Module Final Quality Assurance

AGRICULTURAL EXTENSION MID-CAREER
PROGRAM
Quality Assurance and

Standardization of Agricultural
Products
i
TABLE OF CONTENTS
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ................................................ Error! Bookmark not defined.

TABLE OF CONTENTS .................................................................................................. ii
MODULE OVERVIEW................................................................................................... vi
SYMBOLS/ICONS .......................................................................................................... vii
UNIT ONE.......................................................................................................................... 1
1.1 General Concepts of Quality and Quality Control .................................................... 2
1.1.1 Implicit Needs ...................................................................................................... 3
1.1.2 Explicit Needs ...................................................................................................... 4
1.1.3 Quality Attributes ................................................................................................ 5
1.1.4 Importance of Quality Agriclutural Products ...................................................... 6
1.2 Major Quality Control Functions ............................................................................... 7
1.3 Historical Background of Quality Control ................................................................. 9
1.3.1 National Quality Control ................................................................................... 11
1.3.2 Responsibility for Quality Control at National Level ....................................... 12
1.4 Quality Control Functions ........................................................................................ 13
UNIT TWO ...................................................................................................................... 28
2.1 Tests for Quality Assessment ................................................................................... 29
2.1.1 Definition and Concepts of Testing ................................................................... 29
2.1.2 Importance of Testing ........................................................................................ 31
2.1.3 Availability of Testing Laboratory .................................................................... 32
2.1.4 Acceptance of Test Report ................................................................................. 33
2.2 Type of Tests for Agricultural Products .................................................................. 35
2.2.1 Organoleptic Testing.......................................................................................... 35
2.2.2 Micro-analytical Tests ....................................................................................... 37
2.2.3 Selection Factors for Microanalytical Labortory............................................... 38
2.3.4 Microbiological Tests ........................................................................................ 40
2.4.5 Histological Tests .............................................................................................. 42
ii
2.6 Standard Test Methods ............................................................................................. 44
UNIT THREE .................................................................................................................. 54
3.1 Definition of Terminologies ..................................................................................... 55
3.2 The Role of Food Standards and National Standard Bureaus .................................. 58
3.2.1 Role of Food Standards ..................................................................................... 58
3.2.2 The Importance of Standards ............................................................................. 60
3.2.3 Role of National Standard Bureaus ................................................................... 60
3.2.4 The Role of Ethiopian Standards Agency (ESA) .............................................. 61
3.3 Voluntary and Compulsory Standards ..................................................................... 62
3.3.1 Voluntary Standards: ......................................................................................... 63
3.3.2 Compulsory Standards: ...................................................................................... 64
3.4 Packaging and Labelling Standards ......................................................................... 65
3.4.1 Functions of Packaging...................................................................................... 65
3.4.2 Functions of Labeling ........................................................................................ 66
3.4.3 Ethiopian General Standard for Pre-packaged Foods Labelling ...................... 67
3.5 Development of Ethiopian Standards ...................................................................... 68
UNIT FOUR ..................................................................................................................... 77
4.1 Methods of Evaluation and Control of the Various Aspects of Food ..................... 78
4.1.1 Introduction ........................................................................................................ 78
4.1.2 Quality Attributes .............................................................................................. 79
4.1.3 Measurement of Quality Attributes ................................................................... 81
4.3 Quality of Raw Materials ......................................................................................... 84
4.3.1 Characterization of Raw Materials ..................................................................... 84
4.3.2 Handling and Quality Control Procedure of Raw Material ............................... 84
4.3.3 Manufacturing Process of Food Products .......................................................... 86
4.3.4 Milk Separation .................................................................................................. 86
4.3.2 Butter Making With Fresh Milk or Cream ........................................................ 91
4.3.3 Butter Making with Sour Whole Milk ............................................................... 93
4.3.4 Cheese Making Using Fresh Milk ..................................................................... 96
iii
4.3.5 Cheese Yield .................................................................................................... 101
4.4 Testing of Finished Products. ................................................................................ 103
4.4.1 Appearance Factors.......................................................................................... 103
4.4.2 Textural Factors ............................................................................................... 105
4.4.3 Flavor Factors .................................................................................................. 106
UNIT FIVE ..................................................................................................................... 117
5.1 Introduction to Quality Assurance and Total Quality Control .............................. 118
5.1.1 Standards on Which QA Depend on ................................................................ 120
5.1.2 Another Approach on Which Quality Assurance Depend on ......................... 121
5.1.3 Specific Features of HACCP Method as a Tool for QA ................................. 122
5.1.4 Implementation of the HACCP Method Satisfy QA ....................................... 123
5.1.5 Factors Affects QA .......................................................................................... 124
5.1.6 QA Procedures in Fruits and Vegetables ......................................................... 125
5.2 Nature of Total Quality Control/Management (TQC/M) ...................................... 127
5.3 Approaches to Total Quality Control/Management (TQC/M) .............................. 136
5.4 Role of Management in TQC of Agricultural Products ......................................... 139
5.4.1 Management Commitment .............................................................................. 139
5.4.2 Role of Management in TQC .......................................................................... 141
5.4.3 Structure of QA Programs ............................................................................... 141
5.4.4 Monitoring During Production ........................................................................ 142
5.4.5 Elements of a Total QA System ...................................................................... 143
UNIT SIX........................................................................................................................ 154
6.1 Introduction to External Quality Control Activities of Agricultural Products ...... 155
6.1.2 The Stages at Which Controls are Carried out ................................................ 159
6.1.3 Types of Controls............................................................................................. 160
6.1.4 Types of Quality Control Officers ................................................................... 161
6.1.5 Food Laws and Regulations ............................................................................. 163
6.1.6 Enforcement of Food Laws and Regulations .................................................. 164
6.2 Inspection of Agricultural Products ....................................................................... 167
iv
6.2.1 Forms of Data for Inspection of Agricultural Products ................................... 167
6.3 Certification and Quality Marks of Agricultural Products .................................... 170
6.3.1 Product Certification ........................................................................................ 171
6.3.2 Aim and Benefits of Product Certification ...................................................... 171
6.3.3 General Principles and Procedure of Certification .......................................... 173
6.3.4 Basic Benchmark: Specifications or Standards ............................................... 177
6.4 Standardization and National Standard Bodies ...................................................... 182
6.5 Testing Laboratories of Agricultural Products....................................................... 195
6.5.1 Sensory Evaluation .......................................................................................... 196
6.5.2 Sensory Testing Methods ................................................................................ 198
6.5.3 Prameters to be Considered for Sensory Analysis ........................................... 201
6.5.4 Types of Sensory Panels in the Analysis of Food Products ............................ 204
6.5.5 Selection and Training of Panels ..................................................................... 206
v
MODULE OVERVIEW
Dear learners, did you come across the about the quality assurance and standardization of
agricultural products? This module is designed in such a way that gives you the
definitions, explanations and applications of the quality assurance, quality control and
standardization system of agricultural products.
Thus, this manuscript is written and explained in the following six chapters.
 Unit One: General concepts of quality and quality control
 Unit Two: Introduction to standard tests for quality assessment
 Unit Three: Standards and specifications of agricultural products
 Unit Four: Quality control in food industry
 Unit Five: Quality assurance and total quality control of agricultural products
 Unit Six: External quality control activities of agricultural products
vi
SYMBOLS/ICONS
Refers to Objectives. These appear at the start of the course
and at the start of every lecture. The objectives help you to
focus on the expected outcomes of each lecture. Please read
each objective carefully and check on them again and again
throughout the lecture to find out if you are able to do what the
lecture is intended to enable you do.
Refers to Take Note. It helps to highlight significant points
that you need to keep in mind. When making your study
notes, take down these points as well.
Refers to In-text Question(s). These are questions that are
interspersed within the text of the lecture to help you review
and master small chunks of knowledge, skills and values.
They are helpful for the mastery of your lessons; please
respond appropriately to each one of them (preferably in
writing) before you move on.
Refers to Activity. The activities are also interspersed
throughout the lectures to encourage group discussions, open-
ended learning, project work, et cetera. Please endeavour to
carry out all the suggested activities individually and in
groups, as required. This will help you to master what you are
learning.
Refers to Summary. Summaries are included at the end of
every lecture to assist to quickly recapitulate what you have
just learnt in the lecture. You will find summaries also useful
when making your personal notes as you study, and when
preparing for examinations. Study them keenly.
Refers to Self-assessment Question(s). These are tasks set to
cover work done in the entire lecture. The set tasks provide
summative evaluation of what you have learned in the lecture.
If answers to self-assessment questions are provided, do not
check on the answers before attempting the questions yourself.
Where answers are not provided, check your answers against
the relevant portions of the text. Where the text does not
vii
provide satisfactory answers to the self-assessment questions,
raise these questions in your discussion group and/or during
the face-to-face tutorial session.
Refers to Further Reading. Although attempts have been
made to make every study material as inclusive as possible, it
is also true that no single lecture can purport to say the last
word on any given topic. It is therefore vital for you to study
the additional materials cited in the Further Reading section.
This will broaden and deepen your understanding of the
subject under discussion.
viii
COURSE OBJECTIVES
Dear learner, at the end of this module (course) you should be able to:
 Understand you the general concepts of quality and quality control of agricultural
products
 Know standard tests for quality assessments of agricultural products
 Explain the quality control systems in food industry
 Illustrate quality assurance and quality control of agricultural products
 Apply the external quality control activities of agricultural products
ix
UNIT ONE
QUALITY CONTROL CONCEPTS AS APPLIED TO

THE AGRICULTURAL PRODUCTS
Introduction
Dear learners, welcome to the first unit of the course. This unit introduces the concepts,
and applications of quality, quality control, and major quality control functions of
agricultural products. The terms and phrases defined and explained here are the common
terms of quality of agricultural products during production, harvesting, transportation,
storage, marketing, and consumption. Hence, this unit will help you to have a good
understanding of the basic concepts of Quality Assurance and Standardization of
Agricultural Products that can be applied in any part of this course. Generally, knowing
and understanding the basic terms and principles of quality and quality control will help
you in producing quality products. The various terminologies and principles of quality
and quality control stated by different organizations are recognized in the unit.
The unit will have two sub-units. The first sub-unit defines and states the general
concepts of quality and quality control of agricultural products from different angles. The
second sub-unit focuses on the major quality control functions of agricultural products.
Objectives
At the end of this unit you should be able to:
Define the basic terms of quality and quality control of agricultural products;
 Explain the basic principles of quality and quality control of agricultural products;
 State the importance of quality and quality control of agricultural products.

1
1.1 General Concepts of Quality and Quality Control
How do you explain the term quality for agricultural products?

(Use the space left below to write your response.)
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________
Dear students, since the notion of quality is primarily subjective, any acceptable analysis
of the term must take account of elements that generally lie outside the legal sphere: the
personal taste of each individual (the same product will be considered excellent by one
person, and bad by another); different motivations, due to religion, social class, a taste for
things foreign, an irrational fear of irradiated food, or the ingrained ancestral habits of
each society. Some even hold that it is difficult to define quality at all, even though
everyone seems to intuitively sense what it means.
According to Juran (1980), quality is defined as "fitness for use" which is determined by
the characteristics of the product that the user, rather than the supplier or the seller,
considers being beneficial. And according to the French Standards Association, quality is
the aptitude of a product or service to meet the actual or potential needs of users (standard
NF-X-50-109). It is therefore what one expects of a product that determines its quality.
The International Standards Organisation (hereafter "ISO") (ISO 9000 standards) also
defines quality as "the totality of characteristics of an entity that bear on its ability to
satisfy stated and implied needs". This is a much more comprehensive definition because
it bases the analysis of quality on the physical characteristics of the product. It is also
more specific, because by using the term "implicit" it takes account of what the consumer
expects of a foodstuff.
2
It is therefore essential when producing quality products to know who
will be the user(s) of the product and what are the specific and constantly changing
needs to be addressed. For agri-food products, quality may be regarded as a complex
characteristic of foods that determines its value and acceptability by consumers.
Quality components for foods are related to:
 Characteristics of the food: hygienic quality and safety; nutritional quality; and
organoleptic quality
 Use or service quality: convenience (easy to use)
 Psychosocial or subjective quality: satisfaction and pleasure
These characteristics define the options to satisfy implicit or explicit needs. According to
Pons and Sirvardière (2002), implicit needs are essential and evident, for example for
improving health or the safety of a product. Explicit needs are those conforming to the
declared needs of an objective user.
1.1.1 Implicit Needs

Hygiene quality is based upon the "safety" of the commodity. This aspect of quality
which refers to its non-toxic character therefore reflects its chemical and bacteriological
harmlessness. Hygiene quality is "standardisable". As a rule, regulations set the ceilings
on the main toxic contaminants. For instance, the European Union considers the quality
factor to be the basic element in both national and community legislation.
Nutritional quality also helps to enhance health. The nutritional function of a food is
manifested in terms of both quantity (such as calories) and quality (ingredients). And the
3
quality of this nutritional composition kept if the quality control system is there on the
food value chain line.
1.1.2 Explicit Needs

Unlike that of implicit needs, an explicit need addresses satisfaction from the enjoyment
or organoleptic quality. It has to do with the relationship between the product and the five
senses (smell, taste, sight, touch and hear). In theory, on an industrial scale, the
pleasurable or enjoyment quality is good when it satisfies the consumer at a particular
moment in time. Since it is impossible to satisfy all consumers as a whole, the
manufacturer must target a specific market and lay down sensorial quality standards for
his product in terms of his particular market segment.
Quality has to do with how the consumer benefits from a particular foodstuff; it is
additional to the purely nutritional or psycho-social qualities. The various components of
quality of use are suitability for conservation, ease of use, price, commercial aspects, and
legal and regulatory aspects. A distinction must therefore be drawn between two
complementary but distinct concepts of quality.
 The first is to establish a "quality threshold" to distinguish between products that are
fit or unfit for consumption, and most cases means ensuring uniformity between
the commodities concerned. This is the main trend in the countries following the
Anglo-American tradition.
 The second is based upon the specific features of a commodity: once a quality
specification has been established, the commodity can be classified not only as
"good" or "bad", but also in terms of its other features, relating to its organoleptic
qualities, taste, material, source or origin, etc... This is the approach used by
France and the Latin countries, and it has also been adapted to a certain extent by
the EC Commission.
4
Depending on the system, producers and authorities will address the question of
establishing quality (first stage: using regulatory and certification systems) and designing
ways of enabling consumers to recognise that quality (second stage: using standards,
voluntary certification, agricultural labelling and appellations of origin). These could be
attained by considering the implicit and explicit needs of the consumers.
1.1.3 Quality Attributes

Quality attributes for a product that fulfils needs and expectations of consumers (and
other actors in the chain) belong to two main categories: attributes relating directly to the
product, called “product attributes”, and attributes relating to production and processing,
called “process attributes”. The first include those relating to taste, appearance, texture,
consistency, smell, safety and some functional characteristics, such as post-harvest life
and convenience. “process attributes”, on the other hand, include among others, organic
production, genetically modified (GMOs), environmental concerns and origin.
Dear learner, you should understand that some quality attributes may be grasped by the
consumer through the senses, while others cannot be accessed directly. Organoleptics fall
into the first, while the second involves process attributes and those having to do with
nutrition and safety. Consumers may judge the attributes of the product they intend to
buy by taste, smell, sometimes size, all used to judge texture and taste. Other quality
attributes, such as microbiological and chemical contaminants or the nutritional value, are
in general not grasped through the consumer’s experience or perception of the product
and can only be conveyed by external indications, such as certifications or quality labels.
Likewise there are other process attributes, such as environmental impact, which can only
be identified with attached labels or marks.
5
Therefore, as long as product quality is defined according to the needs of its
user, it will remain strongly influenced by the principles, values, culture, ethics and
religious values of individuals. All together, consumers may choose products not only
by "product attributes", but also by "process attributes" involving the way in which they
are produced and processed: origin, environmental impact of production practices, etc.
Consumers may pay a higher price for products conforming to these requirements or
attributes.
In conclusion, the general concept of quality in the agricultural food sector

is complex and global, as a result of the diversity in the agricultural produce and the
inter-relations between links in the chain. The concept includes all attributes,
characteristics and values that the consumer or buyer would expect of the product
according to its use. A good quality product would certainly fulfil the expectations of
the consumer or of the end user.
1.1.4 Importance of Quality Agriculutural Products
What is the need for quality agricultural products?

________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________.
6
Dear learners, you should to know that it is equally important for the developing
countries to have the instruments they need to implement a quality-assurance policy, for
quality is a source of value-added. Quality must be a feature of all commodities: basic
(agricultural), processed (industrial) and traded agricultural products.
Agricultural products can only be exported if they satisfy the taste of the consumers on
the domestic and other markets. The products must be uniform, not constitute a health
hazard and pose no threat to consumer safety. When intended for processing, they must
be reliable and freely available.
The sale of high quality processed foods makes it possible to optimise the value-added.
To do this the efficiency of the production system must be enhanced, processing losses,
deterioration, maintenance and contamination reduced, and also to increase the
production and volume capacities and the complexity of the manufacturing rules
applicable to exported products. It is also essential for the basic products and the
foodstuffs to be processed in total conformity with the rules of hygiene.
Even if a country has a local potential market of its own, acquiring outlets in certain
importing countries with strong currencies is clearly a matter of great interest. But in
order to be able to export or import, a food commodity must meet the national or
international quality food standards.
1.2 Major Quality Control Functions
What is the need of understanding quality control?

________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
7
________________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________
Quality control through proper production and quality inspections prevents unsatisfactory
products from being delivered to customers. Quality control is primarily the
responsibility of your production staff, and should be built into the manufacturing
process.
Success of food trade at the international level depends greatly on the structure and
degree of control at the national level and the compliance with the agreements mentioned
above. While the responsibility is on the food industry to produce safe and high quality
products, the government has a responsibility to provide a national food control system
with a supporting infrastructure, to assume an advisory and regulatory role and, when
necessary, to enforce food laws. The government's food control agencies need to assure
consumers that they have set and will enforce standards for the quality and safety of
foods. These agencies need to work with food producers in a cooperative and
collaborative manner to ensure the quality and safety of exports through appropriate
inspection, testing and certification methods.
A major challenge, in addition to that of ensuring that food is produced in a controlled

environment, is that of demonstrating the control measures implemented are effective.
Trading partners often request assurance that the industry has implemented appropriate
control measures to provide a guarantee of the quality and safety of the food. To provide
this regulatory assurance the national food control systems should be based on a statutory
framework supported by administrative offices, inspectors and analysts with adequate
laboratories and other facilities needed for effective administration of the laws and
regulations. Control measures should be in place to control food safety problems related
to pesticide residues, heavy metals, industrial chemicals, radionuclides, mycotoxins and
new challenges as they arise.
8
The absence of a reliable inspection and control system has repercussions
both on the volume of exports and the quality of the imports. It seems that the
countries that try to export food are subjected to substantial losses because of
breakdowns in the production chains. If the inspection and control measures are
ineffective, the quality of the imports will leave much to be desired, and
unscrupulous exporters will try to dispose of all their poor quality agricultural
products.
In essence the national food control system supports trade by playing a

dual role, providing adequate support to the food producer or exporter and assuring
the consumer of the quality and safety of imported food products.
1.3 Historical Background of Quality Control
Do you think quality control is a new concept?
(Use the space left below to write your responses.)
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________
The quest for quality is nothing new, by any means, and there are different ways of
achieving it. From the earliest times, man felt the need to be certain about the quality of
9
the food he consumed. In the Old Testament it was forbidden to eat the meat of animals
that had not been properly slaughtered. In Athens, for example, beer was controlled and
wine was inspected "in order to guarantee the purity and wholesomeness of the products".
Rome set up a food inspection system to protect consumers against poor quality and
fraud, and this imperial system remained in force until the end of the 7th century.
Most systems to protect consumer health were also backed by a fraud prevention system.
Any legal action taken against offenders was, however, to punish those guilty of
fraudulent dealing rather than to protect public health. The adoption of a legislative
system and an authority responsible for ensuring fair trading was to protect honest
traders, and consequently consumers, from their competitors who did not comply with
fair-trading practices.
Food inspection and control was subsequently entrusted to a central or local government
administrative authority. This was the case in Germany, the Netherlands and in England.
The Industrial Revolution and the social upheavals that followed encouraged the
authorities to improve their food inspection and control procedures in order to meet new
needs and deal with new hazards. In Amsterdam, for example, a municipal authority was
instituted in 1858 to inspect foods and beverages. The first modern food legislation was
enacted in England (the 1860 Act to prevent the adulteration of food and drink, and
instituting an analyst to ascertain the wholesomeness of food and beverages). By the end
of the 19th century most of the industrialised countries had gradually adopted food
legislation.
To date, the quality control of agricultural products is based on government responsibility,

which includes the general duty to protect citizens against health hazards and commercial
fraud. Control is carried out by an administrative body and relates both to domestically
produced food and imported food. The purpose of this type of control is to seek out and
ascertain breaches of the law, regulations and food practices.
10
Dear students, you should to understand that quality can be controlled in different ways at
different stages. It can be controlled for domestic purpose, for import or export purpose.
1.3.1 National Quality Control

In the case of imports, the purpose of controls is to ensure that the products comply with
national legislation. Procedures vary from one country to another; some require an import
licence, others an import certificate issued by the competent government service in the
exporting country showing that the product meets certain minimum standards.
With regard to exports, some countries have put into place a system to guarantee the
quality and the safety of food sold abroad and to meet foreign buyers' specifications, and
to comply with the importing countries' food regulations in order to preempt the rejection
of the commodities at import entry points.
Governments have specific legislation governing milk, fruits and vegetables and meat;
this is the case in countries with well-structured professional associations (France, South
America). The control of foodstuffs from the agricultural food industrial food sector
relates to the complementary scientific aspects, (for example, the nutritional value) or
more subjective aspects (ingredients, colour) whose application may be left to the
discretion of the businesses concerned, and subsequently subjected to public supervision.
Not all countries are equally concerned about control measures; some are particularly
concerned about the chemical composition of products, or the presence of residues, while
others are more interested in germs. But despite this difference in strategy, control is
always based on the same principles. Responsibility for carrying out the controls may lie
directly with the central administrative services or be delegated to the local authorities: in
the United Kingdom the local authorities are responsible for authorising the Sampling
11
Officers to take samples, while in most of the other countries it is the central government
authority that issues this authorisation (Chile, United States, France).
Governments are required to ensure that any food introduced into their territories meet
national quality standards. Food imports can therefore be inspected in order to prevent
any unforeseen health hazards and to protect the population against fraud. Any lot or
batch deemed to be substandard will then be treated re-exported or destroyed depending
upon circumstances. Some countries require an import licence for food to be imported
into the national territory, while others accept the certification issued by the competent
authorities in the exporting country.
Generally, the quality control of agricultural food products for domestic

consumption, or for export or import, is the responsibility of an inter-departmental
administrative authority.
1.3.2 Responsibility for Quality Control at National Level

