Quality Control in the food processing industries is essential for maintaining great quality standards in a fiercely competitive, consumer-driven food industry. The main objective of this process is to ensure that food items adhere to international and national safety rules and meet industry standards. Apart from that, the food processors need to maintain better taste and nutritional value.
Quality Control: Key Developments in Industry Across Processes
Quality control is an essential activity for food processors to protect consumer health, fulfill the requirements of regulatory bodies, and preserve brand reputation. There are several stages involved in this process. All these processes aim to maintain high standards of final food products. The process starts with sourcing raw materials and goes through production steps, packaging, storage, and distribution.
Raw Materials Quality
The origin of raw materials and their safety is a prerequisite for all national and international bodies. In India’s context, it is the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI), and in an international context, the Codex Alimentarius Commission (CAC) sets the food safety protocols. Apart from this, various national and state governments have their jurisdiction in testing raw materials. There are various factors on which it is tested: It includes: pollutants, allergies, Sanitary and Phytosanitary Standards, etc.
Case Study 1: High Concentration of Pesticide Residue in Indian Masala
Recently, several countries such as Hong Kong and Singapore imposed restrictions on some of the Indian spice blends due to high levels of pesticide residue in their samples. Spices of prominent Indian brands such as MDH and Everest contained the carcinogenic pesticide “ethylene oxide,”. However, these claims were turned down by FSSAI terming them malicious.
Case Study 2: Indian Mangoes
Both the USA and EU banned Indian Mangoes in the past citing the presence of pests and lack of hygiene.
Quality Inspections During Food Processing
The environment in which food processing is carried out and ethical questions on procedures are subject to inspection and monitoring. These processes must adhere to standard operating procedures. Food processors must carry out food processing in a controlled environment, and avoid variations that can compromise quality or safety. It also includes quality control to prevent contamination and maintain hygiene. A safe working environment requires evaluation of air quality, water quality, sanitation procedures, and insect management.
Quality Packaging
The quality control protocols across the globe also ensure quality packaging materials to upgrade the level of final products. Food processors now comply with eco-friendly and sustainable packaging solutions fitted with food sensors and traceable devices to ensure food quality during transportation.
Analyzing the Final Product
It is the final step in quality control to ensure the nutritional value, sensory qualities, and labeling requirements of the final product.
Case Study 1: High Sugar Levels in Cerelac
There is a complete ban on adding sugar to baby food products in developed countries. However several reports suggested that Nestle Cerelac contained high levels of sugar, especially in low-income countries, owing to poor regulatory framework.
New Developments in Quality Control, Testing and Inspection
Manual quality inspections or inspections by traditional machine vision systems face limitations. These inspections are dependent on people who are influenced by mood and environment which are error-prone with limited attention spans. However, with the influence of Industry 5.0, Food 5.0 has a different approach to food safety testing and quality control.
Limitations of Traditional Quality Control Systems
Rule-Based Machine Vision Systems are the basis of traditional machine vision. These systems are rigid and make decisions based on the results to ensure manufacturing quality assurance. However, they fail to cope with the variations during the manufacturing process. The development of big data analysis and Artificial Intelligence has led to the genesis of new systems that learn with variations and mistakes during testing.
AI Vision: The Modern Era Testing and Quality Control
The AI vision quality Control is very consistent and is more capable of handling subjective tasks. It learns and observes variations during quality checks. During the manufacturing process, products progress along a production line which can have a wide variety of problems. The computer AI vision systems detect and identify defects in particular products and detect anomalies without any delay in the production process. Several companies such as Siemens, Lincode, and Blackthorn Vision manufacture such quality control software.
Case Study: AI Vision System in Food System
AI vision systems ensure quality inspections in the beverage sector. It maintains high standards by performing detailed inspections which are not possible by the human eye or traditional automated inspection. These systems analyze the color and clarity of your morning juice and ensure that it matches the desired quality indicative of freshness and purity. It also checks the shape and size of snacks for uniformity. These systems guarantee every bite meets the consumer’s expectations of perfection.
Companies Using AI Vision
Several companies use AI vision for food quality control and testing. These companies include Afresh, Imperfect Foods Wingstop, Campbell Soup, Domino’s, and Panera.
