A Complete Quality Control System

Many people i the food industry feel that if they perform a test somewhere along the line the have performed their duty in relation to quality control and this is all that needs to be done. Any work done in quality control for maintaining a quality level is wasted unless a complete quality control system is used, i.e. that action results from the operation. A complete quality control system consists of a cycle which begins and ends with the buyers requirements or specifications (Fig.1). The specifications are the heart of the system and the purpose of quality control is to satisfy the buyers specifications at the least cost. The tests to be done on the product must be established and a sampling procedure decided upon. This is essential since it is usually not possible to test every unit of the product especially if the test is a destructive one. After testing, the results must be reported in such a way that they will lead to action if it is needed.