There may be only one authority responsible for controlling imported food quality. In
Australia, for example, the responsibility lies with the quarantine and inspection services
which come under the Department of Primary Industry and Energy; in Poland, quality
specifications have been entrusted to quality inspectors from the Ministry of Foreign
Economic Relations; the control of products of animal and vegetable origin is carried out
by the Ministry of Agriculture and the Food Economy, while the Ministry of Health and
Social Affairs is responsible for controlling all other commodities.
In other countries, such as Finland, responsibility lies with a number of different

authorities: customs laboratories are responsible for controlling food and consumer
12
products requiring chemical analysis or any other laboratory tests, while labelling is dealt
with by the customs districts. In the United States, products such as milk, meat, dairy
products and meat products, as well as eggs and alcoholic beverages, may be subject to
specific regulations and entrusted to special services. In Canada, depending upon the
product, responsibility for inspection lies with one of four Federal Departments: Health
and Welfare Canada, Health Protection Branch; Agriculture Canada, Food Production
and Inspection Branch, with a different office responsible for different products; Pêche et
océan Canada, Inspection Services Directorate, and Consommateurs et entreprises
Canada, Consumer Products Branch. Each of these departments has a programme for
monitoring imported food and ensuring conformity with regulatory specifications.
In the United States egg products cannot be imported unless they come from countries
approved by the Department of Agriculture, namely countries with a similar inspection
system to the one in force in America. At the moment only Canada and the Netherlands
meet these conditions. The control systems in Ethiopia are enacted by different
government offices such as Ministry of Trade.
1.4 Quality Control Functions
What are the major quality control functions of agricultural products?
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________.
13
Quality control activities focus on all functions that need to be performed to produce a
conforming product. These include providing an adequate infrastructure and work
environment, setting up specifications for raw materials and finished product, developing
work instructions for employees, procuring raw materials and components of the right
quality, controlling the production processes, proper handling and storage of materials
and products, carrying out stage and final inspection of the product, timely maintenance
of the process hardware and testing equipment. The interaction of quality control system
(QCS) activities is depicted in the QCS model as shown in the Figure 1.1 below.
Figure 1.1: Interaction of quality control systems
Quality control is one of the most important components of quality management. If

quality control is not properly conducted, quality management will not be effective.
Therefore, before establishing a quality management system (QMS), it will first be
necessary to have an effective quality control system (QCS) in place. Once the QCS
14
stabilizes, then you can add the other requirements of QMS. Even before you set up a
QCS, it is also advisable to set up good housekeeping practices.
Dear learners, you should understand the following major functions of quality control of
agricultural products especially, during processing for value addition:
a.Provide adequate infrastructure. This includes providing and maintaining building

equipment and machines, utilities, facilities, support services. For example, a food
handling or processing plant should have hard paved roads inside the premises, an
efficient drainage system, walls up to a height of 1.3 meters of smooth surface
(tiled), self-closing doors, toilets, hand-washing and changing facilities for
personnel, pest control facilities.
b.Establish a proper work environment and hygiene. This means ensuring adequate
lighting, proper ventilation, temperature and humidity control, proper
noise/vibration levels. It also means adhering to good personal hygiene practices
(using head gear/masks, abstaining from chewing gum and the use of loose
jewellery during production in a food processing plant).
c.Make workers aware of quality practices. For example, make sure your workers
understand the job clearly before they start. They should handle the product
carefully to prevent damage and avoid mixing defective items with good ones.
d.Make available easy-to-understand raw material and product specifications. Unless

specifications are clearly drawn and understood by all concerned, no amount of
checking will help. For example, the types of defects that should not be allowed
must be clearly known to your workers and checkers.
15
e.Make available easy-to-understand instructions for performing work. If the
competency level of your employees is inadequate, they will need verbal or
written work instructions (preferably in the local language) which should make
generous use of graphics rather than text only. Sometimes, a sample of the item or
component to be made (in case of leather products or garments, for example) can
serve the purpose better.
f.Purchase raw materials of acceptable quality from suppliers. Buying only at the
lowest price without looking into the quality of raw materials and other supplies is
not a good practice. Dealing with a few suppliers with whom you had good
experience in the past is better than looking for a large number of new suppliers. It
is good to verify the credentials of the suppliers through your own survey of their
business premises or by obtaining feedback from other companies doing business
with them.
To receive products of acceptable quality from suppliers, it is equally necessary
for you clearly to explain to them in advance your product specifications and your
procedures for accepting supplies from them.
g.Store your raw materials and other supplies properly to prevent mix up and
spoilage. To run your business you will need some inventory of raw materials and
other consumable items. These items should be handled carefully and stored
properly to prevent a mix up and spoilage. For example, in food processing
companies, food and non-food items (like oil, lubricants, detergents, chemicals,
machinery spares) should be isolated from each other. Hazardous materials will
require extra precautions during storage. Proper temperature control of food items
(through the use of freezers and cold storage) is required to prevent spoilage.
h.Check or inspect raw materials and other supplies before use. You should check
raw materials ordered from suppliers on receipt to determine whether they meet
16
your requirements. For example, when raw produce from farms arrive at the plant
for grading or processing, it should not be accepted if it contains extraneous
substances, is decomposed, etc.
i.Maintain your machines, building and production facilities regularly. You should
plan and carry out regular preventive maintenance of your machines to ensure that
they are in a fit state when production starts. Preventive maintenance will also
reduce chances of machine breakdowns. For example, in the case of food
processing, a programme for cleaning and disinfecting all parts of the building,
facilities and equipment should be drawn up and followed. Holes, drains and other
places from where pests may come should be examined regularly to ensure that
they remain sealed.
j.Maintain measuring instruments and check their accuracy (calibration). If you use
instruments like thermometers, pressure gauges, viscosity meters, micrometers,
they should be checked periodically and repair and maintenance work should be
undertaken as required. The accuracy of these instruments may be affected over a
period of use. You would therefore need to calibrate your instruments by
comparing them with other instruments of known accuracy.
k.Follow proper production process steps. First you should analyse your production
process and each step of the process should be documented in the form of a
process flow diagram. This will help your workers to follow the steps, preventing
errors and thus reducing the need for reprocessing.
l.Control the process to achieve product specification. Some steps in the production
process will need controls, for example, weight control, temperature control, time
control, pH control, Brix control, colour control, visual control. You should set
limits for such controls and monitor them.
17
m.Prevent the manufacture of defective products. For this you need to carry out
proper checks on the process and keep checking the product intermittently. If any
deviation is observed after these checks, you should take timely action. In this way
you can improve the chances of producing a defect-free product. This also means
that you are close to performing ‘right the first time’.
n.Make use of statistical techniques, such as sampling plans and control charts for
process control, and other QC tools. There are various quality control tools which
can help you systematically to collect and record process control and product
inspection data and then to analyse the data with a view to taking actions on the
root causes of problems should they occur. The check sheet is a simple but useful
tool for tracking your products’ most common defects.
o.Conduct stage inspection during manufacturing. In addition to certain checks on the

product being carried out by your operators either visually or with the help of
simple instruments, a stage inspection (on 100% or sampling basis) may be carried
out by your supervisor or QC inspector after completion of each process step or
group of process steps. This will ensure that defective products, if any, are
detected and set right at the earliest possible time.
p.Conduct final inspection of the finished product and packaging against set
specifications.
This is your last opportunity to check your product. After this, the product leaves
your factory and if any defect is found by the customer or user, it will not be good
news, as you will need much time and money to correct the situation. Therefore,
the final check on your product should be performed carefully; this may involve
conducting certain tests in the laboratory. You should also decide on the person
who will release the product to the customer. If, during final inspection, you come
18
across some deviation from specifications, you may either reprocess the product
or, if reprocessing is not possible, reject it. Alternatively, you could decide to
release a product with deviations or concessions, but you should first inform the
customer of this and obtain his/her approval before shipping the product.
q.Handle the product with care both during internal processing and during delivery
to the customer. A good product may be damaged by mishandling during
production, not being stored properly (e.g. at the required temperature), not being
packed correctly or during shipment to the customer. It is therefore necessary for
you to take proper care of the product at all stages.
r.Obtain feedback on the findings of the final inspection and take appropriate action.
The results of the final inspection, including deviations found by you if any (as at
P. above), should be shared with your production workers so that they can ensure
that such deviations will not occur again.
s.Analyse customer complaints or feedback and take action to remove the causes of
complaints. If you get customer complaint(s), the first thing for you to do is to
acknowledge and accept the complaint and provide relief to the customer, either
by repairing the product or by replacing it free of charge. Your action will depend
on the nature of the complaint and your contractual obligations. The matter should
not end there. Now, internally, you should try to find the root cause of the
complaint and, if necessary, make changes to the process that contributed to the
complaint. Such action will ensure that you do not get the same type of complaint
again. Some customers are also likely to give a positive feedback or make
suggestions to you. You should thank them for these and then find out whether the
suggestions can be used to improve your process or processes. In that case, the
identified process should be so improved.
19
t.Take corrective action on deviations found, if any. You may find opportunities for
taking corrective action in the deviations found in the raw materials received from
suppliers, deviations revealed during process controls and during stage and final
inspections; you may also see such opportunities in customer complaints. To
decide on a corrective action, you will need to analyse the problem and find its
root cause. Once the root cause or causes have been identified, action should be
taken to eliminate them in a way that will prevent the problem from occurring
again.
Initially while setting up the quality control system, some additional expenditure are
required. However, the costs of reprocessing, repairing and rejecting products internally
will fall considerably when the system is up and running. Furthermore, the costs of
withdrawing products from the market, handling customer complaints and providing
replacements will also be reduced, resulting in overall savings.
20
Self-Assessment Question 1.1
Direction: Write your answers for the questions below in the space provided. Then
compare your answers with the ones given at the end of the module.
_____ 1. Which one of the following is false about quality of agricultural products?
A. It is the aptitude of a product to meet the actual needs of users
B. The supplier rather than the user is considered to be beneficial
C. It is what one expects of a product that determines its quality
D. None
_____ 2. The International Standards Organisation’s definition for quality is a much more
comprehensive definition because:
A. It bases the analysis of quality on the physical characteristics of the product.
B. It takes account of what the consumer expects of a foodstuff.
C. It takes account of what suppliers expects of a foodstuff
D. All
_____ 3. Which one of the following is an implicit need for agricultural products?
A. Nutritional value
B. Hygiene quality
C. Organoleptic quality
D. All except C
_____ 4. Quality attributes of a product that fulfils needs and expectations of consumers
relating directly to the product attributes is:
A.Taste, smell and texture

B.Appearance, convenience and consistency
C.GMOs, environmental concerns and origin
D.A and B
21
_____ 5. One of the following true about quality of agricultural products:
A. A good quality product would certainly fulfil the expectations of the
consumer
B.Quality is a source of value-added.
C. Quality must be a feature of all commodities
D.All
_____ 6. The sale of high quality processed foods makes it possible to optimise the value-
added by:
A. Reducing the efficiency of the production system
B. Reducing processing losses, deterioration, maintenance and contamination
C. Processing the basic products and the foodstuffs in total conformity even
without considering the rules of hygiene.
D. All except C
_____ 7. Select the one that is true of quality control:
A. Quality control prevents unsatisfactory products from being delivered to

customers
B. The government has a responsibility to provide a national food control
system
C. The government's food control agencies need to assure consumers that they
have set and will enforce standards for the quality and safety of foods
D. All
_____ 8. Which one of the following is false?

A. In the case of imports, the purpose of controls is to ensure that the products
comply with national legislation
B. All countries use the same procedures to control agri-products.
C. With regard to exports, some countries have put into place a system to
guarantee the quality and the safety of agricultural products
22
D. None
_____ 9. Chose the one that is correctly stated
A. All countries are equally concerned about quality control measures

B. Governments are required to ensure that any food introduced into their
territories meet national quality standards
C. Food imports can be inspected in order to prevent only visible health hazards
D. There will not be only one authority responsible for controlling imported
food quality
_____ 10. Quality control activities that need to be performed to produce a conforming
product include:
A.Adequate infrastructure and work environment
B.Setting up specifications for raw materials and finished product
C.Developing work instructions for employees
D.Controlling the production processes, proper handling and storage of
materials
E.All
23
 Checklist
The check list reminders below are drawn from the unit. If you are able to perform
what has been stated, put a tick mark (√) in the box; otherwise refer to the related
section.
I can:
1 Define the term quality according to ISO and French Standards Association.
2 Define quality control of agricultural products.
3 What is the concept of quality and quality control of agricultural products?
4 How do you understand the explicit and implicit needs of agricultural products?
5 Is it possible to optimize value addition in agricultural products? If yes, how?
6 What is the importance of quality and quality control of agricultural products
7 Do you think quality control is a new concept?
8 How do you understand control of home-produced agricultural products for
domestic consumption?
9 What is the problem or consequence if there would not be good quality control
activity for agricultural products?
10 List some of the quality control functions of agricultural products.
24
Summary
Quality is the aptitude of a product or service to meet the actual or potential needs of
users. The general concept of quality in the agri-food sector is complex and global, as a
result of the diversity in the agricultural produce and the inter-relations between links in
the chain. The concept includes all attributes, characteristics and values that the consumer
or buyer would expect of the product according to its use. A good quality product would
certainly fulfil the expectations of the consumer or of the end user.
The absence of a reliable inspection and control system has repercussions both on the
volume of exports and the quality of the imports. The national food control system
supports trade by playing a dual role, providing adequate support to the food producer or
exporter and assuring the consumer of the quality and safety of imported food products.
The quality control of agricultural food products for domestic consumption, or for export
or import, is the responsibility of an inter-departmental administrative authority.
Quality control activities include providing an adequate infrastructure and work

environment, setting up specifications for raw materials and finished product, developing
work instructions for employees, procuring raw materials and components of the right
quality, controlling the production processes, proper handling and storage of materials
and products, carrying out stage and final inspection of the product, timely maintenance
of the process hardware and testing equipment.
25
Further Readings
Inteaz A. (2004). Food Quality Assurance: Principles and Practices. CRC press.
United States of America.
International Trade Centre (ITC) and Physikalisch-Technische Bundesanstalt (PTB).

(2011). Export Quality Management: A Guide for Small and Medium-Sized
Exporters. Geneva, Switzerland.
Activity 1.1
Write your answers for the questions below in the space provided.
1.What is the most common definition for quality in developing countries and quality
in developed countries?
__________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________
_____________________
2.Will a quality product or service cost more and what are the benefits of
manufacturing quality products or providing quality service?
__________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________
26
__________________________________________________________________
__________________
3.What is the relationship between quality and production? Between quality and
vendors or suppliers? Between quality and customers? Between quality and
regulatory agencies?
__________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________
________________________
4.What do you think the quality and quality control of agricultural products in
Ethiopia as compared to developed countries?
__________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________
_________________________
5.What is the economic importance of quality agricultural product for producer,
consumer, and country?
__________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________
_________________________
27
UNIT TWO
STANDARD TESTS FOR QUALITY ASSESSMENT

Introduction
Dear learner, how did you find the first unit of the course? I am sure you have done all
that is required from you. In the first unit, you are aware of what quality is and why you
need to produce quality agricultural products? And in this second unit of the course you
will learn the standard tests which are important in identifying quality agricultural
products. As you remember, consumers buy some specific bundle of goods rather than
any one of a number of other collections of goods available. This is because of the
difference in the quality of agricultural products. To be specific, you will be learning
about standard tests for quality assessment, Organoleptic characteristics, Microanalytical
tests, Microbiological tests, Histological tests, and Standard test methods. As the concept
of quality analysis is very essential to understand the upcoming sections, you need to
study it carefully.
Objectives
Define the term testing for agricultural products;

State the importance of testing for agricultural products,
Describe standard tests for quality assessment of agricultural products;
Discuss the different types of testing (organoleptinc, microanalytical,
microbiological, etc) agricultural products; and
Explain the standard tests for agricultural products.
28
2.1 Tests for Quality Assessment
What is the term and principle of testing for agricultural products?

________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________
2.1.1 Definition and Concepts of Testing
Testing as defined by ‘ISO/IEC 17000:2004 is a ‘technical operation that consists of

determination of one or more characteristics of an object of conformity according to a
procedure’. Typical tests involve measurement of dimensions and determination of
chemical composition, microbiological purity and strength or other physical
characteristics of materials or structures such as freedom from defects.
Testing and inspection are very common means of determining conformity, in some
cases, testing or inspection alone is regarded as insufficient by either the regulator or the
customer. In some product sectors, certification by a third-party is also required.
Certification against systems standards (e.g. ISO 9001, ISO 14001) is available for any
service or manufacturing activity and does not involve testing to the same extent as where
full technical conformance is required to be demonstrated.
Testing is most often conducted in a laboratory, either before dispatch or upon delivery to
the customer. However, in many cases it may be performed in the field or on-site
following delivery. If the testing carried out at the point of manufacture is performed
29
competently and in accordance with the requirements of the customer or of the import
market, then there is no technical reason for the product to be retested unless conditions
during transit may cause the product to deteriorate.
A prudent manufacturer will always ensure that a non-conforming product is not shipped
and will have had the product designed and tested to comply with the requirements of the
foreign market prior to shipment. Any delay in entry into the foreign market reduces the
product’s competitive advantages by increasing costs (for instance, for retesting) and
delaying payment, to the benefit of competitors and domestic suppliers.
Trade will call for greater recognition of testing carried out in the country of origin, but
this can happen only if end users can have confidence in the competence of the
laboratories conducting the tests in the first place. The ultimate objective is to have your
product tested and certified once, and then accepted everywhere.
The results of testing often provide sufficient information to permit a competent person to
draw a conclusion as to whether or not a product or service meets requirements specified
by regulatory authorities, buyers or other users. It is important to recognize that the
boundaries between testing and inspection are quite blurred as there is some overlap; the
same activity may be labelled as being in either field. The broad field is called
‘conformity assessment’, comprising testing, inspection and certification.
Not all testing is conformity assessment and a substantial amount of

testing is concerned with data collection rather than simply product compliance.
Some of this may relate to matters such as environmental measurements that may not
be associated with a particular product but which may still have trade implications.
30
2.1.2 Importance of Testing
Why testing is important for agricultural products?

________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________.
Any testing program should be science-based and objective driven. Dear learners, prior to
implementation, you should to know why testing is being performed, the basic
assumptions underlying the test, the relative certainty of detecting an issue, and potential
results. This will allow you to identify the type of samples to be collected, the sampling
plan to be used, the specific test to be performed, and actions to be taken prior to and
after the test results are obtained.
Typical reasons for testing in the fresh agricultural products are:

 Meeting product specifications (inputs and finished product)
 Baseline development and identification of risk factors,
 Process capability/validation,
 Process verification,
 Investigative testing and remedial activity verification, and
 Verifying that regulatory guidelines have been met.
31
2.1.3 Availability of Testing Laboratory
Is it expected to have own testing laboratory or use external laboratories?

________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________.
For most products, access to a competent laboratory is essential for testing for control of
the manufacturing process and for the final acceptance tests prior to release on to the
market. Laboratories are expensive to establish and maintain even at the most
rudimentary level. Generally, the more sophisticated the tests required, the greater the
capital costs and the higher the staffing and maintenance costs.
When considering possible outsourcing of laboratory activities, a common practice is to

maintain some testing capacity in-house while engaging the services of more specialized
facilities for tests where it is judged that it is not worthwhile to develop an in-house
capability. Another element for consideration, particularly for developing countries, has
to do with any difficulties associated with access to maintenance, consumables and other
necessary technical support for testing equipment. Where such difficulties are
insurmountable and if the particular tests are required, then outsourcing to an external
laboratory is the only practical way to have those tests carried out.
There are advantages in having immediate access to in-house testing

facilities, particularly where time is important in monitoring the production process,
but also in developing a deeper understanding of the product and its behaviour during
manufacture.
32
2.1.4 Acceptance of Test Report
How do you ensure that the test report for your product is accepted overseas?
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________
There is no single system, covering all products and sectors, to ensure that test reports
from an exporting country will be accepted in the importing market. This may be
contrasted with a horizontal system in which all regulators operate within general rules as
in the EU Global Approach. This approach occurs, for instance, in markets like the
United States and Japan, where there are very vertical systems of regulation. The US
Food and Drug Administration (USFDA), US Department of Agriculture (USDA) and
the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) all have different attitudes to
recognition of foreign testing laboratories. USFDA requires that it may provide direct
supervision of all manufacturers, wherever they are located, while the FCC will accept
results from foreign laboratories accredited by particular accreditation bodies. Rather
than rely on accreditation, Japanese authorities often demand specific endorsement from
the government of the exporting country before they recognize a foreign laboratory’s test
data.
It is therefore the responsibility of the exporter, manufacturer or importing agent to

ensure that the rules of the market for the particular product have been satisfied. Any
recognition of a test report, whether it is domestic or foreign, requires its acceptance by
all regulatory authorities having an interest in the product and by the buyer in the
intended market.
33
The general principles laid down in the World Trade Organization (WTO) Agreement on
Technical Barriers to Trade (TBT Agreement), state that technical barriers are to be
avoided and that members are strongly encouraged to accept conformity assessment
performed in the country of origin. These principles recognize, however, that, with
certain provisions, countries are entitled to determine their own levels of protection and
to be assured of the competence of foreign bodies providing conformity assessment
reports. While the TBT Agreement mentions the application of Mutual Recognition
Agreements (MRAs), based on accreditation, as suitable tools for giving confidence in
competence, it also permits the development of other confidence-building measures such
as exchanges of experts and testing intercomparisons over extended periods of time.
With respect to Mutual Recognition Agreement (MRAs), the Technical Barrier to Trade
(TBT) Agreement refers to government actions and policies. This means that MRAs may
be negotiated between two or more governments, which one expects then to become
binding on the participating governments. Two well-known examples of MRAs are those
of the International Laboratory Accreditation Cooperation (ILAC) and the International
Accreditation Forum (IAF). However, they are in the private sector and governments are
free to recognize such agreements or not, as they see fit. Similarly, the private
commercial sector is not bound by such agreements and individual users must decide for
themselves whether or not such agreements provide them with adequate confidence in the
conformity assessment activities of the parties involved.
In summary, while WTO urges members to accept testing performed in the country of
export, there is a wide range of mechanisms that are used in different jurisdictions. These
require that the testing laboratory providing the data be:
 Operated by the regulatory authority of the importing country;

 One with a good reputation established with the accepting authority;
 Recognized by the regulatory body;
34
 Accredited by the national body of the importing country;
 Recognized by one of the partners under a government-to-government MRA; or
 Accredited by a body within the ILAC Arrangement.
2.2 Type of Tests for Agricultural Products

There are different analytical methods for determination of the quality of the product. The
analytical methods for quality assessment, as they apply to the critical examination of
agricultural products, are chemical, microbiological, histological, physical, organoloptic
characteristics, and others. The most important types of tests to be carried out in
agricultural products from production till consumption are discussed below.
Substances subject to analysis in the laboratories should be grouped or

classified according to the special or preferred methods of examination to be applied.
It is, of course, evident that in the majority of cases chemical as well as microscopical
methods should be used. In some cases even different methods at the same time must
be used in order that conclusive results may be obtained.
2.2.1 Organoleptic Testing
What is organoleptic testing and why is it important?