Quality Control Through Block Chain Technology
Blockchain technology improves traceability and transparency in the food system. It ensures integrated ingredient, production, and distribution tracking, assures accountability and promotes quick response to quality or safety issues. Here, a blockchain is a digital “record” that is maintained by a network of multiple computers ensuring compliance at each stage and process. Blockchain technology can trace a finished or marketable product back to its origin realizing the concept of from ‘farm to fork’). When coupled with IoT (Internet of Things), it can track the entire food supply chain. The food quality inspectors scan IoT/QR codes for complete transparency in seconds. Then the flaws are reported to the authorities.
Companies Involved in Food Quality Control
KSM Vision
KSM Vision is one of the important companies that provide automated food quality control solutions. The company implements state-of-the-art optical systems for automatic quality control in the food industry that include packaging quality control. It detects damage, cracks, scratches, or foreign bodies that may be in the product. It also detects unauthorized contaminants or foreign bodies through X-ray quality control.
HQTS
The company conducts food safety audits and quality inspections at different points of the food supply chain with modern and cutting-edge technological solutions.
Food Testing Methodologies
Food testing includes the discovery of organisms, including bacteria like Salmonella and parasites like Cyclospora. It also detects foreign items in food materials such as metal or broken glass and allergens that are not listed on the product label.
DNA Based Testing
This testing method is used to identify food material, detect contamination, and identify foodborne pathogens in the food samples. The process used residual DNA content of food material to identify the nature of the product. There are various methods used in DNA-based testing. It includes Loop-mediated isothermal amplification and Nucleic acid sequence-based amplification.
Culture Based Testing
Culture-based testing identifies foodborne pathogens in contaminated food by growing pathogens in a culture medium to confirm their presence.
Immunoassay Testing
Immunoassay testing detects the presence or concentration of a specific chemical in a food or beverage sample. It uses the body’s natural defense mechanism and antibodies, to identify harmful molecules in food products.
International and National Standards in Food Quality And Testing
International Institutions and Standards
WTO’s “Sanitary and Phytosanitary Norms”
“Sanitary” refers to human and animal health, while “Phytosanitary” refers to plant health. These are a set of regulations and standards that aim to protect human, animal, and plant health by preventing the spread of pests, diseases, and contaminants in food products. These standards aim to ensure food safety and safeguard against risks associated with imported goods. The member countries of the World Trade Organization enforce these standards. Indian Mangoes and eggplants faced a ban in the EU and US markets under this rule.
Codex Alimentarius Commission
The Codex Alimentarius Commission or CAC is an international body that enforces global standards in food quality control. It is responsible for all matters regarding the implementation of the Joint FAO/WHO Food Standards Programme. It develops and adopts food standards for international food trade and urges nations to adopt food safety and quality standards.
‘New Era of Smarter Food Safety Blueprint’ by FDA
US Food and Drug Administration has proposed it to enhance food traceability. It aims to trace the origin of contaminants, flaws in processed food, and any defects starting from ‘Farm to Fork’. The agency has enforced the Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA) to ensure food safety and quality control.
National Institutions and Standards
Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI)
- It is the national food safety institution in India. Its functions include:
- It sets standards for various products and permissible limits for various contaminants in food products
- It regulates the manufacture, storage, distribution, sale, and import of food in India.
Agricultural and Processed Food Products Export Development Authority (APEDA)
It serves the agri-export industries in India and has examined both agricultural exports as well as processed food products. It ensures that export-oriented food products from India meet the Codex Standards and WTO’s SPS measures. Some of the sectors covered by it include:
- Fruits, Vegetables, and their Products
- Meat and Meat Products
- Poultry and Poultry Products
- Dairy Products
- Confectionery, Biscuits and Bakery Products
- Honey, Jaggery, and Sugar Products etc.
Outlook: Global Food Testing and Quality Control Market
The global food safety testing market size was estimated at USD 22.6 billion in 2023. It is anticipated to expand at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 7.8% from 2024 to 2030. The rising prevalence of food-borne illnesses, enhanced consumer awareness regarding food safety, implementation of stringent food safety regulations, and rising consumer demand for convenience and packaged food items have given a boost to this market. According to another estimate, the global food safety testing market is estimated to reach $31.1 billion by 2027.
Conclusion
After the Covid-19 pandemic, food testing and quality control regimes across the world have strengthened. It has also led increasing market size of this segment. The food consciousness across the world has become stronger and the demand for fresh and healthy items has increased. It has also impacted the testing marketplace. Overall, the increasing menace of food-borne diseases across the world has called for regulations in testing and quality checks and strengthening this framework.