). The RPN can be

calculated by simply multiplying these

risk

parameters.

In the Netherlands the nitrate content of lettuce is

determined before the lettuce is offered for sale at

auction. That is why the frequency is valued at a

lower level. The salad-producing company has not

taken any control measure with respect to the nitrate

content. The hazard of micro-organisms (RPN = 720)

is reduced considerably by various control measures:

cleaning, washing, hygiene throughout the company

and chilling wherever possible.

Let us consider the washing step. Intensive

washing reduces the microbial risk considerably. The

intensity of washing and the replenishment of water

comply with expectations. However, the HACCP

team discovers that the temperature of the washing

water may rise to 20°C in summer. This raises the

RPN to 280.

On the basis of the producer’s risk presented in

this way the company’s management decided to take

two steps:

0

0

Equipment was installed to lower the temperature

of the washing water to below 7°C;

The management sought a supplier of letuce who

‘. . .has identified any step in their activities which

is critical to ensure food safety and to ensure that

adequate safety procedures are identified, imple-

mented, maintained and reviewed on the basis of

the HACCP principles. .’

One may conclude that HACCP is the natural link

for the formation of agro-food chains.

AGRO-FOOD CHAINS

‘lhble 3 Risk priority numbers for a vegetable salad

Risk ranking

sten Hazards Control measures

E F

FPM

RPN

Lettuce

Clean

Wash

Scrape

Chill

Presence of:

Nitrate

Micro-organisms

Residual contamination

Insufficient removal

Contamination water

Growth micro-organisms

Carborundum

Recontamination

Growth micro-organisms

> none

> clean, wash, hygiene, chill

> wash, hygiene, chill

intensity (mechanical property)

renew (instruction)

> temperature water

> prescrape (instruction)

hygiene

> temperature control

7

8

8

:

i(l)

8

8

4 10

9

10

5

3

3

2

5

2 3’

4 4

2

2

280

720

320

12

48

280

18

128

32

E = Effect (severity); FCM = failure of control measures; F = frequency (probability to occur); RPN = risk priority number.





0

0

0

0

0

to

Microbiological hazards (E. coli, Carnpylohacter,

Salmonella, Listeria, etc.);

Nutritional hazards (fat consumption, obesity

levels);

Environmental hazards (pesticides, heavy metals,

nitrates, etc.);

Natural hazards (chemicals naturally occurring in

foods (ingredients); and

Food additives.

Microbiological contamination is often perceived

be the main threat to human health from food,

expressed in terms of injuries, infections, sickness,

deaths and economic loss. However, sometimes

chemical residues are perceived to be the main health

risk, especially when long-term effects are considered.

When compared in terms of producer’s risk it must

be realized that microbiological contamination (and

physical contaminants) can be effectively controlled

by many food processing operations. However, it is

hardly possible to formulate an effective control

system for chemical contamination.

During the development of HACCP systems

various chemical hazards will be identified by the

HACCP team.

Several common examples are

presented in Tabl e 4. Grains may contain highly toxic,

heat stable mycotoxins as a result of earlier microbio-

logical contamination either in the field or during

storage. Owing to improper handling (gilling) aboard

ship, fish may be needlessly contaminated with micro-

organisms and enzymes causing the formation of

biogenic amines.

The question is, at which process step should these

hazards be controlled? Monitoring of raw materials

for a variety of probable chemicals is a cumbersome

and costly activity. Obviously, these ‘chemical’ CCPs

can only be controlled effectively at source, i.e. at the

origin of the hazard. This requires the formation of

agro-food chains aimed at tackling day-to-day prob-

lems in building reliable supplier operations, cross-

border production,

transportation,

chain

responsibilities and liabilities, invoicing, etc.

Since the beginning of the 1990s the interest in

agro-food chains as a phenomenon to be studied and

managed has increased. One of the central observa-

tions in the field of chain organization is the import-

Table 4 Chemical hazards (an example)

Raw materials

Salads

Vegetable mix

Fruit salad

Meat

Poultry

Grains, Hour

Fish

Milk

Chemical hazard

Pesticides

Heavy metals

Nitrates

Antibiotics

Hormones

BSE

Mycotoxins

Histamine

Enzymes

Marine toxins

Antibiotics

Disinfectants

ante of the consumer as a trigger for all activities in

the chain, thus introducing a demand-controlled

supply chain. One of the consequences of the

demand orientation of the food supply chain is the

urgence of timeliness (‘just-in-time’, ‘time-to-market’,

‘ready-to-eat-meals’) and product quality. With

respect to food safety several critical situations (BSE;

E. coli

OH157.H7; decontaminants;

Salmonella)

have

stressed the need for proper chain modelling and

administration.