________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________
35
Organpleptic testing is a one of the different types of testing that is performed first and
involves using the senses to assess the product with regard to its smell, appearance and
colour. This test is quick and cheap to carry out, allowing for segregation of poor quality
product. No equipment is required, but you should have a good sense of sight and smell.
An agricultural product that cannot be adequately judged in this way is subjected to tests
that are more objective.
Analysts involved in the sensory analysis of foods have, for a long time, had difficulty in
getting their work accepted as being objective, scientific and ‘equal’ to chemical and
microbiological analysis. However, it is now accepted that sensory analysis is indeed a
scientific discipline used to measure and interpret reactions to characteristics of foods and
other materials as they are perceived by the senses of sight, smell, taste, touch and
hearing. Sensory analysis includes both qualitative and quantitative measurements, and
may be applied, for example, in shelf-life studies, product matching, specification and
quality control, taint and off-odour/flavour identification and product quality.
The organoleptic tests are indeed valuable adjuncts to the microscopical work. There are,
however, some differences of opinion regarding the interpretation and evaluation which
are to be placed on comparisons of color, odor and taste, even among those having had
considerable experience and endowed with a fairly normal special sense development.
Our color terminology is in great confusion, and so far as the olfactory sense is
concerned, there are only comparatively few odors or flavors which admit of ready
comparison such as tea flavor, coffee odor, vanilla odor, raspberry flavor, and the odor of
the essential oils, etc., and the odor of the spices.
Much experience is necessary to form fairly reliable estimates of flavors (associations of

tastes and odors), though pure fruit flavors are, as a rule, readily distinguishable, as that
of apples, dried apples, peach, dried peach, quince and strawberry. Manufactured fruit
preparations generally lose much of their flavor due to many reasons, as cooking,
36
steaming, fermentative changes, presence of decayed (moldy) fruits, mixing of several
kinds of fruits or fruit juices, etc., to say nothing of the wholly artificial or imitation fruit
flavors and the flavors of the imitation fruit products which have little or no fruit in their
composition.
2.2.2 Micro-analytical Tests
What is micro-analytical testing and why is it important?

________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________.
Microanalysis is the chemical identification and quantitative analysis of minute quantities

of material. A micro-analytical lab specializes in this chemical identification process and
quantitative analysis.
The origin of accurate elemental analysis of milligram quantities of organic compounds

can be traced back to the 1923. During the ensuing forty years the development of new
global synthetic chemical industries created an escalating demand for elemental
microanalysis. As demand to analyse greater numbers of samples rose the need to
automate the micro-analytical procedures whilst maintaining the accuracy and precision
of the classical techniques became apparent. The 1960’s saw the introduction of the first
automated elemental analysers, which quickly gained acceptance in laboratories
throughout the world.
37
Today the requirements for high data quality, reliability, system productivity and ease of
use have placed demands on analysts and instrument designers alike. Only certain micro-
analytical instrument designs appear able to deliver these goals. The great advantage of
the micro-analytical work as compared with chemical work lies in the fact that small
amounts of the substances are used for analysis, the equipment is comparatively
inexpensive and the results are quickly attained.
Micro-chemical tests and techniques are best used in conjunction with sensitive analytical
instruments when the problem is the identification of small amounts or single particles of
complete unknowns. Chemical testing can provide useful preliminary information and
can help in the interpretation of instrumental data. For example, the infrared spectrum of
an impure unknown substance may be difficult to interpret in terms of the functional
groups which are actually present. Well-selected micro-chemical tests for specific
functional groups can help to answer the question.
Chemical reactions can also be used to distinguish between different forms of an

element, for example sulfur, sulfate, sulfide, sulfite and thiosulfate, while the
Instrumental reading spectrum (EDS) shows only the presence of sulfur. Nitrogen
species are difficult to detect and identify with certainty by most instrumental methods,
but specific micro-chemical tests of high sensitivity are available for the ammonium ion,
nitrates and nitrites.
2.2.3 Selection Factors for Microanalytical Labortory

Some micro-analytical labs may focus on a particular industry or particular test methods.
Others are broad ranging labs covering a wide range of industries, testing a variety of
sample materials with a variety of test methods. When choosing a micro-analytical lab,
there are several factors to consider. Some of these factors are listed and explained
below:
38
Service:
Does the micro-analytical lab have a commitment to customer service? Are you able to
contact any member of the technical team to ask questions or clarify details as
necessary? Are you provided with references from other clients if requested? Will they
allow you to talk to their existing clients to get a reference? Also, find out the hours the
lab is staffed so that you can get an idea of how quickly they will be able to turn around
any rush requests you may have.
Instrumentation:
For proper micro-analytical testing, any lab must have access to the most up to date
equipment and test methods. Make sure you go on a tour of the testing facilities before
choosing your test provider. During your tour, assess whether safety is a priority and if
the environment is clean.
Quality Accreditation:
It is critical that the microanalytical lab have credentials for the type of testing that you
require. For your standard and non-standard testing needs, learn what laboratory
credentials are necessary to ensure that your potential lab has current credentials. In
addition, ask about their quality assurance programs and talk to staff in that area to get a
sense of the importance they place on quality assurance.
Other Important Considerations

Ask the test facility how long they have been in business and find out if they can handle
large, last minute requests. Question how much notice is needed to begin testing and get
a sense if they would be able to handle your testing requirements and workload. It is
important to do a thorough review of any potential microanalytical lab before you send
any work their way.
39
2.3.4 Microbiological Tests
Why is microbiological testing important in agricultural products?

________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________.
Microbiology is the study of microorganisms, which are unicellular and cluster forming
entities not visible to the naked eye as individual organisms. The study of
microorganisms has become important, especially in foods, due to their ability to cause
food spoilage and bring about pathogenic reactions in humans and animals. Controlling
the microbial activities contribute to high hygienic standards in agricultural products
preventing the spread of food borne illnesses especially those spread through food and
water. Vast developments in the area of food microbiology have resulted in
standardization of test methods and practices in the testing laboratories. The current
emphasis in ensuring microbiological safety requires use of accredited laboratories,
ensuring reliability of test results for global acceptance. The related titles in this
document describe the basic requirements in establishing a microbiology testing
laboratory.
In a given situation the need for examination of the microorganisms are judged based on
the intrinsic and extrinsic characteristics of the foods, that permit preferential growth of
certain microorganisms, processing the food were subjected to, and the historical
evidence of exposure to reservoirs of microorganisms. In all microbiological tests culture
40
techniques are used in combination with examination of biochemical color reactions to
identify and confirm the presence of microorganisms.
Food safety is an integral part of the production of all foods and the shared responsibility
of all segments of the supply chain. In recent times there has been increased awareness
for the need to evaluate the food safety practices in the production of agricultural
products. Consumer demands for fresh and convenient forms of produce have led to the
development of “Field to Fork” food safety practices in the fresh produce industry.
The use of a microbiological testing program is one tool that may be used
in the development and verification of a food safety program.
The most common reason for microbiological testing in the fresh produce industry today
is to comply with a product specification. Inherent in any product specification are
assumptions that the sampling and test methods will provide a standard deviation and
level of confidence in test results such that the user of the result will “know” that their
specification was or was not met. In reality, specifications are rarely set by statisticians,
and users wrongly assume that the number they’ve selected is an absolute limit.
Consequently, test and method developers must take these expectations into
consideration when establishing sampling plans and interpretations of the results.
The true incidence of diseases transmitted by agricultural products (foods) is not known.
There are many reasons for this. In most countries there is no obligation to report on food
borne diseases to public health authorities. In the few countries which have a reporting
system there is severe underreporting. It has been estimated that as few as 1% of the
actual cases of food-borne diseases are reported (Mossel, 1982). This is because neither
the victim nor the physicians are aware of the etiological role of foods. Furthermore, the
41
food responsible is often not available for analysis and the true vehicle for the disease
agent is not identified. The statistics presented should therefore be used as indications of
trends and areas of concern.
The most common reason for import refusal is “filthy” which describes that the product
appears to consist in whole or in part of a filthy, putrid or decomposed substance.
Although details are not given for the individual products, it is assumed that microbial
spoilage is the major reason for the refusal. Second in terms of rejection reason is the
detection of Salmonella. Both cooked, ready-to eat products and raw, frozen products are
rejected if Salmonella is detected. Although Salmonella has its niche in the
gastrointestinal tract of birds and mammals, it is a common bacterium in ponds in tropical
areas and its detection may not indicate hygienic failure.
2.4.5 Histological Tests
What is histological testing?

________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________.
Histology is the study of the microscopic structure of tissues and cells. Histology is vital
to confirm malignant disease and has made biopsy extraction of a living tissue specimen
a common procedure. New tissue preparation techniques and needle designs allow rapid
specimen removal from even deep tissue without surgery.
42
This unit of competency covers the ability to perform tests and procedures associated
with processing and staining tissues for examination of tissue structure and abnormalities
by pathologists and scientists to assist with disease diagnosis (in this case ‘diseases
caused by agricultural products’). The unit covers tests and procedures that are associated
with anatomical pathology (including frozen sections), and may involve the use of
automated processors and staining machines. The unit principally refers to techniques
performed on human tissues, but many aspects may be relevant to animal and plant
tissues.
Traditionally, histology has been used to identify morphologic changes in the context of
nonclinical safety assessment, clinical diagnosis, and evaluation of response to therapy.
There is a strong correlation between specific histology findings, clinical outcomes, and
some clinical chemistry parameters. Because of this history, histology is currently used in
biomarker qualification as a reference standard to evaluate the sensitivity and specificity
of potential biomarkers and their ability to indicate temporal correlation with the
evolution and reversibility of morphologic changes.
This unit of competency is mainly applicable to laboratory technicians and

technical officers in the biomedical sector and particularly histopathology. Although a
supervisor may not always be present, the technician will follow standard operating
procedures that will clearly describe the scope of permitted practice in modifying
testing procedures.
43
2.6 Standard Test Methods
What are the tests that are considered to be standard tests for agricultural products?
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________.
Some of the basic points that need to be addressed and the principles involved in
selecting test methods are discussed under the sections: Micro-analytical tests,
Microbiological tests, etc. In selecting methods for microbiological testing, consider the
requirements of the clients, the requirements of the regulatory organizations and the
suitability of the method for the purpose, assuming there are no other limiting factors
such as cost, competency, duration to perform the tests etc.
There are several sources from which to select test methods. In selecting methods, the
analysts need to be mindful of the conditions under which the microorganisms are present
in the matrix, specially the stresses arising from storage, processing and use of chemicals.
These stress results in debilitation of some enzymes in the microorganisms, resulting in
reduced responses to the biochemical tests. This requires regeneration of the
microorganisms using enrichment and selective enrichment media. Different test methods
described in literature vary in their techniques of enrichment, and this could cause
variations in test results. The test methods used generally in medical diagnostic tests for
microorganisms may not work effectively with food microorganisms that have undergone
stresses.
It is advisable to select well-validated test methods, written by organizations engaged in

writing test methods. Among the different sources of test methods the following are
usually accepted as more reliable.
44
 Official Methods, Association of Official Analytical Chemists (AOAC)
 Microbiology Manual of the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO)
 Bacteriological Analytical Manual (FDA)
 American Public Health Association (APHA)
 International Standards Organization (ISO)
The laboratory must use appropriate methods for the analysis being
performed. Where applicable, approved methods must be used. Non-standard methods
or in-house methods must be validated by the laboratory before being used for the
analysis of test samples.
Methods should, therefore, be documented in sufficient detail to provide clear, stepwise

instructions to staff and should contain the following information:
 Unique identification;
 Scope (including reference to standard methods if appropriate);
 Type of sample to be tested;
 Dates of sample receival, when analysis was conducted, and test report issue date;
 Apparatus and equipment required including performance requirements;
 Reference standard and quality control required;
 Environmental conditions required and any stabilisation required;
 Description of procedure including labelling of samples, check of equipment to be
performed, recording of observations, calculation of results (including a worked
example) and reporting; and
 Acceptance and rejection criteria for relevant aspects of the analysis ie., sample
receipt.
45
An attempt to cover the subject of test methodology in a single chapter would be close to
impossible. There are hundreds of books describing thousands of test methods for a
myriad of food products and their components. What you should be able to accomplish is
a brief discussion of some of the relationships between test methods and quality control.
Selection of tests might be classified in three groups, those that provide information
relative to:
a.Legal requirements
b.Process, product, packaging specifications
c.Special guides.
Legal requirements may be found for nearly every product: net contents, microbiological
purity, nutritional claims, absence or presence of food components or of non-food
components. The following are a few FDA requirements selected at random from the
Code of Federal Regulations. If vitamin A is added to milk, each quart must contain not
less than 2000 International Units. Egg rolls must contain over 2.56% by weight of whole
egg solids. Each part of the contents of a package of margarine must bear the word
"margarine" in type or lettering not smaller than 20-point type. Ninety-nine percent
disodium ethylenediaminetetraacetate may be used up to 500 parts per million (ppm) to
promote color retention in canned strawberry pie filling. When processing bottled
drinking water, cleaning and sanitizing solutions used by the plant shall be sampled and
tested by the plant as often as is necessary to assure adequate performance in the cleaning
and sanitizing operations.
In these few examples, there is no question as to the tests to be conducted. Certainly, the
first step in selecting tests is to find the legal requirements at all levels of government.
Some city or state codes exceed the requirements of the federal laws.
When selecting test procedures not legally prescribed for controlling the quality of a
process, product or package, methods used may be rigorously standardized, or they may
be developed in-house along scientific but less stringent techniques. There are also many
46
arbitrary methods which are developed in-house which are not recognized by industry or
government, but which serve a specific purpose in controlling quality. The most
important test of all is the user test. If a product meets all of the known legal requirements
and company specifications, but doesn't work, the company is in serious trouble.
Obviously, the specifications are incomplete.
Selecting the formal test methods for legal requirements is usually not a
problem, since the requirements generally refer to clear test requirements.
compare your answers with the ones given at the end of this unit.
_____ 1. Which one of the following is true about testing?

A. It is the determination of one or more characteristics of an object of
conformity.
B. It involves measurement of dimensions
C. It helps to draw a conclusion as to whether or not a product meets
requirements
D. All
_____ 2. A type of testing that involves using the senses to assess the product with regard
to its smell, appearance and colour is:
A. Microbiological testing
B. Physical testing
47
C. Organoleptic testing
D. Chemical testing
_____ 3. Select the one that is correctly stated:
A. Recognition or otherwise of accreditation is the prerogative of the importing
country, and not of the exporting country.
B. Without regulator acceptance, no product can be sold to anyone even
without considering the demands of the commercial market.
C. A vertical system is a system in which all regulators operate within general
rules as in the EU Global Approach.
D. All
_____ 4. Knowing the basic assumptions underlying the test and the potential results
prior to implementation will allow you to identify:
A.The type of samples to be collected
B.The sampling plan to be used
C.The specific test to be performed, and
D.All
_____ 5. Which one of the following is false about testing laboratories?

A. For most products, access to a competent laboratory is essential for testing
B. The more sophisticated the tests required, the lower the capital costs
C. The more sophisticated the tests required, the higher the staffing and
maintenance costs.
D. None
_____ 6. One of the following is the study of the microscopic structure of tissues and
cells
A. Physiology
B. Sensory
C. Histology
D. Microbiology
48
_____ 7. Which of the following is considered during selecting methods for
microbiological testing?
A. The requirements of the clients,
B. The requirements of the regulatory organizations
C. The suitability of the method for the purpose
D. All
_____ 8. Among the following type of tests, the one that is quick and cheap to carry
out, allowing for segregation of poor quality product is:
A. Organoleptic testing
B. Microbiological testing
C. Physical testing
D. Chemical testing
49
 Checklist
section.
I can:
1 How do you understand the term testing for agricultural products;
2 What is the importance of testing agricultural products,
3 Is it expected to have own testing laboratory or use external laboratories?
4 How do you ensure that the test report for your product is accepted overseas?
5 Describe standard tests for quality assessment of agricultural products;
6 Discuss the different types of testing (organoleptinc, microanalytical,
microbiological, etc) agricultural products.
7 Do you understand why microanalytical test is important for agricultural
products?
8 What are the different factors that need to be considered for microanalytical
test?
9 Why is microbiological testing important in agricultural products?
10 Do you understand by the tem histology?
11 Explain the standard tests for agricultural products.
50
Summary
Testing is a ‘technical operation that consists of determination of one or more

characteristics of an object of conformity according to a procedure’. Typical tests involve
measurement of dimensions and determination of chemical composition, microbiological
purity and strength or other physical characteristics of materials or structures such as
freedom from defects. Not all testing is conformity assessment and a substantial amount
of testing is concerned with data collection rather than simply product compliance. Some
of this may relate to matters such as environmental measurements that may not be
associated with a particular product but which may still have trade implications.
There are advantages in having immediate access to in-house testing facilities,

particularly where time is important in monitoring the production process, but also in
developing a deeper understanding of the product and its behaviour during manufacture.
It is also advisable to select well-validated test methods, written by organizations
engaged in writing test methods. Among the different sources of test methods usually
accepted as more reliable are: Official Methods, Association of Official Analytical
Chemists (AOAC); Microbiology Manual of the Food and Agriculture Organization
(FAO); Bacteriological Analytical Manual (FDA); American Public Health Association
(APHA); and International Standards Organization (ISO). Selecting the formal test
methods for legal requirements is usually not a problem, since the requirements generally
refer to clear test requirements.
51
Further readings
Leo N., Terri B., Feng C., Patti C., Maria B., Grethe H., Chris K., Lisa M. And Hui Y.,
(2007). Handbook of Meat, Poultry and Seafood Quality. Blackwell Publishing.
USA.
United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO) (2006). Product

quality: A guide for small and medium-sized enterprises. Vienna, Austria.
Belton P.S. (1998). Quality in the food analysis laboratory. The Royal Society of
Chemistry. The Institute of Food Research, Norwich, UK.
Activity 2.1
Write your answers for the questions below in the space provided. Then compare
your answers with the ones given at the end of this module.
1.Do you think it is possible to carry out testing at home for agricultural products easily?
And how is it different from laboratory testing?
_______________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________
______________________
52
2.Is it possible to undertake testing of agricultural products on the field? If your answer
yes, please elaborate with the possible ways of testing.
_______________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________
__________________________
3.What are the different factors that need to be considered while conducting laboratory
tests of different agricultural products?
_______________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________
______________________
4.Explain why analysts involved in the sensory analysis of foods have, for a long time,
had difficulty in getting their work accepted as being objective, scientific and ‘equal’ to
chemical and microbiological analysis.
_______________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________
_______________________
5.What are the safety issues associated with the manufacturing process and the use of
the product in the field?
_______________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________
______________________
53
UNIT THREE
STANDARDS AND SPECIFICATIONS
Introduction
Dear learner, how did you find the previous two units of the course? I am sure you have done all
that is required from you. In the first unit, you are aware of what quality is and why you need to
produce quality agricultural products? Standards permeate all business activities and even
the day-to-day life of the man on the street. They play an important role in the
manufacturing and service industries and in the sale of their products in national and
international markets. Standards are indispensable for the international marketing of
products as they convey consistent and understandable information to the buyer. A
foreign buyer who knows the standard to which a product is produced has an insight into
its specifications and is able to assess its quality. Standards thus help reduce disputes over
specifications and the quality of goods (and services) exported and imported. And hence
it is very essential to understand the upcoming sections by carefully and analytically
studying it.
Objectives
Define terms of standard and other related terms;

Explain the different types of standards;
State the role of national standards;
Describe the development of Food specifications and standards
Explain purposes of standards;
List mandatory labeling information of pre-packaged fod;
Explain the functions of labelingand standard tests for agri-products
54
3.1 Definition of Terminologies
What do you know about the terms standard and specification? How do you relate
them? (Use the space left below to write your response.)
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________.
Standard: A standard is a document established by consensus and approved by a

recognised body that provides, for common and repeated use, rules, guidelines or
characteristics for activities or their results, aimed at the achievement of the optimum
degree of order in a given context. In other words, standard is “An agreed upon way of
doing something; a set of rules, requirements, or process agreed upon between interested
parties.” Standards come in various forms: best practices, guidelines, specifications,
recommendations, codes, laws, and regulation.
 Voluntary standards: consensus-based standards and in particular on the

formal/institutional procedure used by ISO and many of its Member bodies.
 Mandatory/Compulsory standards: (technical regulations as well as SPS measures)

which are legal instruments that are elaborated by governments.
 Technical Regulation: Document which lays down product characteristics or their

related processes and production methods… with which compliance is mandatory.
 Standardization: activity consists of formulating, issuing and implementing

standards
55
 Specification: a document stating requirements and which refers to or includes
drawings or other relevant documents. Specifications should indicate the means
and the criteria for determining conformance.
 Conformity assessment: demonstration that specified requirements relating to a

product, process, system, person or body are fulfilled; involves sampling,
inspection, testing, certification,
 Inspection: evaluation for conformity by measuring, observing, testing, or gauging

the relevant characteristics
 Testing: determination of one or more characteristics of a given product, process, or

service according to a specified procedure
 Certification: third party assurance that a product, process, or service conforms to

specified requirements, include
System certification: quality, environment and food safety management

system (ISO 9001, ISO 14001, ISO 22000);
Product certification: that may consist of sampling, inspection, testing of a
product followed up by surveillance;
Personnel certification, certification of services, certification of forests, etc.
 Metrology: Science of measurements; the field of knowledge concerned with
measurements, Establishment of accurate, reliable, traceable measurements (basis
for performance requirements in standards)
Traceability of measurements: Unbroken chain of measurement systems

(international, regional, national, company, etc);
Legal metrology: consumer protection, fair weights and measures in trade;
 Accreditation: Demonstration of competence of testing and calibration laboratories,

certification bodies and inspection bodies
56
 Label: any tag, brand, mark, pictorial or other descriptive matter, written, printed,
stenciled, marked, embossed or impressed on, or attached to, a container.
Labelling: include any written, printed or graphic matter that is present on

the label, accompanies to the food, or is displayed near the food, including
that for the purpose of promoting its sale or disposal.
 Codex Alimentarius Commission: It is a subsidiary body of the Food and Agriculture

Organization of the United Nations and the World Health Organization. The
Commission is entrusted with the elaboration of international standards of food to
protect the health of consumers and to ensure fair practices in the food trade.
 Food Control: A mandatory regulatory activity of enforcement by national or local

authorities to provide consumer protection and ensure that all foods during
production, handling, storage, processing and distribution are safe, wholesome and
fit for human consumption; conform to quality and safety requirements; and are
honestly and accurately labeled as prescribed by law.
 SPS: Sanitary and Phytosanitary Agreement of the World Trade Organization

(WTO).
 TBT: Technical Barriers to Trade Agreement of the World Trade Organization

(WTO).
 WTO: The World Trade Organization (WTO) is the international organization that
establishes the rules of trade between nations. At its heart are the WTO
agreements, negotiated and signed by the bulk of the world’s trading nations and
ratified in their parliaments. The goal is to help producers of goods and services,
exporters, and importers conduct their business.
57
Could you mention the role of standards for agricultural products?
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________.
Standards affect our daily lives and govern what we consume; food and
drugs must comply with the established health standards; the cars we drive must
conform to automotive standards; and even our clothes come in standardized sizes.
Consequently, most everything we do is attributed to a standard. Standards support
compatibility and drive down costs through use of common parts, specifications and
methods. They can also help open markets, create new industries and advance the
potential of new technologies.
3.2 The Role of Food Standards and National Standard Bureaus
3.2.1 Role of Food Standards
Food standards give precise criteria to ensure that products are fit for their stated
purposes. They provide common frames of reference for defining the product. This
makes standards useful to consumers, the industry and regulatory authorities. Included in
standards may be specifications for labelling, packaging, methods of analysis and
sampling.
Food standards are used to provide consumers with information about the product, to
maintain product quality uniformity, to establish market value, and to prevent economic
fraud. Without standards, different foods could have the same names or the same foods
58
could have different. In order to be successful, a produce company must sell their
product. Continued sales result from satisfaction during initial experiences with the
product. It is therefore in the best interest of a company to establish internal standards
and/or respond to client standards for products to assure client satisfaction.
Areas in which standards may be established for food produce industry include:
 Safety – standards for toxicological and microbiological hazards, and procedures

and practices to ensure that these standards are achieved
 Nutrition – maintaining nutrient levels through practices that promote high quality
product
 Quality – providing product with desirable levels of flavor, aroma, palatability, and
appearance
 Value - attributes such as convenience, packaging, and shelf-life.
Standards dictate world trade. Before nations can exchange goods and services, they must
meet trade guidelines set forth by the World Trade Organization (WTO). One of such
standards is called the Technical Barriers to Trade (TBT). “The TBT Agreement is an
international treaty of the World Trade Organization. It was negotiated during the
Uruguay Round of the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade, and entered into force
with the establishment of the WTO at the beginning of 1995. The objective of the TBT
Agreement is to ensure that technical negotiations and standards, as well as testing and
certification procedures, do not create unnecessary obstacles to trade."
There are various bodies that set food standards. For products sold internationally, these
include the Codex Alimentarius Commission (CAC), the International Standards
Organization (ISO), and various markets, such as the European Union. Many individual
countries like Ethiopia and Kenya have leaders in setting product standards. For our case,
we have a standard development agency that was previously under Quality and Standards
Authority of Ethiopia. This agency is developing many national standards for different
products, which can be accessed from its own library.
59
3.2.2 The Importance of Standards
Today’s world economy creates an environment where standards compliance is not an

option it is a requirement. The United States Department of Commerce estimates that
standards issues impact 80 % of world commodity trade. Most standards remain
voluntary; companies need to provide customers and regulators with a yardstick to
measure everything from quality to hazardous material usage to physical characteristics
such as size and weight, and material properties such as hardness and temperature
resistance. Standards and specifications provide all involved parties with the same
yardstick.
Standards do the following:

 Help you compete on a level playing field with bigger enterprises;
 Open up export markets for your products and services;
 Help you discover best business practices;
 Drive efficiency in your business operations;
 And credibility and confidence for your customers;
 Open new business opportunities and sales;
 Give you the competitive edge;
 Make your brand name internationally recognized;
 Help your company grow; and
 Enable a common “language” to be used across an industry sector.
3.2.3 Role of National Standard Bureaus
The role of National Standard Bureaus includes:
 contributing to international & regional developments in standardization;

 spearheading and coordinating the process of regional and international
harmonization;
 representing national interests in regional and international standards environments;
60
 providing information on standards and related conformity assessment;
 promoting the importance of standards and quality infrastructure;
 conducting appropriate training activities in standardization;
 developing national standards where needed ;
 assisting regulators in the development of technical regulations; and
 complying with WTO requirements (often hosting National TBT enquiry point).
3.2.4 The Role of Ethiopian Standards Agency (ESA)
Ethiopia has had a National Standards Body (NSB) since 1970 when the Ethiopian
Standards Institute (ESI) was established ‘to promote Standardization and Quality
Control activities in the national economy’. ESI was transformed in 1987 into the
Ethiopian Authority for Standardization (EAS), at which time its scope was broadened to
include Metrology, Quality Assurance and Certification. In 1998, EAS was itself
restructured, continuing as the Quality and Standards Authority of Ethiopia (QSAE).
Then in 2010, following the radical re-structuring of the Ethiopian national quality
infrastructure, QSAE was in turn broken up into a number of new bodies, one of which
was the Ethiopian Standards Agency (ESA).
Ethiopia Standards Agency (ESA) is recognized as the Ethiopian National Standards

Body (NSB) by the Ethiopian Government. The Ethiopian Standard Body role is
performed by ESA on behalf of the Ethiopian Government and principally involves the
representation of Ethiopia in Regional and International standards forum such as ARSO,
ISO, IEC, and Codex. ESA also closely cooperates with the different national standard
bodies in formulation, adoption, and harmonization of standards.
ESA has played a key central role in Ethiopia standard development projects by
involving all stakeholders including manufacturer, consumers, academia, research
institutes, public authorities and conformity assessment bodies. In this standard projects
ESA staff represents as a secretary in each technical committee and responsible for
61
overall project management, ensuring the uniformity and consistency of Ethiopian
standards.
The key role of ESA are summarized as follows:
 Establish Technical committee (TC) and participate as TC secretary and actively

participate at international and regional standardization process.
 Develop stakeholder and public participation in Ethiopian Standard and promote
quality awareness strategies through implementation of standards.
 Develop and implement national standard mark scheme and authorize its use.
 Work in collaboration with national and international standard bodies to keep the
country interest with the technical regulation developed in line with WTO
agreement and establish a National Enquiry Point.
 Support the capacity of Ethiopian industry through technical support, training, and
consultancy services in developing their own company standards
How do you differentiate voluntary and compulsory standards?

______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________.
3.3 Voluntary and Compulsory Standards
Government agencies have specified a number of voluntary and mandatory standards

concerning the composition, quality, inspection, and labeling of specific food products.
62
3.3.1 Voluntary Standards:
Standards of Identity: These regulations specify the type and amounts of ingredients that
certain foods must contain if they are to be called by a particular name on the food label.
For some foods there is a maximum or minimum concentration of a certain component
that they must contain, e.g., peanut butter must be less than 55 % fat, ice-cream must be
greater than 10 % milk fat, cheddar cheese must be greater than 50 % milk fat and less
than 39 % moisture.
Standards of Quality: Standards of quality have been defined for certain foods (e.g.,
canned fruits and vegetables) to set minimum requirements on the color, tenderness, mass
and freedom from defects.
Standards of Fill-of-Container: These standards state how full a container must be to

avoid consumer deception, as well as specifying how the degree of fill is measured.
Product standards and technical regulations are meant to facilitate trade and production
and to ensure health and safety of consumers. Buyers of final and of intermediate goods
want to know the specifications of these goods in terms of their characteristics: reliability,
uniformity, safety to use. This information may be conveyed by individual producers and
traders but is increasingly assured through developing common product standards
underwritten by recognized expert authorities. Compliance to such standards is usually
left voluntary particularly if the standard relates to the quality of the product; as this is an
issue to be settled between the buyer and seller and is usually reflected in the price of the
product.
Voluntary standards, with which compliance is not mandatory, may also pose problems
in international trade if they differ widely from country to country. The Code of Good
Practice for the Preparation, Adoption and Application of Standards, an integral part of
the Agreement on Technical Barriers to Trade (TBT), therefore urges countries to use
their best endeavors to require national standardizing bodies to use the same principles
63
and rules in preparing and applying voluntary standards as are laid down for mandatory
standards.
3.3.2 Compulsory Standards:

Standards of Grade: A number of foods, including meat, dairy products and eggs, are
graded according to their quality, e.g. from standard to excellent. For example meats can
be graded as prime, choice, select, standard etc according to their origin, tenderness,
juiciness, flavor and appearance. There are clear definitions associated with these
descriptors that products must conform to before they can be given the appropriate label.
Specification of the grade of a food product on the label is voluntary, but many food
manufacturers opt to do this because superior grade products can be sold for a higher
price. The government has laboratories that food producers send their products too to be
tested to receive the appropriate certification. This service is requested and paid for by
the food producer.
When health or safety is involved and when product characteristics are difficult to check,
the government may enforce mandatory standards or product specifications. For firms
operating in the international market, common and compatible standards are being
adopted. Commonly adhered to standards include those associated with ISO, CODEX
etc. for food.
Standards are also used by governments to promote its social goals. Government agencies
at the national, state and local levels lay down thousands of regulatory standards to
protect the health and ensure the safety of the population, and to conserve the
environment. Such regulations cover both product characteristics and the materials and
processes used in producing them. Compliance with standards imposed by government
regulations is obligatory.
64
Countries also require the compliance of imported agricultural products with their
national sanitary and phytosanitary regulations. The primary aim of these regulations is to
protect human, animal or plant life or health from pests and diseases that may be brought
in by imported agricultural products. The rules which the Agreement on the Application
of Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures (SPS) lay down are similar to those applicable to
mandatory product standards.
The Agreement on TBT requires mandatory product standards to be applied on a non-

discriminatory basis to imported products. Sanitary and phytosanitary regulations,
particularly those which aim at preventing animal- or plant-borne diseases from entering
a country, can, however, be related to “the level of prevalence of specific diseases or
pests” and can be more rigorously applied to imports from countries where such diseases
or pests are prevalent. The Agreement on SPS further permits countries to take measures
to restrict imports on a provisional basis, as a precautionary step, where there is imminent
risk of the spread of diseases but the “scientific evidence is insufficient”.
What do you say about packaging and labelling standards?

______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
3.4 Packaging and Labeling Standards
3.4.1 Functions of Packaging

Packaging is one of the most important processes to maintain the quality of food products
for storage, transportation and end-use. It prevents quality deterioration and facilitates
distribution and marketing. The basic functions of packaging are protection, containment,
information and convenience. A good package can not only preserve the food quality but
65
also significantly contribute to a business profit. Beyond the major function of
preservation, packaging also has secondary functions such as selling and sales promotion.
However, the main function of food packaging is to achieve preservation and the safe
delivery of food products until consumption. During distribution, the quality of the food
product can deteriorate biologically and chemically as well as physically. Therefore, food
packaging contributes to extending the shelf life and maintaining the quality and the
safety of the food products.
3.4.2 Functions of Labeling

Labeling is everywhere. In the EU, there are many rules affecting labels, and there is
much debate about the proper use of labels and the best parameters for labeling.
Labeling is an important market tool which should be viewed as an integral part of

communication between societal players (business to consumers, directly and via
intermediaries, authorities to consumers, etc.). Labeling is no longer the only reliable
route for communicating information to the consumer, as it once was. But it remains an
effective tool.
The benefits of consumer information in general and labeling in particular are clear. For
the consumer, it provides the means for the operator to pass on essential information
about products (use-by dates, safety warnings, etc.) as well as information which, whilst
perhaps not essential, is considered useful (nutrition labeling, recycling details, etc.). As
such, the label has the role of allowing the consumer to make an informed choice at the
point of sale about whether to purchase a product and, if they do so, to consider how best
it should be used.
For the industry, labeling is a powerful tool which, when used effectively and
responsibly, not only ensures operators pass on essential information, but also enables
them to highlight the benefits of their products when compared to those of their
competitors. Indeed a sociological study carried out in Europe revealed that a lack of
66
labeling on production methods was preventing consumers from possibly shifting
towards such products.
3.4.3 Ethiopian General Standard for Pre-packaged Foods Labeling

The Ethiopian standard, ES 359:2001, which applies to the labelling of all pre-packaged
foods intended for human consumption, has contained the following important
information.
General Principles:
Pre-packaged food shall not be described or presented on any: -
 label or in any labelling in a manner that is false, misleading or deceptive or is likely

to create an erroneous impression regarding its character in any respect.
 labelling by words, pictorial or other devices which refer to or are suggestive either
directly or indirectly of any other product with which food is connected with such
food might confused, or in such a manner as to lead the purchaser or consumer to
suppose that the food is connected with such other product.
Mandatory Labelling of Pre – packaged Food
The following information shall appear on the label of pre – packaged foods as applicable
to the food being labelled:
 the name of the food
 list of ingredients
 net contents
 name and address of the manufacturer, packer, distributor, importer or vendor
 country of origin
 lot identification
 expiration date
 instruction for use
67
Additional Mandatory Requirements
 Quantitative Labelling of Ingredients
 Irradiated Foods
 Exemptions from Mandatory Labelling
What is the relationship between Food specifications, standards and quality

control? (Use the space left below to write your response.)
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________.
The Ethiopian Standards Agency (ESA) is the recognized national

standards body. It is under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Science and Technology
and is the sole authority for elaboration of Ethiopian national standards for industrial
products, testing and measurement equipment, and methods of testing and inspection.
The ESA also has responsibility for technical consultation and training concerning
standardization, and liaison with international, regional and foreign corresponding
organizations.
3.5 Development of Ethiopian Standards

The current system of standards and quality control includes several governmental bodies
with direct control over the creation/development and enforcement of standards. They
comprise: the Ministry of Trade (MOT), the Ministry of Health (MOH), the Ministry of
Science and Technology, the Ministry of Education and the Ministry of Agriculture
(MOA).
68
The Ethiopian Standards Agency (ESA) has been given the mandate to develop, adopt
and publish standards and codes of practice as Ethiopian standards. It can amend or
revoke such standards or codes. It is also supposed to operate in accordance with
internationally recognized systems and principles.
Currently there are 97 National Technical Committees for the development of Ethiopian
Standards (ES) for different purposes that are organized in seven sectors. Out of which
agriculture and food is one of the sectors that has 24 Technical Committees (TC) for the
development of standards. ESA is playing a secretariat role in each committee.
ES technical committees and with reference to international norms, a draft standard is

prepared and circulated among the same groups involved in requesting or revising
standards and a final draft standard is prepared and submitted to National Standards
Council for approval.
So far, there are more than 8 thousand standards. The standards are either uniquely
Ethiopian (ES) or they are adopted from ISO or adapted from international standards of
BS, MS, BSI, JIS or NF. Officially, Ethiopian standards are voluntary, except for those
related to public health, safety and consumer protection. A standard is made mandatory
by the National Standards Council through the proposal of the respective national
technical committee.
Three primary ministries are involved in the enforcement of regulatory standards and
technical specifications in Ethiopia for food and agricultural products.
These are:
 The Ministry of Trade (MoT) through Import and Export Regulatory Directorate;
 The Ministry of Health (MoH) through the Food and Medicine Control Authority;
and
 The Ministry of Agriculture (MoA) through different departments such as: the Plant
and Animal Health Regulatory Directorates.
69
Control of food and agricultural products in Ethiopia is achieved through a set of product
standards and technical specifications which are made mandatory through
implementing laws and decrees.
compare your answers with the ones given at the end of this unit.
_____ 1. Which one of the following is true about standard?

A.It is a document established by consensus.
B.It is approved in order to achieve optimum degree of order in a given
context.
C.It is an agreed upon doing of things. D. All E. None
_____ 2. In one of the following way(s) standards could not be explained.
A. Recommendations C. Codes
B. Best practices D. Specifications E. None
_____ 3. One of the following is not the use of food standards?

A. Producing consumers with information about the product.
B. Maintaining products quality uniformity
C. Establishing market value D. Prevent economic fraud E. None
_____ 4. A document stating requirements is called:
A. Regulation B. Standard C. Specification D. Certificate E. None
_____ 5. Voluntary standards are better legal instruments than mandatory standards.
A. True B. False
70
_____ 6. Which one of the following is correct about the role of National Standard
Bureaus?
A. Provide information on standards and related conformity assessment.
B. Promote the importance of standards and quality infrastructure.
C. Conduct appropriate training activities in standardization.
D. Developing national standards where needed. E. All
_____ 7. Select the one that is not true about the basic functions of packaging:
A. Maintain the quality of the product. C. Prevent quality deterioration

B. Promote selling. D. All E. None
_____ 8. Which one of the following is not correct about labelling?
A. It is an important market tool.

B. It is the only reliable route for communicating information to the consumer.
C. Allow the consumer to make an informed choice at the point of sale.
D. Enable industries to highlight the benefits of their products.
E. None
_____ 9. Which of the following ministry in Ethiopia is not involved in the enforcement
of food products?
A. The Ministry of Trade C. The Ministry of Health;

B. The Ministry of AgricultureD. Ministry of Industry E. None
_____ 10. One of the following information is not compulsory on the label of pre –
packaged food?
A. List of ingredients B. Net contents
C. Manufacturing Date D. Country of origin
E. Lot identification
71
 Checklist
section.
1 Define terms like standard, specification, conformity assessment,

accreditation, etc.
2 Differentiate voluntary and compulsory standards.
3 What are the uses of standards to agricultural products?
4 Mention standards developing bodies.
5 Point out the functions of packaging.
6 What are the benefits of labelling the food products?
7 Who is developing the Ethiopian Standards?
8 Important or compulsory information on the pre-packaged food.
72
Summary
Food standards give precise criteria to ensure that products are fit for their stated
purposes. Standards are used to provide consumers with information about the product, to
maintain product quality uniformity, to establish market value, and to prevent economic
fraud. There are various bodies that set food standards. For products sold internationally,
these include the Codex Alimentarius Commission (CAC), the International Standards
Organization (ISO), individual countries, and various markets, such as the European
Union.
Countries often require imported products to conform to the mandatory standards they
have adopted for the protection of the health and safety of their people or for the
preservation of their environment. The Agreement on Technical Barriers to Trade (TBT)
provides that such mandatory product standards should not be so applied by countries as
to cause unnecessary obstacles to international trade. Furthermore, they should be based
on scientific information and evidence. From the viewpoint of the Agreement, mandatory
product standards do not create unnecessary barriers to trade if they are based on
internationally agreed standards.
73
Further readings
Codex, ( 2000). Codex committee on fresh fruits and vegetables. Available via the
Internet at http://www.codexalimentarius.net
ES 369, (2001). General standard for prepackaged food labelling
FAO/WHO, (1997). Codex Alimentarius Food Hygiene Basic Texts. Joint FAO/WHO
Food Standards Programme, Codex Alimentarius Commission. Pub. # M-83.
FDA, (2000). Food standards. Available via the Internet at

www.fda.gov/opacom/morechoices/smallbusiness/blubook/ foodstds.htm
Gardner S., (1993). Consumers and food safety: A food industry perspective. In: Food,
Nutrition, and Agriculture – Consumer participation in food control. J.L. Albert,
ed. FAO, Rome. Available via the Internet at
http://www.fao.org/docrep/v2890t/v2890t00.htm
IAFIS, (1999). Food standards library. Available via the Internet at

www.iafis.org/fiic/stan/stan1.htm
Kitinoja L. and Kader A.A., (1995). Small-scale postharvest handling practices: A

manual for horticultural crops. 3rd Edition. University of California, Davis.
Available via the Internet at http://www.fao.org/wairdocs/x5403e/ x5403e00.htm
Rees N. and Watson, D., (2000). International Standards for Food Safety. Aspen
Publishers, Gaithersburg, MD.
Silva J.L., (2000). Food laws and regulations in Latin America and the Caribbean.
Presented at IFT Annual Meeting, Dallas, TX. June 10-14.
United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO), (2006). Product quality:

A guide for small and medium-sized enterprises. Vienna, Austria.
74
Activity 3.1
Write your answers for the questions below in the space provided. Then compare your
answers with the ones given at the end of this module.
1.Could you explain the areas in which standards to be established in food producing
industry?
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
2.Who is responsible in the development of standards nationally? And its main roles.
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________
3.What are the differences between voluntary and compulsory standards?

________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________
75
4.What makes a standard mandatory/compulsory? And who is responsible to do this in
Ethiopia?
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________
5.List ES mandatory information that should have to be on the labelling of pre-packaged
food.
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________
76
UNIT FOUR
QUALITY CONTROL IN FOOD INDUSTRY
Introduction
Dear learner, did you acquire good knowledge about quality of agricultural products
based on the previous units of the course? I hope that you know that quality of a food
product involves maintenance or improvement of the key attributes of the product
including color, flavor, texture, safety, healthfulness, shelf life, and convenience. To
maintain quality, it is important to control microbiological spoilage, enzymatic
degradation, and chemical degradation. These components of quality depend upon the
composition of the food, processing methods, packaging, and storage. And hence in this
unit you will learn about quality control (QC) of food products.
Objectives
 Explain the different quality attributes;

 Identify the instrument that could be used to measure food texture
 Discuss the influence of color, texture, size, and shape on consumer acceptance
 Describe how water changes texture
 Identify the terms used to describe food flavor
 Describe sensory methods humans use to determine food flavor
 Discuss factors that can affect food flavor
 Explain the means for maintaining or assessing quality in foods
77
How do you explain the purposes of quality control of agricultural products?
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
_______________.
Quality Control (QC) is an activity or procedure, method or programme

that will ensure the maintenance and continuity of specifications and standards of the
products within the prescribed tolerances during all stages of handling, processing,
preparation, packaging, storage and distribution. This ensures that the original and
desirable characteristics are sustained during these operations and will remain
unaltered until consumed.
4.1 Methods of Evaluation and Control of the Various Aspects of Food
4.1.1 Introduction
Quality control (QC) is the sum of all those controllable factors that ultimately influence
positively or negatively the quality of the finished product e.g. selection of raw materials,
processing methods, packaging, methods of storage distribution etc. The term control
does not imply that a poor raw material can be converted into a good finished product. In
food processing, the general rule is .that the effective methods must be carefully applied
to conserve the original qualities of the raw materials. Processing cannot improve the raw
material. The aim of quality control is to achieve as good and as consistent a standard of
78
quality in the product being produced as is compatible with the market for which the
product is designed.
QC term embraces all the activities involved in control of the operations throughout the
cycle of food processing, storage and distribution which ensure that the product reaches
the consumer at its highest level of quality. In other words QC is concerned with: -
 the control of the actual processing of the food;

 raw material and final products to ensure that they comply with laid down standards;
and
 line sanitation.
Quality assurance (QA) deals with wider aspects such as: -
 the evaluation of raw material and final product standards;

 the design of the factory;
 the process line layout; and
 the design of machinery
QC asks “Are we doing things right?” while QA asks “Are we doing the right things?”
Quality control may perform inspection duties, laboratory tests; oversee sanitation and
microbiological aspects, and guide research and development. Total Quality Management
(TQM) and Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Point (HACCP) are two newer ideas
for controlling quality and safety. These will be discussed in unit 5.
4.1.2 Quality Attributes
There are a number of ways of studying the quality attributes of food products. One way
is to look at the occurrence of the characteristics as the product is encountered and
consumed. Using this system, quality attributes are often classified as external, internal,
or hidden.
79
External quality attributes
External quality attributes (appearance, feel, and defects) are those that are observed
when the product is first encountered. These attributes are generally related to appearance
and feel. They are perceived by the senses of sight and touch. The smell of a product,
particularly for very aromatic fruits and vegetables, may be an external attribute but
usually is more closely related to internal attributes. External attributes are often play an
important role in a consumer’s decision to purchase produce.
Internal quality attributes

Internal quality characteristics (odor, taste and texture) are generally not perceived until
the product is cut or bitten. Acceptable levels of these attributes often affect the
consumer’s decision to repurchase a product. These internal attributes are related to
aroma, taste, and feel (for example, mouth feel and toughness), and they are perceived by
the senses of smell, taste, and touch. The combination of external and internal attributes
determines the acceptability of a product.
Hidden quality attributes

The third set of quality attributes, “hidden attributes” (wholesomeness, nutritional value
and safety), are more difficult for most consumers to measure or differentiate but the
perception of these contribute to the consumer’s decision to accept and to differentiate
food products. Hidden quality attributes include wholesomeness, nutritional value, and
safety of a product.
Could you mention the role of standards for agricultural products?