In the agro-food sector problems have traditionally

been solved along by co-operation, resulting in the

formation of co-operatives. In other fields, opinions

on chains lead to other solutions for chain design,

(re)formation and management. This variety of opin-

ions and definitions are reflected in different chain

models, varying from an ordered set of related

organizations to a set of laws and rules within

corporate bodies. One of the important tasks of

‘chain science’ is to constitute a coherent set of rules

leading the process of modelling real-world chain

situations. Further, performance criteria are needed

to reflect the quality of the chain and the way in

which it is managed.

Motives for chain engagement can be manyfold

(Table 5),

for example, the need for growth, the

necessity of cost reduction, a need for increased

market orientation or adequate participation in tech-

nological changes. The quality criteria depend largely

on the original motives for chain engagement. Many

so-called performance indicators can be mentioned,

such as:

flexibility and resource acquisition as indicators for

a growth model,

goal setting and productivity for a cost reduction

model,

innovation, quality management and human

resource management when TQM concepts are

implemented.

In recent years several agro-food chains have been

formed in the Netherlands, either initiated by private

companies or by umbrella (branch) organizations.

Amongst others, in 1992 a food chain was developed

that accurately regulates the production of pigs and

pig-meat, often referred to as ‘from breeding to

Table 5

Motives for chain engagement and performance criteria

for quality

Motives for chain

engagement Performance criteria for quality

Growth

Cost reduction

Technological change

Market organization

Flexibility, adaptation, readiness,

resource acquisition

Planning, goal setting, productivity

efficiency, profitability

Stability, innovation. quality assurance

information management,

communication

Human resource development,

cohesion interaction with

environment


169




eating’. The Trade Association for meat and meat

products took this initiative. In close co-operation

with the industry, requirements were formulated for

an integrated chain management system. These

requirements concern quality aspects such as trace-

ability, quality of feed, the use of medicines and

controlled hygiene in all production stages. Informa-

tion data are presented to all participants in both

directions along the chain. In 1996 about 75% of all

pigs and pig-meat were supplied in compliance with

these IKB (integrated chain controlled) regulations.

The multiplicity of motives for chain engagement,

chain descriptions, definitions and opinions may lead

to strong debates and misunderstandings. Therefore,

as part of any TQM activity, priority must be given to

the structure and improvement of communication,

especially in the agro-food businesses, where inter-

nationalization and globalization are increasingly

important topics. Open lines of communication

between the individual links in an agro-food chain

form the basis for a successful operation for the

future.

lhble 6 A confusing situation: Hazard, risk, probability and effect

English Dutch

English

Hazard

Danger

Risk

Probability

Effect

Severe

Harm

Concern

Risico, gevaar

Gevaar

Risico, gevaar

Waarschijnlijkheid

Gevolg, resultaat

Streng, hevig

Kwaad, schade, letsel

Zorg, belang

Risk

Danger, risk, peril

Risk

Probability

Consequence, result

Severe, strict

Evil, angry, harm

Care, concern

situations may arise. Examples of this are listed in

Tabl e 6.

One will be surprised to discover that Dutch

words, obtained through translating English words

into Dutch yield different words upon retranslation.

This indicates that one needs to be aware of the

notion of the word rather then the word itself. In this

publication ‘hazard’ is used as ‘danger’, ‘risk’ as ‘risk’

and ‘effect’ still needs to be properly defined

REFERENCES

GLOBAL COMMUNICATION

Information and communication have been called the

lifelines of our society. Nowadays the abundant

supply of information has been reproached by Dutch

physicians as one of the causes of stress among

managers. Also, the availability of communication

media is so overwhelming that special management

techniques are required to channel and funnel infor-

mation. The notions bench-marking and bench-marks

came into use for such reasons. The KBN (Know-

ledge Brokers Network) will soon be launched as a

dedicated information and communication system to

assist the quality manager and members of the

HACCP team with the design, implementation and

maintenance of TQM systems to ensure food safety.

Baird-Parker, A. C. (1995) Development of industrial procedures

to ensure the microbiological safety of food. Food Control 6,

29-36

Barendsz,

A. W. (1996)

Praktijkhandboek Voedselveiligheid

(Manual Food Safety). WEKA Uitgeverij BV, Amsterdam

Burros, M. (1997 24 January) Clinton to battle food borne illness.

New

York Ti mes

Central Board of HACCP Experts (1996) Criteria for testing an

operational HACCP system, Secretariat: P.O. Box 93093, 2509

AB The Hague, The Netherlands

Hathaway, S. C. (1995) Harmonization of international require-

ments under HACCP-based food control systems.

Food Control

6,267-276

Notermans, S. and Jouve, J. L. (1995) Quantitative risk analysis

and HACCP: some remarks.

Food Mi crobiol ogy 12, 425-429

In this respect a final remark has to be made.

When one’s mother tongue is not English confusing

van den Berg, M. G. (1993)

Kwaliteit van levensmiddelen

(Quality

of Food). Khrwer, Deventer


food safety and tqm

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