________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
80
4.1.3 Measurement of Quality Attributes
The list below provides a brief discussion of the predominant quality attributes and how
they are measured. Understanding this can provide growers, shippers, and other produce
industry personnel with a means of determining how well a product meets consumer
expectations of quality. It should be remembered that consumers will evaluate quality
mainly with their senses so objective methods used for quality evaluations must relate to
these sensory assessments.
External Attributes
Appearance includes factors such as size, shape, gloss, color, and absence of defects.
Size and shape are measurements often used as grade standards or to differentiate
between items.
The assessment of size and shape is often a subjective process although, for many
products, visual guides have been developed.
Color is a primary indicator of maturity and is the result of the type and quantity of
pigments in the product.
Changes in color are often related to “freshness” or deterioration of the product.
Color can be measured by many visual or mechanical methods (i.e. colorimeters and
spectrophotometers).
Firmness, or how the product feels when touched, is related to softening of the product.
Firmness results from the cell wall structure and internal pressure (turgor) within the
cells. Loss of firmness may result from bruising, ripening, or other breakdown
mechanisms.
 Firmness is usually measured by mechanical means (i.e. texture analyses).
Defects may be due to production, handling, environment, diseases, and other factors.
 Defects are usually measured visually, though some mechanical methods are being
developed (i.e. ultrasound and machine vision).
81
Internal Attributes
Odor or aroma is the sum of the compounds perceived by the nose. It is very difficult to
determine objectively since it is a combination of qualitative (predominant) and
quantitative traits in a food product. Fruits and vegetables are rich in aromatic
compounds, many of which are yet to be identified.
 Limited measurements of odor can be done with gas chromatographs/mass

spectrometers or similar mechanisms which are beyond the scope of this course.
Taste is the perception of chemical compounds on the tongue and other nerve endings of
the mouth. The basic tastes are sweet, sour, bitter, and astringent.
 Sweetness is directly related to sugars in the food and to the sugar to acid ratio.
 Sourness is the result of the organic acids present.
 Compounds such as those in citrus fruits or coffee usually impart bitterness,
whereas astringency is often the result of tannins such as the phenolic compounds
found in grapes.
 There are numerous methods of quantifying taste compounds including
spectrophotometric and gravimetric methods, liquid and gas chromatography.
Texture is the composite of those properties which arise from the structural elements of a
product, and the manner in which this composite registers with the physiological senses.
Most textural characteristics, except firmness, are evaluated as mouth feel, i.e. the
impression on the tongue, palate and teeth.
 In produce, common textural characteristics include tenderness, crispness,
crunchiness, chewiness, and fibrousness.
 Texture is generally determined by measuring force applied to the food.
Hidden Attributes
Wholesomeness is usually thought to be related to “freshness.” Defects in

wholesomeness may be brought about by the food itself or external factors such as
environment (temperature, humidity, etc.) or handling (bruising, cutting).
82
Wholesomeness is a relatively difficult attribute to measure objectively, but it is often
taken into account in the grading and pricing of the product. This attribute also involves
a “sanitary” component (how clean/hygienic is the product) and the presence of foreign
materials. Microscopic, microbiological, and x-ray technologies are among the many
techniques used to measure these attributes.
Nutritive value is related to the presence and levels of components that support life.
 Fruits and vegetables are valued as sources of essential vitamins and minerals, as
well as fibre.
 In recent years, they have also been recognized as sources of antioxidants and other
phytochemicals that are being studied for their role in preventing or controlling
certain human diseases.
 The quality and quantity of these nutritional components is very important, and is
essential to consumer well-being.
 Wet chemistry, various chromatographic methods, and other chemical and physical
tests measure nutritional value.
Safety is defined as the assurance that a food will not cause harm to the consumer when it
is prepared and/or eaten according to its intended use (FAO/WHO, 1997).
 Microbiological examination is the main method used to identify and quantify the
type and numbers of pathogenic microorganisms.
 Production and handling practices may be evaluated to assure steps were taken to
minimize the risk of microbial contamination.
How do you relate the quality of raw materials with the quality of the final products?
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________.
83
4.3 Quality of Raw Materials
4.3.1 Characterization of Raw Materials

Manufacturers measure the properties of incoming raw materials to ensure that they meet
certain minimum standards of quality that have previously been defined by the
manufacturer. If these standards are not met, the manufacturer rejects the material. Even
when a batch of raw materials has been accepted, variations in its properties might lead to
changes in the properties of the final product. By analyzing the raw materials it is often
possible to predict their subsequent behavior during processing so that the processing
conditions can be altered to produce a final product with the desired properties. For
example, the color of potato chips depends on the concentration of reducing sugars in the
potatoes that they are manufactured from: the higher the concentration, the browner the
potato chips. Thus it is necessary to have an analytical technique to measure the
concentration of reducing sugars in the potatoes so that the frying conditions can be
altered to produce the optimum colored potato chip.
4.3.2 Handling and Quality Control Procedure of Raw Material

In order to have a quality final product the raw material should be handled in a proper
manner that could not affect the final attributes of the product. Raw materials should be
stored so they are accessible for inspection. Thoroughly check ceilings, walls, ledges, and
floors in raw material storage areas for evidence or rodent or insect infestation, water
dripping or other adverse conditions.
To maintain the quality of the raw materials the following points should be addressed.
 Determine if growing conditions relative to disease, insects, and weather are

affecting the raw material.
84
 Check measures taken for protection against insect or rodent damage. Raw materials
may be susceptible to decomposition, bruising or damage, e.g., soft vegetables and
fruits delivered in truckload lots.
 Determine the holding times of materials subject to progressive decomposition.
 Determine the general acceptability of raw materials for their intended use and their
effect on the finished product. Raw stocks of fruits or vegetables may contribute
decomposed or filthy material to the finished product.
 Check bags, bales, cases and other types of raw material containers to determine
signs of abnormal conditions, indicating presence of filthy, putrid or decomposed
items.
 Check any indication of damaged containers, to ascertain if material is spoiled. Be
alert to contamination of raw materials by infested or contaminated railroad cars or
other carriers.
Could you mention the process steps of any two types of dairy products?
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
In many rural dairy processing plants monitoring equipment may not be

available and, although yields may be maximized by adhering to the prescribed
procedures, all these products can be successfully made by approximating
temperature, time, pH etc. It is particularly important in cheese making to proceed
when the curd is in a suitable condition. Therefore, times given are only approximate
and the processor will, with experience, adopt methods suitable to his/her own
environment.
85
.
4.3.3 Manufacturing Process of Food Products
In this section, based on the availability raw material in most of the rural households
discussing the processing of milk and milk products is found to be appropriate. In rural
areas, milk may be processed fresh or sour. The choice depends on available equipment,
product demand and on the quantities of milk available for processing. In Africa,
smallholder milk-processing systems use mostly sour milk. Allowing milk to ferment
before processing has a number of advantages and processing sour milk will continue to
be important in this sector.
4.3.4 Milk Separation

The fat fraction separates from the skim milk when milk is allowed to stand for at least
30 to 40 minutes. This is known as ‘‘creaming’’. The creaming process can be used to
remove fat from milk in a more concentrated form. A number of methods are employed
to separate cream from milk. An understanding of the creaming process is necessary to
maximize the efficiency of the separation process.
Gravity separation
Fat globules in milk are lighter than the plasma phase, and hence rise to form a cream
layer. As they rise they come in contact with other globules, forming clusters of
considerable size that rise much faster than individual globules.
Factors affecting creaming

Cream-layer volume is greatest in milk that has a high fat content and relatively large fat
globule, because such milk contains more large clusters. However, temperature and
agitation affect creaming, irrespective of the fat content of the milk. Heating to above
60 °C reduces creaming; milk that is heated to above 100 °C retains very little creaming
ability. Excessive agitation disrupts normal cluster formation, but creaming in cold milk
may be increased by mild agitation since such treatment favours larger, loosely packed
clusters.
86
Batch separation by gravity
Cream can be separated from milk by allowing the milk to stand in a setting pan in a cool
place. This can be done in either of two ways.
Shallow pan: Milk, preferably fresh from the cow, is poured into a shallow pan 40 to 60
cm in diameter and about 10 cm deep. The pan should be in a cool place. After 36 hours
practically all of the fat capable of rising by this method will have come to the surface,
and the cream is skimmed off with a spoon or ladle (Figure 4.1). The skim milk usually
contains about 0.5 to 0.6 % butterfat.
Deep-setting: Milk, preferably fresh from the cow, is poured into a deep can of small
diameter. The can is placed in cold water and kept as cool as possible. After 24 hours the
separation is usually as complete as it is possible to secure by this method. The skim milk
is removed through a tap at the bottom of the can (Figure 4.1). Under optimum
conditions, the fat content of the skim milk averages about 0.2 or 0.3%.
The pans should be rinsed with water immediately after use, scrubbed with hot water and
scalded with boiling water.
(a) Shallow pan method, (b) Deep-setting method
Figure 4. 1: Batch separation of milk by gravity: (a) Shallow pan method, (b) Deep-setting method.
87
Centrifugal separation
Gravity separation is slow and inefficient. Centrifugal separation is quicker and more
efficient leaving less than 0.1 % fat in the separated milk compared with 0.5--0.6 % after
gravity separation. The detail of this technique will not be discussed here.
Standardisation of milk and cream

If fine adjustment of the fat content of cream is required or if the fat content of whole
milk must be reduced to a given level, skim milk must be added. This process is known
as standardisation.
The usual method of making standardisation calculations is the Pearson’s Square

technique. To make this calculation, draw a square and write the desired fat percentage in
the standardised product at its centre and write the fat percentage of the materials to be
mixed on the upper and lower left-hand corners. Subtract diagonally across the square the
smaller from the larger figure and place the remainders on the diagonally opposite
corners. The figures on the right-hand corners indicate the ratio in which the materials
should be mixed to obtain the desired fat percentage.
The value on the top right-hand corner relates to the material on the top left-hand corner
and the figure on the bottom right relates to the material at the bottom left corner. The
Pearson’s square method is demonstrated by the following examples.
Example 4.1
88
In this example, the fat content of whole milk is to be reduced to 3.0 %, using skim milk
produced from some of the whole milk. Using Pearson’s Square, it can be seen that for
every 2.9 liters of whole milk, 0.6 liters of skim milk must be added.
Example 4.2
How much skim milk containing 0.1 % fat is needed to reduce the percentage fat in 200
kg of cream from 34 % to 30 %?
Example 4.3
The fat content of 300 kg of whole milk must be reduced from 4.2 % to 3 % using skim
milk containing 0.2 % fat.
Every 4.0 kg of the mixture will contain 2.8 kg of whole milk and 1.2 kg of skim milk.
If 2.8 kg of whole milk requires 1.2 kg skim milk, 300 kg of whole milk requires
1.2 x 300/2.8 = 128.6 kg of skim milk. Thus, 128.6 kg of skim milk (0.2 % fat) must be
added to 300 kg of whole milk (4.2 % fat) to give 428.6 kg of milk containing 3 % fat.
89
Example 4.4
The fat content of milk must be reduced from 4.5 to 3 % before sale as liquid milk but
skim milk for standardization is not available.
Assume that the fat content of 100 kg of milk containing 4.5 % milk fat must be reduced
to 3 %. The amount of cream to be removed can be calculated as follows:
Let M = weight of milk to be standardized; in this example 100 kg. Therefore M = 100
Fm = fat content of the original milk = 4.5; C = weight of cream;
Fc = fat content of the cream = 35; SM = weight of standardized milk;
Fsm = fat content of the standardized milk = 3.0
Since the milk is separated into cream and standardized milk:
SM + C = M or SM + C = 100 (1)
There are no fat losses therefore the weight of fat in the original milk will be equal to the
weight of fat in the standardized milk and cream.
(Weight of fat in a product is the weight of product x % fat/100)
Therefore; SM * Fsm/100 + C * Fc/100 = M * Fm/100 or
3 * SM/100 + 35 * C/100 = 100 * 4.5/100 or 0.03 SM + 0.35 C = 4.5 (2)
Equations (1) and (2) give two equations with two unknowns, so they can be solved as
follows:(1) SM + C = 100 (3) or 0.03 SM + 0.03 C = 3
Subtracting (3) from (2): 0.32 C = 1.5 =>C = 4.6875 = 4.7 corrected to one decimal place
The weight of cream is thus 4.7 kg. Therefore, the weight of standardized milk is 95.3 kg.
90
4.3.2 Butter Making With Fresh Milk or Cream
Butterfat can be recovered from milk or cream and converted to a number of products,
the most common of which is butter. Butter is an emulsion of water in oil and has the
following approximate compositions: Fat (80 %), Moisture (16 %), Salt (2 %), & Milk
solid non fat (SNF) (2 %).
In good butter the moisture is evenly dispersed throughout in tiny droplets. Butter can be
made from either whole milk or cream; however, it is more efficient to make it from
cream.
Butter making theory

To make butter, milk or cream is agitated vigorously at a temperature at which the milk
fat is partly solid and partly liquid. Churning efficiency is measured in terms of the time
required to produce butter granules and by the loss of fat in the buttermilk. Efficiency is
influenced markedly by churning temperature and by the acidity of the milk or cream.
Mechanism of churning theory

In considering the mechanism of churning the following factors must be taken into
account:
 the function of air;

 the release of the stabilizing membrane surrounding the fat globules into the
buttermilk;
 the differences in structure between butter and cream; and
 the temperature dependence of the process.
About one half of the stabilizing material surrounding the fat globule is liberated into the
buttermilk during churning.
91
Churn preparation
The churn is prepared by rinsing with cold water, scrubbing with salt and rinsing again
with cold water. Alternatively, it can be scalded with water at 80 °C. After the butter has
been removed, the churn should be washed well with warm water, scalded with boiling
water and left to air. When not in use wooden churns should be soaked occasionally with
water. A new churn should first be washed with tepid water, scrubbed with salt and then
washed with hot water until the water comes away clear. A hot solution of salt should
then be allowed to stand in the churn for about ten minutes. After rinsing again with hot
water the churn should be left to air for at least one day before being used.
Churning temperature
The temperature of the cream during churning is of great importance. If too cool, butter
formation is delayed and the grain is small and difficult to handle. If the temperature is
too high, the butter yield will be low because a large proportion of the fat will remain in
the buttermilk, and the butter will be spongy and of poor quality. Cream should be
churned at 10 – 12 °C in the hot season and at 14 – 17 °C in the cold season.
Washing the butter

When the desired grain size is obtained, the buttermilk is drained off and the butter
washed several times in the churn. Each washing is done by adding only as much water
as is needed to float the butter and then turning the churn a few times. The water is then
drained off. As a general rule two washings are enough but in very hot weather three may
be necessary before the water comes away clear. In the hot season the coldest water
available should be used for washing, and in the cold season water about 2 to 3 °C colder
than the churning temperature should be used.
Salting, working and packing the butter

Equipment for working may consist of a butter worker or a tub. Good-quality spatulas are
important, and a sieve and scoop facilitate the removal of butter from the churn. This
equipment must be clean. The butter is spread on the worker which has been previously
92
soaked with water of the same temperature as the washing water. If salted butter is
required, it should be salted before working at a rate of 16 g salt/kg or according to taste.
Salt is added to butter most commonly using the dry-salting method in which dry salt is
sprinkled evenly over the butter and worked in. The salt used should be dry and evenly
ground and of the best quality available. The butter is then either rolled out 8 to 10 times
or ridged with the spatulas to remove excess moisture.
Adding salt to butter disturbs the equilibrium of the emulsion (the butter). This in turn
changes the character of the body and alters its colour. Unless the butter is subjected to
sufficient working to regain the original equilibrium of the emulsion, it will tend to have
a coarse, leaky body and uneven colour. The butter should be worked until it seems dry
and solid, but it must not be worked too much or it will become greasy and streaky.
Butter must be adequately worked if it is to be stored for a long time. First, working
distributes the salt uniformly in the moisture and this helps inhibit microbial growth.
Secondly, it distributes the salt solution into many tiny droplets rather than fewer large
ones. For a given level of microbial contamination, the microbes will be more isolated in
small droplets and will have less of the butter’s nutrients available to them for growth.
4.3.3 Butter Making with Sour Whole Milk

Smallholder milk processing is based on sour milk. This is due to a number of reasons
including high ambient temperatures, small daily quantities of milk, consumer preference
and increased keeping quality of sour milk. Products made from sour milk include
fermented milks, concentrated fermented milks, butter, ghee, cottage cheese and whey.
Other products are made by mixing fermented milk with boiled cereals.
The equipment required for processing sour milk is simple and available locally. Milk
vessels can be made from clay, gourds and wood, and can be woven from fibre, such as
the gorfu container used by the Borana pastoralists in Ethiopia. The products and by-
products of butter making from sour whole milk are shown in Figure 4.2.
93
Butter making
This is a very important process in many parts of Africa. Smallholders produce one to
four litres of milk per day for processing. Under normal storage conditions the milk
becomes sour in four to five hours. Souring milk has a number of advantages. It retards
the growth of undesirable micro-organisms, such as pathogens and putrefactive bacteria
and makes the milk easier to churn.
Milk for churning is accumulated over several days by adding fresh milk to the milk
already accumulated. The churn may hold up to 20 liters and the amount of milk churned
ranges from 4 to 10 liters. Butter is made by agitating the milk until butter grains form.
The churn is then rotated slowly until the fat coalesces into a continuous mass. The butter
thus formed is taken from the churn and kneaded in cold water.
The milk is usually agitated by placing the churn on a mat on the floor and rolling it to
and fro. It can also be agitated by shaking the churn on the lap or hung from a tripod.
Sour Whole Milk
Churn
Butter Sour Buttermilk
Remove Moisture
and SNF Consume Heat to 60 0C
without further
Butter Oil processing
Precipitate Supernatant
Cottage Cheese Whey
Figure 4.2: Products and by-products of butter making from sour whole milk.
94
A number of factors influence churning time and recovery of butterfat as butter:
 milk acidity
 churning temperature.
 degree of agitation
 extent of filling the churn.
Effect of acidity
Fresh milk is difficult to churn -- churning time is long and recovery of butterfat is poor -
however, milk containing at least 0.6 % lactic acid is easier to churn. Acidity higher than
0.6% does not significantly influence churning time or fat recovery.
Effect of temperature
Sour milk is normally churned at between 15 and 26 °C, depending on environmental
temperature. At low temperatures churning time is long; butter-grain formation can take
five hours or longer. As churning temperature increases churning time decreases.
Controlling the temperature is therefore critical. The optimum churning temperature is
between 15 and 17 °C.
Degree of agitation
Increasing agitation reduces churning time. Fitting an agitator to a traditional churn
reduces churning time and increases butter yield. The percentage of fat recovered as
butter is increased, with as little as 0.2 % fat remaining in the buttermilk.
Extent of filling the churn

Churns should be filled to between a third and half their volumetric capacity. Filling to
more than half the volumetric capacity increases churning time considerably but does not
reduce fat recovery.
Thus, when churning sour whole milk, the following conditions should be adhered to:
 milk acidity should be greater than 0.6 %;

 the temperature should be adjusted to about 18 °C;
95
 internal agitation should be used to reduce churning time and increase fat recovery;
and
 the churn should not be filled to more than half its volumetric capacity.
Once the fat has been recovered by churning the buttermilk contains casein, whey
proteins, milk salts, lactic acid, lactose, the unrecovered fat and some fat globule
membrane constituents. Buttermilk is suitable, and is often used, for direct consumption.
It is also used to inoculate fresh milk to encourage acid development and for cheese
making.
4.3.4 Cheese Making Using Fresh Milk

Cheese is a concentrate of the milk constituents, mainly fat, casein and insoluble salts,
together with water in which small amounts of soluble salts, lactose and albumin are
found. To retain these constituents in concentrated form, milk is coagulated by direct
acidification, by lactic acid produced by bacteria, by adding rennet or a combination of
acidification and addition of rennet. Based on this process many cheese varieties are
manufactured around the world but they are all broadly classified by hardness, i.e. very
hard, hard, semi-soft and soft, according to their moisture content.
Cheese is usually made from cow milk, although several varieties are made from the milk
of goats, sheep or horses. Some of these varieties that do not need starter or rennet are
discussed below.
White cheese
Queso blanco (white cheese) is of Latin American origin. It is usually made from milk
containing about 3 % fat. Starter or rennet is not used and curd precipitation is brought
about by an organic acid usually in the form of lemon juice. Queso blanco is a pressed
cheese (it contains less moisture than unpressed cheese) and therefore has a longer shelf-
life than soft curd cheese. The milk is heated to a high temperature (over 80 °C) and this
96
also contributes to the increased shelf-life of the cheese. Queso blanco is an ideal cheese
for manufacture by smallholders as all the materials required may be obtained or made
locally. The expected yield is one kilogram of cheese from eight liters of milk.
Method
a.Fresh whole milk is used. The fat content of the milk should be reduced to about
three per cent. The fat content in milk from local cows is usually between five and
six per cent. To reduce the fat content, allow the milk selected for cheese making
to stand for about one hour then skim off the top layer (high fat milk or cream).
The cream can be used for butter making.
b.Heat the milk to about 85°C to destroy most of the bacteria present and also to
increase yield through precipitation of the whey proteins.
c.Dilute lemon juice with an equal quantity of clean, fresh water so that the lemon
juice can be distributed uniformly. Add about 30 ml of lemon juice per liters of
milk. Stir the milk while carefully adding the lemon juice (Figure 4.3). The curd
precipitates almost immediately.
Figure 4.3: Adding lemon juice and stirring the milk.
d.Continue stirring for about three minutes after adding the lemon juice (Figure 4.4).
e. Allow the curd to settle for 15 minutes. Separate the curds from the whey by
draining through a sieve or a muslin (cheese) cloth (Figure 4.5).
f. While draining the whey, stir the curd to prevent excess matting.
97
g. Add salt to the curd at a rate of about 4 g for every 100 g of curd and mix
properly. The quantity of salt may be varied to cater for consumer taste
preferences.
h. Transfer the curd to a mould (container) lined with cheese cloth. The mould may
be cylindrical or square shaped and may be made from metal, plastic or wood
(Figure 4.6).
i. Cover the curd by folding over the cheese cloth. Fit a wooden follower neatly
inside the mould to enable the curd to be pressed.
Figure 4. 4: Stirring the curds and whey.
Figure 4. 5: Separating the curds from the whey using a muslin cloth.
98
Figure 4. 6: Adding curd to a muslin-lined mould.
j.Press the curd overnight by placing metal weights on top of the wooden follower
(Figure 4.7).
k.Store the cheese as it is or cut it into suitably sized pieces for sale.
l.Coat the cheese with a thin film of butter to enhance the appearance.
Halloumi
Halloumi is a firm pickled cheese with its origins in Cyprus where it is made from sheep
or goat milk or a mixture of both. It can also be made from cow milk. Starter is not used.
The cheese may be eaten fresh or after storage in a cool store. If it is stored at below
12 °C it will keep for several months. After salting the cheese pieces may also be stored
in plastic bags without brining; if stored at about 10 °C the cheese has a shelf-life of two
to three months. About one kilogram of cheese will be obtained from nine litres of milk.
Method
a.If necessary pasteurize the milk by heating to 73 °C for about 20 seconds and cool
immediately to 32 °C.
b.Add rennet extract (about 3 ml per 10 liters of milk). This should give a firm curd in
40 – 45 minutes.
c.Cut the curd into 3 – 4 cm cubes using horizontal and vertical curd cutting knives.
99
d.Stir the curds and whey mixture gently and heat to 38 – 42 °C. Stir for 20 minutes
after this temperature is reached.
e.Allow the curd to settle.
Figure 4. 7: Pressing cheese.
f. Ladle the whey off the curd and scoop the curd into a mould lined with cheese
cloth. Press for about four hours.
g.Heat the collected whey to 80 – 90 °C.
h.Remove the cheese from the press and cut it into 10 cm x 2 cm pieces (Figure 4.8).
i.Place the curd pieces in the hot whey. At first the curd pieces sink but when properly
textured they rise to the surface (Figure 4.9). Transfer the pieces to a draining
table.
j.After about 20 minutes the curd pieces are cool. Sprinkle the curd with 3 – 5 % salt
and fold each piece over (Figure 4.10).
k.Place the cold curd pieces in containers. Fill the containers with 30 % brine.
Figure 4. 8: Cutting the curd mass.
100
Figure 4. 9: Floating cheese pieces.
Figure 4. 10: Cheese pieces folded over after salting.
4.3.5 Cheese Yield

In cheese making, the milk fat and casein are recovered with some moisture. The cheese
yield can be expressed in kilograms of cheese obtained per 100 kg of milk processed.
Cheese yield is influenced by milk composition, the moisture content of the final cheese
and the degree of recovery of fat and protein in the curd during cheese making.
Milk low in total solids will give a low cheese yield, while milk high in total solids will
give a high cheese yield. To predict the theoretical yield of cheese, the fat and casein
content of the milk must be known.
Because of difficulties encountered in estimating casein content, the following formula,

derived from results of experiments on Cheddar cheese, is often used to estimate cheese
yield: (2.3 x fat %) + 1.4 = cheese yield (kg/100 kg milk)
Therefore, with milk containing 4 % fat the expected yield would be:
(2.3 x 4) + 1.4 = 10.6 kg/100 kg milk
101
This formula gives an estimate of cheese yield and is applied most often to Cheddar
cheese. It is useful as an immediate check on efficiency, but a universal yield factor for
cheese varieties is unrealistic.
If the cheese yield is less than expected, the following checks should be made:
 weigh and record milk received;

 sample and analyze milk received;
 weigh, store and record cheese made; and
sample and analyze whey.
The fat content of whey should be analyzed for each batch of cheese made. In estimating
the profitability of cheese making enterprises, an average annual yield of 9.5 %, i.e.
9.5 kg of cheese per 100 kg of milk is used. Milk may be standardized to increase cheese
yield, particularly with high-fat milk. Standardization also gives a good return for skim
milk; however, over-standardizing (reducing the fat content to below 3 %) results in
coarse textured cheese with poor flavour.
High moisture content increases cheese yield, but reduces keeping quality. Cheese loses
moisture during storage if it is not properly wrapped, thus reducing yield. Waxing
reduces moisture loss, as does storing cheese in brine.
What should be considered in conducting tests for finished agricultural products?

______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________.
102
4.4 Testing of Finished Products.
Testing is an essential part of all food businesses and retailers alike in order to guarantee
food safety as well as quality and content. Test of food products against all standards
such as: ISO, national standards, even clients’ standards includes:
 Microbiological: to detect pathogens.

 Physico-chemical: to determine nutritional value, Genetically modified Organisims
(GMOs), pesticides, antibiotics, contaminants, etc.
 Sensory Testing: to compare a product to the competition and/or evaluate the
product by a consumer panel.
Testing can occur at any step of the production process from:
 Pre-production testing: where you can validate that the product fulfills your
requirements as well as legislations’ requirements.
 Testing after production is completed: where you can check that all critical
parameters for export and sale are met.
4.4.1 Appearance Factors

Of the sensory attributes of food, those related to appearance are the most susceptible to
objective measurement, but appearance is important to the consumers. They have certain
expectations of how food should look. Two separate categories of appearance include:
 Color attributes
 Geometric attributes (size and shape)
Color
Of these two, color is by far the most important. Consumers expect meat to be red, apple
juice to be light brown and clear, orange juice to be orange, egg yolks to be bright
yellow-orange, and so on.
103
Food color measurements provide an objective index of food quality. Color is an
indication of ripeness or spoilage. The end point of cooking processes is judged by color.
Changes in expected colors can also indicate problems with the processing or packaging.
Browns and blackish colors can be either enzymatic or nonenzymatic reactions. The
major nonenzymatic reaction of greatest interest to scientists is the Maillard reaction,
which is the dominant browning reaction. Other less explained reactions include
blackening in potatoes or the browning in orange juice. The enzymatic browning found
widespread in fruits and selected vegetables is due to the enzymatic catalyzed oxidation
of the phenolic compounds.
Naturally occurring pigments play a role in food color. Water-soluble pigments may be
categorized as anthocyanins and anthoxthanins. Lesser known water-soluble pigments
include the leucoanthocyanins. Fat-soluble plant pigments are primarily categorized into
the chlorophyll and carotenoid pigments. These green and orange-yellow pigments
considerably impact the color. Myoglobins contribute to the color of meat.
Measuring Color
In order to maintain quality, the color of food products must be measured and
standardized. If a food is transparent, like a juice or a colored extract, colorimeters or
spectrophotometers can be used for color measurement. The color of liquid or solid foods
can be measured by comparing their reflected color to defined (standardized) color tiles
or chips.
Size and Shape

Depending on the product, consumers expect foods to have certain sizes and shapes
(Figure 4-11). Size and shape are easily measured. Fruits and vegetables are graded based
on their size and shape, and this is done by the openings they will pass through during
grading. Now computerized electronic equipment can determine the size and shape of
foods.
104
4.4.2 Textural Factors
Consumers expect gum to be chewy, crackers to be crisp, steak to be tender, cookies to
be soft, and breakfast cereal to be crunchy. The texture of food refers to the qualities felt
with the fingers, the tongue, or the teeth.
Figure 4. 11: Consumers expect foods to have a particular shape.
Textures in food vary widely, but any departure from what the consumer expects is a
quality defect. Texture is a mechanical behavior of foods measured by sensory
(physiological/psychological) or physical (rheology) means. Rheology is the study of the
science of deformation of matter.
Texture testing in foods is performed by different methods: -
 The compressimeter was used to determine the compressibility of cakes and other
“sponge like” products.
 Penetrometer is used to measure gel strength.
 The Warner-Bratzler shear apparatus has been the standard method of evaluating
meat tenderness.
 The Instron measures elasticity.
 The Brookfield viscometer will measure the viscosity in terms of Brookfield units.
 Other instruments used to measure texture include a succulometer and a
tenderometer.
105
Changes in texture are often due to water status. Fresh fruits and vegetables become
soggy as cells break down and lose water. On the other hand if dried fruits take on water,
their texture changes. Bread and cake lose water as they become stale. If crackers,
cookies, and pretzels take up water, they become soft and undesirable.
Various methods are used to control the texture of processed foods. Lipids (fats) are
softeners and lubricants used in cakes. Starch and gums are used as thickeners. Protein
can also be a thickener, or if coagulated as in baked bread, it can form a rigid structure.
Depending on its concentration in a product, sugar can add body as in soft drinks or in
other products add chewiness, or in greater concentrations it can thicken and add
chewiness or brittleness.
4.4.3 Flavor Factors

Food flavor includes taste sensations perceived by the tongue sweet, salty, sour, and bitter
and smells perceived by the nose. Often the terms flavor and smell (aroma) are used
interchangeably. Food flavor and aroma are difficult to measure and difficult to get
people to agree on. A part of food science called sensory science is dedicated to finding
ways to help humans accurately describe the flavors and other sensory properties of their
food.
Flavor, like color and texture, is a quality factor. It influences the decision to purchase
and to consume a food product. Food flavor is a combination of taste and smell, and it is
very subjective and difficult to measure. People differ in their ability to detect tastes and
odors. People also differ in their preferences for these. Besides the tastes of sweet, salty,
sour, and bitter (see Figure 4-12), an endless number of compounds give food
characteristic aromas, such as fruity, astringency, sulfur, and hot.
Sweetness may result from sugars like arabinose, fructose, galactose, glucose, riboses,
xylose, and other sweeteners. Organic acids may be perceived on the bottom of the
tongue. Some of these common acids are citric, isocitric, malic, oxalic, tartaric, and
106
succinic acids. The fruity flavors are often esters, alcohols, ethers, or ketones. Many of
these are volatile and are associated with acids.
Figure 4. 12: Taste areas on our tongues help perceive flavor.
Phenolic compounds are closely related to the sensory and nutritional qualities of plants.
They are found in many fruits, including apples, apricots, peaches, pears, bananas, and
grapes; and vegetables such as avocado, eggplant, and potatoes, and contribute to color,
astringency, bitterness, and aroma. Most phenolic compounds are found around the
vascular tissues in plants, but they have the potential to react with other components in
the plant as damage to the structure occurs during handling and processing.
The sense of taste is a powerful predictor of food selection. The four main tastes the body
experiences are sweet, sour, salty, and bitter. Humans like sweet-tasting foods. Possibly
this preference for sweet is a holdover from ancient ancestors, who found that sweetness
indicated that the food provided energy.
Judgment of flavor is often influenced by color and texture. Flavors such as cherry,
raspberry, and strawberry are associated with the color red. Beef flavor is brown.
Actually, the flavor essences are colorless. As for texture, people expect potato chips to
be crunchy and gelatin to be soft and cool.
Depending on the food, flavor can also be influenced by: - bacteria, yeasts, molds,
enzymes, heat/cold, moisture/dryness, light, time, and additives. Finally, depending on
107
the product, the influence these factors have on a food flavor can be positive or negative
and sometimes differs depending on the person.
Taste Panels
For consumer quality acceptance, the best method of measuring taste is to have people
taste the products. Taste panels may be a group of professionals, or they may be a group
of customers. Typically taste panels are in separate booths so that they cannot influence
each other. Food samples are coded with letters and numbers, and tasters are given an
evaluation form to complete as they taste the product and evaluate it (Figure 4-13).
Figure 4. 13: Taste test panels help determine the acceptance of new products.
Self-Assessment Question of 4.1
Success in any career requires knowledge. Test your knowledge of this chapter by
answering these questions or solving these problems.
1.List the three components of reflected light used to define colors.

_____________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________
__________________
108
2.Name one instrument used to measure texture.
_____________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________
__________________
3.Discuss what humans can taste and what they smell and how this forms food flavor.
_____________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________
__________________
4.Changes in the texture of food are often due to ______________________________.
5.What qualities do consumers expect of their food?
_____________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________
__________________
6.The study of the science of the deformation of matter is called _________________.
7.How do fats or lipids affect the texture of food?
_____________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________
__________________
Self-Assessment Questions 4.2

Write your answers for the questions below in the space provided. Then compare
your answers with the ones given at the end of this unit.
_____ 1. Which one of the following is not correct about quality control of food product?
A. Quality control improves the product quality from poor raw material.
109
B. Processing methods should be applied to conserve the original quality of the
raw material.
C. Quality control helps to achieve consistent quality of a product.
D. Quality assurance deals with wider aspects than quality control.
E. None of the above
_____ 2. Choose the wrong statement about quality attributes.
A. External quality attributes are related to appearance and feel.
B. Internal quality attributes are easy to perceive.
C. The combination of external and internal attributes determines the
acceptability of the product.
D. Hidden quality attributes are difficult to measure or differentiate.
E. None of the above.
_____ 3. Internal quality attributes include wholesomeness, nutritional value, and safety
of the product.
A. True B. False
_____ 4. Which one of the following is a wrong statement?
A. Size and shape are measurements often used as grade standards or to
differentiate between items.
B. Color is a primary indicator of maturity and is the result of the type and
quantity of pigments in the product.
C. Changes in color are often related to “freshness” or deterioration of the
product.
D. Only B E. None of the above
_____ 5. Select the point which is not important to maintain the quality of raw material:
A. Determining if growing conditions relative to disease, insects, and weather
are affecting the raw material.
B. Checking measures taken for protection against insect or rodent damage.
110
C. Determining the holding times of materials subject to progressive
decomposition.
D. Determining the general acceptability of raw materials for their intended use
and their effect on the finished product.
_____ 6. Butter is a product of butterfat and contains all of the following; except?
A. Fat B. Water C. Salt D. Milk SNF E. None
_____ 7. From the following factors of churning, which one is not taken into account?
A. The function of air
B. The release of the stabilizing membrane surrounding the fat globules into the
buttermilk
C. The differences in structure between butter and cream
D. The temperature dependence of the process
_____ 8. Which one of the following is false about the temperature of cream during
churning?
A. If the temperature too cool, butter formation is delayed.
B. If the temperature is too high, the butter yield will be low
C. If the temperature is too high, the butter will be spongy and of poor quality.
D. Cream should be churned at 10 – 12 °C in the cold season.
_____ 9. Why does small holder milk processor use sour milk?
A. High ambient temperatures
B. Small daily quantities of milk
C. Consumer preference and increased keeping quality of sour milk
D. All of the above E. None of the above
_____ 10. Which one of the following product is produced from sour milk?
A. Butter B. Ghee C. Cottage cheese D. Whey E. All
111
_____ 11. Select factors which do not influence churning time and recovery of butterfat
as butter from sour milk.
A. Milk acidity C. Churning temperature
B. Degree of agitation D. Extent of filling the churn E. None
_____ 12. One of the following conditions is not followed while churning sour milk?
A. Milk acidity should be greater than 0.6 %.

B. The temperature should be adjusted to about 18 °C.
C. Internal agitation should be used.
D. The churn should not be filled to more than half its volumetric capacity.
_____ 13. One of the following processes does not give cheese.
A. Direct acidification of the milk.
B. Acidification by lactic acid produced from bacteria.
C. Adding rennet to the milk.
D. Acidification and addition of rennet.
_____ 14. Which one of the following is wrong about white cheese?
A. It is Queso blanco.
B. It is usually made from milk containing about 3 % fat.
C. Starter or rennet is not used.
D. Curd precipitation is brought about by lemon juice.
_____ 15. Select the factor which does not influence the yield of cheese.
A. Milk composition.
B. The moisture content of the final cheese.
C. The degree of recovery of fat and protein in the curd during cheese making.
D. Only B E. None of the above
112
 Checklist
section.
I can:
1 Define what quality control is.
2 How do you differentiate quality control from quality assurance?
3 Could you explain the quality attributes of agricultural products?
4 How do you measure the different quality attributes?
5 What do you do in order to have good quality raw materials?
6 Discuss why in rural areas milk is processed when it becomes sour.
7 Factors that affect separation of cream.
8 Standardization of milk and cream.
9 What is the Pearson’s square technique?
10 Discuss how churn is prepared.
11 Processing steps of butter from butter milk.
12 What are the equipments that are used to process sour milk?
13 Factors that affect butter production from sour milk.
14 Definition of cheese and listing its constituents.
15 Discuss the steps of white cheese and Halloumi production.
113
Summary
Quality attributes are often classified as external, internal, or hidden. External quality
attributes are those that are observed when the product is first encountered. These
attributes are generally related to appearance and feel. Internal quality characteristics are
generally not perceived until the product is cut or bitten. Internal attributes include
aroma, taste, and feel (for example, mouth feel and toughness). Hidden quality attributes
include wholesomeness, nutritional value, and safety of the product.
 Consumers expect certain qualities from their food. These include color, flavor,
texture, and even size.
 When these are missing or different than expected, the food is rejected.
 Food science determines and uses methods to measure food-quality factors.
 These methods ensure a consistent, reliable product. Some evaluation methods use
chemical and mechanical techniques.
 Others are completely human, such as taste panels.
114
Activity 4.1
Write your answers for the questions below in the space provided. Then
compare your answers with the ones given at the end of this module.
1.Cut an apple or a potato and time how long it takes for browning to occur on the cut
surface.
_____________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________
__________________
2.Make a list of foods you eat and describe their color. Discuss what would happen to
your consumption if the food color was changed.
_____________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________
__________________
3.Leave a slice of bread on a plate for a couple of days. Describe the textural changes.
_____________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________
__________________
4.Many charts are available that visually explain the government grading standards.
Obtain one of these charts and display it.
_____________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________
__________________
115
5.Remove potato chips from their packaging and place them in a plastic bag exposed to
light. Explain the changes after few days.
_____________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________
__________________
Further readings
Bhatia,R. and Ichhpujan,R.L., (2004). Quality assurance in Microbiology. CBS

Publishers and Distributors, New Delhi.
Besterfield, D.H., (1998). Quality Control (5th edition). Prentice Hall, New Jersey.
Gould, W.A. and Gould, R.W., (2001). Total Quality Assurance for the Food Industries.
CTI Publications.
Kher, C.P., (2000). Quality control for the food industry. ITC Publishers, Geneva..
Kramer, A. & Twigg, B.A., (1970). Fundamentals of Quality Control for the Food
Industry. Vol 1. AVI. Westport, Conn.
Marriot, N.G., (1994). Principles of Food Sanitation (3rd edition). Chapman & Hall,
New York.
Vasconcellos, J.A., (2004). Quality Assurance for the Food Industry: A Practical
Approach. CRC Press,
116
UNIT FIVE
QUALITY ASSURANCE AND TOTAL QUALITY

CONTROL OF AGRICULTURAL PRODUCTS
Introduction
Dear learners, this chapter focused on the concepts of quality control (QC), quality
assurance (QA), and total quality control (TQC) of agricultural products and the role of
management in the quality control of agricultural products. It discusses about the
terminologies of quality control and quality assurance; why quality control and quality
assurance of agricultural products are important; and the different types of quality control
and quality assurance approaches and management role in the QC and QA of agricultural
products during production, harvesting, transportation, handling, processing, marketing,
and consumption.
Objectives
At the end of this unit, you should be able to:
Define some basic terms of quality control and quality assurance of agricultural
products;
State the importance of quality control and quality assurance of agricultural

products;
Explain total quality control of agricultural products,
Explain approaches to total quality control of agricultural products, and

Identify role of management in total quality control of agricultural products.
117
5.1Introduction to Quality Assurance and Total Quality Control
What is quality assurance and total quality control of agricultural products?
__________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________
What the difference of total quality control and total quality control of agricultural
products?
__________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________
Dear Learner, you might come across the word quality assurance (QA) and total quality
control (TQC) of agricultural products in your day-to-day life practices. As of new terms
for you, it is very important to define some of the terms. Accordingly, the term QA and
QC of agricultural products defined in the following sub-chapters.
Quality Control (QC) is a system of routine technical activities, to measure and control
the quality of the inventory as it is being developed. The QC system is designed to:
 Provide routine and consistent checks to ensure data integrity, correctness, and
completeness at the agricultural product producers, handlers, processors,
consumers;
118
 Identify and address errors and omissions on the chain of the agricultural products
management; and
 Document and archive inventory material and record all QC activities on the chain
of the agricultural products management.
QC activities include general methods such as accuracy checks on data acquisition and
calculations and the use of approved standardized procedures for release of calculations,
measurements, estimating uncertainties, archiving information and reporting. Higher
level QC activities include technical reviews of source categories, activity and release
factor data, and methods on the chain of the agricultural products management.
On the other hand, quality assurance (QA) is an analytical, scientific, preventive and
systematic assessment involving the participation of all concerned stake holders. Many
both importing and exporting countries remain uncertain of this new systematic approach.
This is considered one of the major obstacles in implementing quality assurance systems.
Quality assurance is part of quality management , which is a value adding process and is
achieved through the following three steps:
 Decide upon the appropriate level of quality or value on the chain of the agricultural
products management;
 Provide the means to achieve the desired level of quality; and
Communicate the value of the achieved level of quality.
QA activities include a planned system of review procedures conducted by personnel not

directly involved in the inventory compilation/development process. Reviews, preferably
by independent third parties, should be performed upon a finalized inventory following
the implementation of QC procedures. Reviews verify that data quality objectives were
met, ensure that the inventory represents the best possible estimates of emissions and
sinks given the current state of scientific knowledge and data available, and support the
effectiveness of the QC program.
119
Quality assurance is based on the principle that compliance with standards improves.
When quality is embodied into the product during manufacture rather than endeavouring
to identify flaws by inspection carried out at the end of the manufacturing process. The
principle of quality assurance was first introduced in the United States in the fifties. In
order to overcome the difficulty of setting up a body of inspectors which was large
enough to enforce the construction codes in the aerospace industry and control the
products manufactured. This method was established and encouraged by the general
industrial policy adopted by the government.
At the present time, the lack of specialized technicians in the civil service is one of the
main problems found in the developing countries such as Ethiopia. Quality assurance
systems and hazard analysis critical control point (HACCP) should help them to
overcome these difficulties, at least in the food industry. Hence, the purpose of quality
assurance is to guarantee that the business in question is able to produce a commodity
that meets the requirements of the consumer. By proving that the required quality levels
have been achieved, quality assurance helps to establish trust between the business and its
customers. Another essential advantage is that inspection costs are reduced.
5.1.1 Standards on Which QA Depend on

There are several standards on which the QA is relyng on. These standards are such as
ISO 9001 quality systems model for quality assurance in the design/development,
production, installation and servicing. This system is used when a contract between two
parties requires the supplier to guarantee conformity with the requirements specified at
different stages, such as the development, manufacturing, storage and delivery of the
product.
The other standard is ISO 9002 quality systems model. This model is used for quality
assurance in production and installation. Sometimes, mismodel is used when the supplier
120
requires the assurance that a product meets the specified requirements during production
and installation. Quality system requirements not only relate to the system as such, but
also the responsibility for supervision, contractual terms and the examination of the
contract, the control process, the inspection process, the revision of the items to be
produced, and the measures to be taken in the case of non-conformity.
On the other hand, ISO 9003 quality systems model is used for quality assurance in final
inspection and test. This system applies when the contract between two parties requires
the supplier to be capable of detecting and controlling conformity with the other party's
requirements. This condition only applies during inspection and testing.
Furthermore, ISO 9004 quality management and quality system elements; this system
provides indications regarding the basic components of a quality system, and deals with
the measures needed to make them more effective.
5.1.2 Another Approach on Which Quality Assurance Depend on

In addition to ISO quality management models, a simpler approach to quality assurance
focuses on the business's operations which are likely to give rise to a food hygiene and
safety hazard. This system, which makes it possible to solve these problems, refers to
codes of good manufacturing practice designed to provide standards for the design and
operation of the business, giving pride of place to the Hazard Analysis and Critical
Control Point (HACCP) system as a means of control.
HACCP is a method that makes it possible to identify and appraise the hazards relating to
various stages in the process of producing a foodstuff, and to define the means required to
control it. It therefore makes it possible to ensure that a foodstuff meets safety standards.
The relevance of HACCP is that it is designed for food businesses and to help inspections
carried out by the authorities and to promote international trade by enhancing confidence
121
in the safety of food products. HACCP can be used alone, but it is very useful to combine
it with the implementation of a quality insurance system.
When a business uses ISO 9000 standards, HACCP makes it possible to establish and
implement quality assurance. The purpose of these standards is only to describe the
component parts of the organization, but they do not determine the technical facilities to
be used by the food industry or the way in which the provisions relating to quality
insurance are to be implemented. These standards encourage manufacturers to use all
appropriate specific methods. After many years of use in the food industry in Europe, and
above all in the United States, HACCP has shown itself to be the most appropriate
method to use with quality assurance. It combines aspects relating both to identifying and
analyzing requirements, with others relating to elements of direct intervention.
5.1.3 Specific Features of HACCP Method as a Tool for QA

Safety cannot be guaranteed merely by an accumulation of technical facilities. It also
involves adopting a rigorous approach towards adapting resources and activities to a
specifically defined objective such as security, health and hygiene. By analyzing the
functions and the principles for implementing the HACCP method, one can see how it
meets these needs. Hence, the functions of the HACCP method are:
 to analyze the hazards in agricultural products on the chain;
 to control the critical points in agricultural products on the chain;
 to monitor the conditions for implementation in agricultural products on the chain;
and
 to verify the effectiveness of the system in agricultural products on the chain.
122
In addition to the functions listed above, the following principles apply in HACCP:
 the hazards associated with every stage of food production must be identified, the
probability of occurrence of these hazards evaluated, and the required preventive
measures identified;
 the "critical points" for controlling these hazards must be determined (the point/
operational stage/procedure which may, or should, be controlled in order to
eliminate a hazard or reduce its occurrence to an acceptable level);
 operational criteria should be established;
 a monitoring system should be put in place to guarantee the effective control of the
"critical points";
 corrective measures should be designed for implementation when monitoring reveals
mat a given "critical point" is not, or is not longer being controlled;
 specific procedures should be established for verification, in order to confirm that
the HACCP system is working properly; and
 an appropriate documentary system should be established for the implementation of
all these principles.
5.1.4 Implementation of the HACCP Method Satisfy QA

In order to implement the HACCP method in agricultural product processing system, it is
necessary to set up a team responsible for it, draw up a description of the product,
identify the expected use, describe the manufacturing procedure, and verify the
manufacturing diagram on the spot. Furthermore, the hazards must be analyzed, and the
preventive measures identified, evaluated and formulated, and the critical points to
control them must be identified; and lastly target values and tolerances must be
established. In addition, a monitoring system has to be set up and the necessary corrective
measures adopted to ensure the effectiveness of the system thus put in place, and a
documentary system created.
123
In conclusion, the HACCP method appears to be structured and gradual, of
multidisciplinary application in the QA system. It is also participatory and creates a sense
of responsibility through the group work, which it demands. It is specific to a particular
business, manufacturing chain, or product. Since it is essentially a preventive system it
makes it possible rapidly to make allowances for all market developments.
5.1.5 Factors Affects QA

There are several factors that affect the QA system of any agricultural products. These
factors are interacted in a very complex environmental and ecological factors. These are
such as infrastructure of the environment, people, agricultural products, processing
systems, market systems, etc. The interaction sof these factors are shown in the Figure
5.1.
Figure 5. 1: Quality assurance: a planned and systematic integration of a number of elements.
124
5.1.6 QA Procedures in Fruits and Vegetables
Dear learner, it is very important to understand the procedural ways of QA application in
agricultural products. For instance, in fruit and vegetables QA system, it starts from the
on farm growing system to the end user of the products. This complexe is shown in the
Figure 5.2.
Figure 5. 2: Steps in the fruit and vegetables quality assurance plan
125
Dear student QA and QC are components of quality management of agricultural
products. The term ‘quality management' (QM) is defined in ISO 9000 as “coordinated
activities to direct and control an organization with regard to quality”. To direct and
control an organization, its management should first set out its quality policy and related
quality objectives and then specify activities related to quality planning, quality control,
quality assurance and quality improvement.
 The QC and the QA are the part of QM. In addition, QA is preceded by QC

system. Both QA and QC are the core activities of QM of any agricultural
products. QC is a routine technical activity which based on compliance with
standards, not only something you did at one time and guarantee for quality.
 QA should be aligning with HACCP to overcome difficulties of quality control and
QM in Ethiopia.
 ISO9001 series are the bases for QA and QC of any agricultural products.
 Notice that there are several factors those affects QA such as: Infrastructure,
people, agricultural products, systems/procedures, market.
 Notice also about the QA plan for the agricultural product chain.
Direction: Given below are declarative statements. Write “T” if the statement is correct
and “F” if it is incorrect on the space provided.
_______1. Quality is a non-routine technical activity to control the quality of agricultural

product.
_______2. Quality assurance is the sole concern of producers and processors.
126
______3. In Ethiopia, the lack of specialized technicians is one of the problems in
implementation of quality assurance and quality control of agricultural products.
______4. Quality assurance is the part of quality management.
______5. The operational stage/point must be determined and controlled is called critical
control point.
5.2 Nature of Total Quality Control/Management (TQC/M)
What it the nature of Total Quality Control/Management (TQC/M) of agricultural

products?
__________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________
Dear Learner, you might come across the word Total Quality Control/Management
(TQC/M) of agricultural products in your day-to-day life practices. As of new terms for
you, it is very important to discuss. Accordingly, the term TQC/M and the nature of
TQC/M of agricultural products will be discussed in the following paragraphs.
During the mid-1980s, the term total quality management (TQM) was introduced in
North America. The term was associated with the management approach to quality
improvement used in Japan for achieving long-term success. The TQM approach
embodies both management principles and quality concepts, including customer focus,
127
empowerment of people, leadership, strategic planning, improvement, and process
management. These principles and concepts evolved during the second half of the
twentieth century with substantial contributions from several recognized experts in the
field of quality management. Of these contributions, the most widely recognized are the
14 points for quality management proposed by W. Edwards Deming. During the 1980s
and 1990s many North American businesses adopted the TQM approach and developed
the framework for its use in their quality management systems, with the objective of
achieving competitive advantage in the global marketplace.
To date, there are eight Quality Management System Principles used in both ISO
9001:2000 and ISO 9004:2000:
1.Customer focused organization understands customers' present and future needs;

2.Leadership creates and retains management direction, and an environment which
focuses on achieving objectives;
3.Involvement of people continually uses employees at all levels to provide input of
their expertise;
4.Process approach manages activities as processes are an effective use of resources;
5.System approach to management recognizes interrelated processes as a system to
achieve objectives;
6.Continual improvement creates a permanent system for improving the
organization's objectives;
7.Factual approaches to decision making resolutions of objectives are best reached by
analysis of data; and
8.Mutually beneficial supplier relationship contributes to the ability of all parties to
improve value.
TQM is more of a quality philosophy than a quality system. TQM is a goal in which
every individual in every agricultural products chain of an organization/association or
producers or processors is dedicated to quality control and/or quality improvement. In
128
addition, this web of management may encompass suppliers and distributors as well.
Some plans include the customers as partners in the quality efforts. Each organization has
the freedom to define "total," "quality," and "management" in any way they believe will
enhance the quality efforts within their scope.
The objective of TQC/M is to ensure that all companywide activities necessary for
enhancing the satisfaction of customers and other stakeholders are carried out effectively
and efficiently. QM focuses not only on product/service quality but also on the means for
achieving it. It seeks to create prosperity through human endeavor. In addition, it is a
form of business management committed to customer satisfaction through continuous
improvement. Since business culture varies from country to country and from company
to company, there is no set standard form of a good quality management program. Each
single program must be planned and implemented on the basis of the nature of its
activities and environment. A quality management program cannot function as an entity
isolated from the daily managerial activities of an organization, nor can management be
insulated from the requirements of a quality system. However, there are a number of
guidelines available for the preparation, implementation and maintenance of a quality
management system leading to certification. The International Standard Organization
(ISO9000) series are international standard to provide basic guidelines for quality
management system certification.
Furthermore, TQM systems constitute structured systems and managerial activities.

These include a mix of people issues and an understanding of systems and tools of
improvement. The people issues are related to leadership. A critical role of leadership is
the determining of the organization’s mission, vision and guiding principles. Clearly,
people are the key to quality; it is determined by the senior managers with the
involvement of the whole organization. Therefore, one of the primary conditions for the
successful implementation of TQM is a quality culture; this emerges from the values,
129
beliefs, attitudes and prejudices inherent in all the people in the organization. These
attributes, along with the technology and traditional methods of work, are the prime
determinants of the culture of an organization. To imbue everyone in the organization
with a quality philosophy focused on alignment of strategies, structures and functions
with environmental demands, means achieving a culture change in management behavior.
There are important ISO requirements common to the philosophies of TQM. These
include management responsibility, training, process control, statistical techniques, a
quality system and internal quality audits. Therefore, the interrelationship between ISO
9000 and TQM can be illustrated by the following equation:
TQM = People (culture) + tools (technique for improvement) + system (ISO 9000)
It is indisputable that conformance to technical standards is only part of the total process
of satisfying customers while making a profit. ISO 9000 is an integral part of TQM which
acts as a concrete foundation on which to build a quality organization. It provides
guidance in the application of quality improvement tools, techniques, the application of
performance measures to the whole system, and provides a structured approach to the
deployment of an appropriately trained workforce.
ISO 9000 series are at the basic end of the quality management spectrum, with focus on
survival in the marketplace. This standardization loop does not of itself constitute all the
factors necessary for business success although some organizations claim that the
installation of their ISO9000 certified system or TQM program has improved their
business performance.
Dear learner, there are four components of TQM:
 Quality Planning (QP) is “a part of quality management focused on setting quality
objectives and specifying necessary operational processes and related resources to
fulfill quality objectives.” (ISO 9000:2005 3.2.9). QP is a systematic process that
130
translates quality policy into measurable objectives and requirements and lays
down a sequence of steps for realizing them within a specified period. The results
of QP are presented, for use by all concerned, in the form of a quality plan, a
document specifying which procedures and associated resources will be applied by
whom and when. Such quality plans are prepared separately for specific processes,
products or contracts.
 Quality improvement (QI) is “a part of quality management focused on increasing

the ability to fulfill quality requirements” (ISO 9000:2005 3.2.12). Remaining
static at whatever level you have reached is not an option if your organization is to
survive. To maintain your performance and your position in the market, you will
have to carry out quality improvement activities on a continual basis. Such
improvement activities include refining the existing methods, modifying processes
first to reduce variations and second to yield more and more by consuming less
and less resources. If you want to have a breakthrough, this will often require new
methods, techniques, technologies, processes.
 Quality Control (QC) is “a part of quality management focused on fulfilling quality

requirements.” (ISO 9000:2005 3.2.10). QC helps in evaluating the actual
operating performance of the process and product and, after comparing actual
performance with planned targets, it prompts action on the deviations found, if
any. QC is a shop floor and online activity that requires adequate resources,
including skilled people, firstly to control the processes and then to carry out
timely corrections when process and/or product parameters go beyond prescribed
limits.
 Quality Assurance (QA) is “a part of quality management focused on providing

confidence that quality requirements will be fulfilled” (ISO 9000:2005 3.2.11).
Both customers and management have a need for an assurance of quality because
131
they are not in a position to oversee operations themselves. QA activities establish
the extent to which quality will be is being or has been fulfilled. The means to
provide the assurance need to be built into the process, such as documenting
control plans, documenting specifications, defining responsibilities, providing
resources, performing quality audits, maintaining records, reporting reviews. QA
is more comprehensive than QC, which is part of it.
Quality control (QC) is the core activity within TQM. When you carry out QC within a
defined system, you have upgraded your QC to quality assurance (QA). If you then
continue carrying out quality improvement activities based on the analysis of the data
resulting from the measurement of processes/product as well as of data on customer
feedback, you have moved towards TQM. In that sense, quality planning remains an
integral part of all steps in quality management.
To put it simply, the four components of TQM mean:
 Quality planning
 Can we make it ok?
 Quality control
Are we making it ok?
 Quality assurance
Will we continue making it ok?
 Quality improvement
Could we make it better?
Quality control, being the core activity of quality management, should be established first
by an organization. If quality control is not properly conducted, quality management will
not be effective. Therefore, before establishing a quality management system (QMS), it
will first be necessary to have an effective quality control system (QCS) in place. It will
inter alia; require the availability of equipment and machines of the requisite capability,
skilled persons, accurate measuring instruments and basic support services. Without
132
these, it will not be possible to exercise proper quality control and then to move towards
quality assurance and quality management.
For you to be successful in quality control, workers at all levels must cooperate actively.
To make in place the QC the following should be done to a minimum activity:
 Provide adequate infrastructure;
 Establish a proper work environment and hygiene;
 Make workers aware of quality practices;
 Make available easy-to-understand raw material and product specifications;
 Make available easy-to-understand instructions for performing work;
 Purchase raw materials of acceptable quality from suppliers;
 Store your raw materials and other supplies properly to prevent mix up and spoilage;
 Check or inspect raw materials and other supplies before use;
 Maintain your machines, building and production facilities regularly;
 Maintain measuring instruments and check their accuracy (calibration) ;
 Follow proper production process steps;
 Control the process to achieve product specification;
 Prevent the manufacture of defective products;
 Make use of statistical techniques, such as sampling plans and control charts for
process control, and other QC tools;
 Conduct stage inspection during manufacturing;
 Conduct final inspection of the finished product and packaging against set
specifications;
 Handle the product with care both during internal processing and during delivery to
the customer;
 Obtain feedback on the findings of the final inspection and take appropriate action;
 Analyze customer complaints or feedback and take action to remove the causes of
complaints; and
133
 Take corrective action on deviations found, if any.
The focus of general QC techniques is on the processing, handling, documenting, archiving
and reporting procedures that are common to all the inventory source categories.
TQM is a way of managing business of agricultural products. It includes the following

points:
 Incorporate leadership, cooperation, partnerships, and trust;

 Aim for long-term goals of the business;
 Concentrate on improving processes to improve results;
 Deploy means and goals to all levels of the organization; and
 Use statistical quality control tools, quality function deployment, and other quality
tools.
The following are some of the important points that should be incorporated in TQM
system.
 Business or management philosophy

 Continuous (mindset for) improvement
 Continuous redesigned work process
 Customer focus/driven
 Customer/supplier partnership
 Delight customers
 Develop improvement measure
 Goal alignment
 Guarantee survival
 Improve customer satisfaction
 Improve financial performance
 Improve management system
134
 Improve materials and services supplied
 Meet customers' needs
 Meet employees needs
 Meet owners' needs
 Teamwork and trust
 There are four components of QM: Quality Planning (QP), Quality Control (QC),
Quality Assurance (QA) and Quality Improvement (QI).
 It is very important to understand that there are eight QMS principles to apply
TQM in any agricultural products processing chain system.
_______1. Total quality management is a quality philosophy than a quality system.
_______2. One of quality control activity is checking or inspecting raw materials and
other supply before use.
______3. Quality assurance is the sum of quality management and quality control.
135
______4. Total quality control/management approach embodies both management
principles and quality concepts.
______5. Quality management is the sum of ISO 9002 plus HACCP principles.
5.3 Approaches to Total Quality Control/Management (TQC/M)
How TQC/M approach for agricultural product?

__________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________
Dear learners, the approaches to TQC/M is not only provides specialist consulting
services in the establishing and implementing of ISO 22000:2005 or integrated ISO 9001-
HACCP systems, but will also ensure that Good Agricultural Practice (GAP), Good
Hygiene Practice (GHP), Good Manufacturing Practice (GMP), or, if relevant, Good
Laboratory Practice (GLP) are enforced. Therefore, the three Q's represents implementing
Total Quality Management (TQM) are Quality of people, Quality of process and system
and Quality of products and services.
Figure 5. 3: The three Q's represents implementing Total Quality Management (TQM)
136
Quality of People are the key to TQM and this implies both management and staff
members at all levels. Engaging the hearts and minds of the people is the first milestone
along the path to success. For management, especially top management, issues to be
addressed include:
 Vision development
 Strategic planning and development
 Objectives and measures
 Resource management
 Leadership style
 Management development
For the staff, issues to be addressed include:
 Skills and competencies

 Organization & job design
 Performance management
 Motivation
 Empowerment
 Facilitation and problem solving skills
Quality of processes & systems are the things that make it all happen, cutting across
functions, delivering value into the marketplace. We help organizations to streamline, re-
design and innovate processes that deliver best results in meeting their organizational
goals. The quality of process and system specialize in the following areas:
 Process management and improvement

 Business process re-engineering & re-design
 Quality function deployment
 Failure mode & effect analysis (FMEA)
 Work-flow analysis
137
 Statistical process control
 Benchmarking
 Supplier relationship
Improvements on processes need to be institutionalized, and interrelated processes should

be managed effectively and efficiently. These require an effective management system
to be in place. We help organizations develop and implement management systems that
enable them to enhance business performance.
Quality of products & services: TQM takes place mostly at the spot where actions really
occur, the place where products are actually developed or manufactured, or the place
where services are delivered. Improvements at spot of action would eventually lead to
long-term sustainable satisfaction of employees and customers. There are consulting and
training services on a number of techniques and tools, namely:
 Product or service innovation

 Problem solving tools
 Quality control circles
 Just in time system
The three Q's for implementing Total Quality Management (TQM) are: Quality
of People; Quality of Process and System; and Quality of Products and
Services
TQM = People + Culture+ System
138
_______1. Tools for TQC/M implementation are such as quality of people, process,
system, products and services.
_______2. The key to TQM is the raw material quality.
______3. In system of TQC/M implementation the spot where actions really occur
(products or services) are delivered is important focal point for implementation.
5.4 Role of Management in TQC of Agricultural Products
Dear learners, under this subtopic the role of management will be discuss for the TQC/M
in the chain system of agricultural products. The management commitment and thing
expected from management will be raised.
5.4.1 Management Commitment
When top management directs that a quality program be created and adhered to, the
quality manager's job is relatively straightforward. The manager arranges for staff and
sets about organizing a system starting with specifications, manual, methods of sampling,
testing, reporting, auditing, methods improvement, cost reduction, and training. Usually
the first efforts are centered on production. Assuming initial success and also assuming
that the directive is still in force, the next logical step is to install quality control
programs in other departments within the company: shipping, purchasing, accounting,
sales, marketing, personnel, engineering, etc.
139
The chances are that this is not exactly what top management had in mind. Prior to the
1940s, quality control meant "inspect the raw materials and the finished product, and
don't let anything bad get by.” There are still organizations with this attitude, and there
may even be somewhere the product and process is so simple, and the employees so
dedicated to high quality production, that it may work satisfactorily. For some older food
companies, the main goal for years has been to get as many cases of product as possible
out the door, and using quality control to assist production to attain this goal would be
acceptable to company personnel; but quality control should not be allowed to "waste
their time" in other departments.
The concept of total quality control, that is, quality control encompassing all of the
company's functions, is still fairly new. It is often difficult to install because of the
closely guarded turf syndrome: "I'm the accounts payable department manager, and
nobody from quality control or anywhere else is going to tell me how to run my
business." Yet, the quality of work in the accounts payable department may be very poor.
The lack of quality management may costs the agricultural products business company.
For instance, for this business company, payments may be so slow that thousands of birrs
of prompt pay discounts are lost; X% of the checks may be sent out with the wrong
amount, to the wrong account, or duplicated. Y% of the invoices may be misfiled or
destroyed. Z% of the invoices may be for unsatisfactory services or perhaps those not
performed at all. Certainly, the statistical quality control principles using sampling plans
and statistical analysis can be used to pinpoint weaknesses in the business system, and
provide measuring devices for process improvements. It would not be unexpected for the
accounts payable manager to tell the quality control manager, "Don't try to educate me
with your quality control principles until you've solved all the problems of poor product
quality control on the production line. That's what you were hired for." And in many
cases, he could be right!
140
With this in mind, we will restrict our discussion of implementing a quality control
system to those areas of a food processing company directly involved with operations.
5.4.2 Role of Management in TQC
The success or failure of a sanitation program depends on whether management supports

the program. Managers may not be interested in QA because it is a long processes and
seem to be expensive. Lower and middle management will have difficulty making a QA
program work if top management does not fully understand the concept.
Some more progressive management teams are more enthusiastic about QA. They realize
that a QA program can be a promotion tool, increase sales, and improve the image of
their organization. All QA employees must understand the importance of their jobs.
Management can make QA glamorous and exciting through a job enrichment program.
5.4.3 Structure of QA Programs

It is important to decide who is responsible for QA and how the program will be
managed. In the most successful efforts, top management not just part of production runs
the QA program. QA staff should report directly to top management not production
management but the QA and production departments should work closely together. The
QA department makes sure that sanitation problems are corrected and the quality and
stability or keeping quality of the final product are acceptable.
Both large and small organizations need to develop a QA program. A smaller

organization’s program may be scaled down but should still stress hygienic methods and
monitoring so that the final product is consistent and wholesome. Smaller organizations
should assign a vice president, superintendent or other high-level employee to manage
the QA program.
141
The daily functions of a sanitation QA program should be delegated to a sanitarian. This
employee must be allowed the time and resources to keep up on methods and materials
needed to maintain sanitary conditions. Management should clearly define the
responsibilities of the sanitarian using a written job description and the organizations
chart. The role and position of management with authority over general policy. This
position should be equal to managers of production, engineering, purchasing and other
similar departments so that the sanitarian has the authority to administer an effective
sanitation program. Although responsibilities may be combined in smaller volume
operations, management should still clearly define the responsibilities. The sanitarian
should understand his or her responsibilities and how the position fits in the company
structure.
A good QA program is run by one or more employees with technical training. The
director or manager should have experience in food processing and/or preparation. Other
QA staff can be less highly trained, provided they show interest, leader ship and
initiative. Workshops, short courses and seminars are often available to help train new
workers.
Records and reports are important parts of a QA program. Records are useful in dealing
with problems such as customer complaints selecting suppliers and cost accounting.
5.4.4 Monitoring During Production

QA personnel should monitor sanitation at all stages of production, from receiving raw
material to packaging finished products. A good monitoring program can pick up changes
in production that may affect the acceptability of the finished product. Monitoring also
makes sure that product flows properly through the production cycle and detects hygiene
or other production problems.
142
5.4.5 Elements of a Total QA System
QA staff must outline the processes that occur in the operation. One way is to look at the
physical layout of the plant. It is helpful to make a list of the rooms or areas and draw a
flow diagram of the production processes, starting with the receiving area and ending
with the shipping area for finished goods. Managers list the activities for each area, as
well as how to control each activity (e.g., examine raw materials, clean equipments or
other sanitation checks. Managers then decide how often to test or check the activity and
how to keep good records. For each production area one person should be responsible for
all of the controls or inspections, either an employee or an outside contractor. Once
completed management can convert the outline into a manual for the staff responsible for
QA.
A total QA system should include a sanitation inspection of plant facilities and operations
including outside areas and storage areas on plant property. In a total QA system, a plant
official should make the sanitation and record the findings. If he/she discovers problems;
staff should follow a plan for corrective action. Corrective action might include
relearning or closing off an area until a repair is completed. QA staff should inspect any
point where the product could be contaminated. For example, from container failure,
moisture is dripping or grease escaping from machinery onto the food or surface that
comes into contact with the food.
New employee need to be familiar with all aspects of the operation. Managers can use the
QA program to teach new employees about the production process and about good
hygiene. Education should include basic information on food handling, cleanings and
hygiene. An employee orientation checklist is helpful to make sure that trainers cover all
topics. Managers should make sure that employees have ongoing training to remain them
about good sanitation.
Quality monitoring is also one of the elements of QA and the purpose of monitoring is to
avoid problems with product safety and acceptability. The products and surfaces to be
143
tested depends on the food produced production steps and importance of the various
surfaces for safety and acceptability of the food. The accuracy and precision, tie
requirements and costs of the monitoring program will vary for different operations. Data
are more likely to be interpreted properly if QA staff use statistics to analyze the data.
Management also need to understand the benefits and limitations of the tests used. For
example, bacterial clumps from the contact method of sampling should give lower counts
than the swab methods, which breaks up cell clumps.
Monitoring program should include a way to evaluate the information from testing.
Managers should set acceptable and unacceptable limits for test results for different
testing times. Regular monitoring under the same conditions can show trends in
contamination. The QA manager can use this information to set realistic guidelines for
production.
Microbial testing of food contact surfaces can measure the effectiveness of a QA

program. A monitoring program can also show potential problem areas in the operation
and be used to train the sanitation crew, supervisors and QA employee. Recall of
unsatisfactory products means bringing back products from distribution system
(transportation, storage or store shelves) because they are unsatisfactory in some way.
Every food business could potentially have a problem requiring product recall.
Management can preserve the public image of the business during a recall if it is well
organized.
If product recall may happened, the recall be voluntary when the firm finds their problem
or involuntary if government body finds the problem against the firm. There are three
classes of products recall depending on the health hazard involved.
Class I: use of or exposure to the product will probably cause a serious public health
hazard, perhaps even death. E.g. if it is contaminated with something toxic
(chemicals, microbial)
144
Class-II: use of or exposure to the product may cause a temporary health hazard, but a
serious public health hazard (death) is unlikely. E.g. if it is contaminated with food
infection microorganisms
Class-III: use of or exposure to the product will not cause a public health hazard. E.g.
if it is wrongly labeled.
If the monitoring program shows that the plant has products that are unsafe, management
should use a recall plan. The recall plan needs to:
 Collect, analyze and evaluate all information related to the product

 Decide how quickly the recall can take place
 Inform all company officials and regulatory officials
 Provide instructions for the staff who will implement the recall
 Make sure that no more of the affected product lots are shipped
 Issue news release for consumers about the product, if needed
 Inform customers
 Inform distributors and help them to track down the product
 Return all products to one location where they can be isolated
 Keep a detailed logo of recall events
 Find out the nature, extent and cause of the problem to prevent it from
happening again
 Provide progress reports for company and regulatory officials
 Check the amount of product returned to see if the recall has been effective
 Decide what to do with the recalled product
Sampling for a QA program
A sample is a part of anything that represents all of what came from. A sample should be
 Statistically valid, which means that workers select the sample randomly, so that any
part of the lot it come from had an equal chance of being chosen
145
 Representative, which means it includes appropriate amount of each part of the
product. In other words, for a product with a coating samples should be taken from
the surface and from the middle.
In general, products from each lot or production period should be sampled. The sample
should be identical to the whole lot from which it was taken. Collecting, labeling and
storage of enough samples for inspection and analysis are major concerns of the QA staff.
Sampling procedures are a crucial concern in the analysis for quality and recall of
defective products. The followings are suggested:
 Collect only representative samples

 Record the product temperature at the time of sampling, if applicable
 Keep samples at the correct temperature; non-perishable items and those normally
held at room temperature may be held without refrigeration; perishable and
refrigerated items should be kept at 0-4.5 ̊C and frozen or special samples should
be held at -18C or below.
 Protect the sample from contamination or damage. Some plastic containers cannot be
labeled with a marking pen because the ink can seep into the content
 Seal samples to protect them
 Send samples to the laboratory in the original unopened container whenever possible
 Homogeneous bulk products or products in the containers too large to be transported
to the laboratory should be mixed and at least 100g of the product should be
transferred to a sterile container under aspect conditions.
 Frozen products can be sampled using an electric drill and 2.5cm thickness taken
 Uniform small number is important
 3-5 specimens are good (always square root of sample number is good)
146
QA staff needs a variety of equipment and supplies for sampling and evaluating products
depending on the operation. QA staff needs the following information in order to evaluate
products.
 Ingredient specifications
 Approved supplier list
 Product specifications
 Manufacturing procedures
 Sampling program
 Monitoring program (analyzer, records, reports)
 Local and federal regulations
 Cleaning and sanitizing program
 Storage, shipping and receiving program
 Recall program
During the analysis of agricultural products for quality there are rating scales. These
rating scales are the following:
 Exact rating scales

For components that can be measured using numbers, e.g., colony-forming units
(CFUs) of bacteria, percent water content, parts per million of cleaning chemicals,
etc.
 Subjective rating scales
For components that cannot be measured exactly. An individual makes a sensory
judgment e.g., taste, feel, sight, smell. Two types of scales are used to give number
values to the subjective tests.
Scale-1: 7=excellent, 6=very good, 5= good, 4=average, 3=fair, 2=poor, 1=very

poor
Scale-2: 4=excellent, 3=moderate, 2=slight, 1=none
147
Notice of that the system of agricultural products producers, supply
chains, value adding processors, exporters and, importers the management
plays a key role in establishing and maintaining the quality of the products.
1. Where the management take a role in the agricultural products chain?

_________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________
2. Where the producers of agricultural products take a role in implementation of
TQM?
_________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________
_______1. Top management is not as such responsible for implementation of TQM.

148
_______2. Top management should be a person not considers critics from lower
management workers and customers.
______3. Managers may not be interested in QA process.
______4. It is important to assign responsible people at a right place.
______5. Sampling procedures for QA always is not as such critical.
 Checklist
Review what you have studied in this unit according to the following checklist. If you are not
sure go back to the text and read again.
S.No Sub topic Key Concepts

1 Introduction to quality assurance and  Defn. of QA , QC and TQC
total quality control  Approaches to QA
 HACCP
 QA plan
2 Nature of TQC/M  Defn of TQC/M
 TQM = People + Tools + System
 Components of QM
 8 QM system Principles
3 Approaches to TQC/M  The 3Q’s to implement TQM
4 Role of management in TQC of  Role of management in TQC
agricultural products
149
Summary
It is very important to know how to approach for the QA and TQC. There are several
activities for the implementation of QA and TQC. Among these approaches, application
of HACCP one of the most used principle for agricultural products from farm to fork
chain. There are several factors affects the implementation of QA system. These factors
are such as: people, product, systems/procedure, market, infrastructure, etc.
Total quality management is the instigation of several factors. These factors are such as:
people, culture, tools and systems. Quality control and quality assurance are the
prerequisite for the total quality management system of agricultural products system. For
the implementation of TQM the quality of people (leadership, people, culture), quality of
the system or processes and quality of products, systems, services and work are a crucial.
In the implementation of TQC/M the role of management system ifs very important.
Dear learner, to sum up, it is very important for you to understand the definitions of QA,
QC, TQC/M and also the systems and the way to approach for implementation in the
agricultural product system.
150
Further Reading
Barrett D. M., (1996). Quality assurance for processed fruit & vegetable products.
perishables Handling Newsletter Issue No. 85.
FAO, (2008). A Contemporary Approach to Food Quality and Safety Standards. User’s
manual. Developed for Codex-India through the FAO Project TCP/IND/0067.
Hoyle D., (2006). ISO 9000 Quality Systems Handbook. ELSEVIER publisher. 5th edition
Inteaz Alli, (2004). Food quality assurance principles and practice, page 43.
Merton R. H., (2003). Statistical quality control for the food industry. 3rd ed. Kluwer
Academic / Plenum Publishers.
Schlickman J., (2003). ISO 9001:2000 Quality Management System Design.
http://www.bisenter.com to register it.
USAID/PEPFAR, (2008). Quality assurance and improvement standards for OVC
programs in Ethiopia.
Vasconcellos J. A., (2005). Quality Assurance for the Food Industry A Practical
Approach.
151
Activity 5.1
1.What is total quality control of agricultural products?

__________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________
______________________
2.What is quality assurance of agricultural products?
__________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________
________________________
3.Explain the Factors affecting the QA.
__________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________
_______________________
4.Explain Steps in the fruit and vegetables quality assurance plan.
__________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________
_________________________
5.Explain the 3Q TQC/M approach quality management for agricultural produce.
__________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________
_________________________
152
6.Discuss how TQC?M approach for agricultural product is.
__________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________
________________________
7.What it the nature of Total Quality Control/Management (TQC/M) of agricultural
products?
__________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________
________________________
8.Illustrate the schematical presentation of quality management (QM) requirements for
vegetable and fruit suppliers.
__________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________
_________________________
9.Discuss the role of management in TQC of agricultural products
__________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________
_________________________
153
UNIT SIX
EXTERNAL QUALITY CONTROL ACTIVITIES

OF AGRICULTURAL PRODUCTS
Introduction
Dear learners, this unit focuses about the external quality control activities of agricultural
products by a regulatory body. It discusses about the terminologies of external quality
control, the mandate of the external body to control the quality of agricultural products.
Moreover, you will learn the importance of external quality control body and different
third party bodies involved in the enforcement of implementation of quality control of
agricultural products during production, harvesting, transportation, handling, processing,
marketing, and consumption. Any agricultural products can only be exported if they
satisfy the consumers on the domestic and other markets. The products must be uniform,
not constitute a health hazard and pose no threat to consumer safety. When intended for
processing, they must be reliable and freely available. Therefore, the external quality
control body regulates these situations.
Objectives
Define the external quality control of agricultural products;
State the importance of external quality control of agricultural products;

and
Explain different bodies involved in the external quality control of

agricultural products.
154
6.1 Introduction to External Quality Control Activities of Agricultural
Products
What is/are external quality control activities of agricultural products?
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
Who is in charge of external quality control activities of agricultural products?
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
Dear learner, the protection of consumer health is starts at the stage of production,
processing, storage, transport, maintenance and sale; it may also imply to imported food
save where this is governed by specific legislation or a special Food Laws. Hence, the
quality control of food products is based on government responsibility, which includes
the general duty to protect citizens against health hazards and commercial fraud. Control
is carried out by an administrative body and relates both to domestically produced food
and imported food. The purpose of this type of control is to seek out and ascertain
breaches of the law, regulations and food practices.
There is an increasing demand in the global marketplace for regulation regarding the
supply of high quality and safe products. Companies that fail to implement ISO14001 to
protect the environment, ISO 9000 series standards for quality, or the HACCP standard
for food quality and safety will be unable to compete in Europe, the USA, Canada,
155
Australia, Japan and elsewhere. Under the Food Laws in different countries, poor quality
may result in serious consequences of liability, the sale of poor quality products could
lead to product liability litigation and insurance difficulty. The breach of workplace
safety, product safety and environmental safety has recently proven to be costly to some
national and international organizations.
Wherever products do not meet statutory conformity requirements, the authorities or the
courts may order the food to be seized, impounded with authorization or without
authorization, or the food may be destroyed or denatured, or the offender given a mere
warning. The primary sanctions range from fines and/or imprisonment. Moreover,
secondary sanctions can also be imposed: the business may be closed down, the court
judgment, and the products confiscated. Judicial procedures are set out in more or less
detailed form, because they usually only a complement to the existing code or rules of
criminal procedure. In the some countries there is a specific code called the "Food Safety
Act Code of Practice, No. 2".
Generally speaking, the law specifies the persons who may institute proceedings (the
victim, the administrative authorities or the courts), the type of evidence required, and the
extent of liability. The specifications set down in the law cannot be too detailed (a very
comprehensive law which is difficult to amend subsequently could not be easily adjusted
to take account of future technical developments). For this reason enforcement
regulations are drawn up by the government or some other enforcement authority.
Provisions relating to food processing, hygiene and inspection fall within the scope of
these regulations. They also make provision for:
 the registration of establishments and licences;

 the prescribed notification;
 delegated powers relating to inspection, taking samples, seizure decisions; and
 the number of, and payment for, any samples taken.
156
In some countries, provisions governing the composition and specifications of products
are incorporated into regulations; in others they are put into separate texts which
generally comprise professional codes or mandatory standards. The codes can be used for
drafting those standards.
Community policy relating to food quality is based on three types of statutory

instruments:
a)Regulations: These "have general application; they are binding in their entirety and
directly applicable in all Member States" of the chain of agricultural products. The
Member States have no discretion regarding the enforcement of the regulations, which
are binding in all respects, without need for national implementing measures on the
part of the Member States. The regulation therefore lays down rights and obligations
which are binding on private individuals and on the authorities of the Member States
from the date of entry into force.
b)Directives: These lay down obligations of result, leaving it to the national authorities
to decide how to implement them (article 189(3) of the Treaty of Rome). Unlike
Regulations, Directives are mandatory in terms of the purpose to be attained, and the
Member States are required to adopt all the measures necessary within the time limit
set in each measure to incorporate the principles of the Directive into national
legislation. With Directives the obligation relates only to the result.
c)Decisions: These are unilateral acts of the relevant community institution, binding in
their entirety on those to whom it is addressed (article 189 of the Treaty of Rome).
They are not generally applicable but are addressed to specific individuals or bodies
corporate: a State, Member States as a whole, or private individuals. A decision must
be directly enforced under the principle of primacy.
In the case of imports, the purpose of controls is to ensure that the products comply with
national legislation. Procedures vary from one country to another; some require an import
157
licence, others an import certificate issued by the competent government service in the
exporting country showing that the product meets certain minimum standards.
Governments are required to ensure that any food introduced into their territories meet
national quality standards. Food imports can therefore be inspected in order to prevent
any unforeseen health hazards and to protect the population against fraud. Any lot or
batch deemed substandard will then be treated re-exported or destroyed depending upon
circumstances. Some countries require an import licence for food to be imported into the
national territory, while others accept the certification issued by the competent authorities
in the exporting country.
With regard to exports, some countries have put into place a system to guarantee the
quality and the safety of food sold abroad and to meet foreign buyers' specifications, and
to comply with the importing countries' food regulations in order to pre-empt the
rejection of the commodities at import entry points. This control generally consists of
certification, with or without inspection.
The food inspection system: this comprises all the resources and techniques used to
guarantee that food meets certain specified standards, by inspecting the food, the raw
materials, the manufacturing procedures and the distribution systems.
Food certification system: this comprises all the procedures used by the authorities to
ensure that food meets certain standards, and to provide opinions for the parties
concerned. However, when the official structures are inadequate, the quality certification
of foodstuffs, particularly those intended for export, can be issued by private bodies
under government supervision, as is the case of the grape producers in Chile; however,
ultimate responsibility lies in every instance with the government.
Whatever the level considered, whether national or international, everything relating to

consumer health is covered by mandatory provisions to which criminal sanctions apply;
the rules designed to improve food quality (composition, calorie content, nutritional
content) can be set out in non-mandatory standards without criminal penalties. This is
158
where the main difference lies between agricultural products and food produced by the
agricultural food industry. For the rules that apply to agricultural basic commodities are
often mandatory because they are directly relevant to consumer health or to sound
commercial relations. Generally speaking, governments have specific legislation
governing milk, fruits and vegetables and meat; this is the case in countries with well-
structured professional associations (France, South America). The control of foodstuffs
from the agricultural food industrial food sector relates to the complementary scientific
aspects, (for example, the nutritional value) or more subjective aspects (ingredients,
colour) whose application may be left to the discretion of the businesses concerned, and
subsequently subjected to public supervision.
The quality control of agricultural food products for domestic consumption, of for export
or import, is generally the responsibility of an inter-departmental administrative
authority. Not all countries are equally concerned about control measures; some are
particularly concerned about the chemical composition of products, or the presence of
residues, while others are more interested in germs. But despite this difference in
strategy, control is always based on the same principles. Responsibility for carrying out
the controls may lies directly with the central administrative services or be delegated to
the local authorities.
6.1.2 The Stages at Which Controls are Carried out

Control over production relates to the equipment, manufacturing processes (pre-
production chain, during production chain or at the end of it), and the materials used (the
raw materials, the semi finished product, or the finished products) controls may also be
carried out of the products going into the composition of a foodstuff and the materials in
contact with it. In some countries, the inspection service may inspect all the materials, but
the final products are only inspected for legal purposes if they are marketed or intended
to be marketed (the law governing the quality of agricultural products). Only by
159
controlling all these elements is it possible to ascertain whether the product has been
adulterated or spoilt (France, United Kingdom, United States, Chile), because inspecting
and controlling the finished product only reveals that an offence has been committed, but
it does not explain the reasons.
6.1.3 Types of Controls

The different types of controls carried out are physical, chemical, microbiological and
organoleptic; their purpose is to ensure that the food is in conformity with the law
(mostly subordinate legislation or regulations) governing the chemical composition, and
the microbiological and organoleptic features.
a.Product quality: this refers to verifying the composition or the genuineness of the
products in terms of regulations and current codes of practice, and ensuring
compliance with the rules relating to certification, agricultural labeling, appellations
of origin and trademarks. While this type of control may be the responsibility of one
single authority in some countries, for instant in Ethiopia; Ethiopian Standardization
Authority.
b.Production and product hygiene: there is generally a specific piece of legislation
governing this. In several countries, the basic texts mainly relate to hygiene control,
but they also refer to nomenclature and to established names.
c.Internal control systems: in this case, the effectiveness of the self-regulated control
systems established by the businesses themselves is controlled.
d.Documents: officials may also inspect accounting, commercial and technical records,
and any other document to facilitate their control work. However, the inspection
cannot cover financial or commercial information other than information on transport,
price-setting and personnel; research data is also excluded. In some countries,
documents can only be controlled by tax inspectors.
160
6.1.4 Types of Quality Control Officers
There are two types of officer are inspectors and controllers. Inspectors must hold a
degree or be graduates of a higher education establishment (particularly a veterinary
institution for controlling foodstuffs of animal origin). Controllers must hold a
professional technical diploma. Sometimes they can obtain technical and vocational
training on the job in their own department.
In order to carry out inspections, officials are generally empowered to:
 Gain access to production premises. They are authorized to visit any place which is
necessary to ascertain the facts, at any reasonable times, and they are issued with
written authorization;
 Seize or impound the goods if necessary;
 Consult documents;
 Gain access to products and manufacturing receipts, with certain restrictions
regarding manufacturing secrets; and
 Gain access to raw materials and products.
According to FAO, for a control of food system to be effective the following points has
to be considered:
 Operations to be carried out by some authority whose duties are divided between
local services and the central authority. It is generally preferable to centralize
control at the national level;
 The officials responsible for the quality control of foodstuffs to be empowered to
take whatever steps are necessary when products are not in conformity with
current legislation;
 Encouragement to be given to consultation, coordination and cooperation between
all the organizations responsible for food control;
161
 Inspection and sampling rules to be drawn up;
 Manufacturers of foodstuffs with their own quality control facility to use the same
methods as those adopted by official analysts
The drawbacks of the controls described above are the following:
 There is sufficient focus on the food processing hazards;

 They are wasteful of product if destructive testing is involved;
 They detect defects after they have been produced and not before;
 Production personnel are encouraged to regard quality control as being the
responsibility of someone else, that is, the inspector; and
 Effectiveness is restricted by the inherent limitations of any statistically based
sampling system.
According to the "Guidelines for Developing an Effective National Food Control

System”, the implementation of any modern food legislation only requires the principles
of general control to be incorporated into basic legislation. Regulations, on the other
hand, contain detailed provisions that apply to different types of commodities. The law
therefore provides the following main general provisions:
 the fundamental purposes and scope;

 the definition of basic concepts;
 the authorities responsible for enforcement;
 inspection and analysis procedures and facilities;
 procedures for establishing food standards; and
 penalties.
Technical regulations must deal with the following points: food standards, hygiene,
additives, pesticide residues, food packaging and labeling, publicity.
162
6.1.5 Food Laws and Regulations
The legal requirements for food safety and food quality have been established by many
national governments, with the objective of protecting consumers and ensuring that foods
are fit for human consumption. These requirements are contained in food laws and
regulations, the scope of which varies from one country to another. In the U.S. and
Canada, food laws and regulations govern all aspects of food safety and some aspects of
food quality. The food laws and regulations of the U.S. are likely the most extensive of
any country. It is essential that food industry professionals be familiar with the laws and
regulations that govern their specific industry sectors in their countries.
The legal framework of food laws and regulations of a particular country depends on the
overall government regulatory system of that country. In the U.S. and Canada, the federal
or national food laws are statements of government policies that cover both the general
and specific aspects of adulteration and misbranding of foods, while the food regulations
deal with the enforcement of government policies that are embodied in the food laws.
These food laws and regulations are intended to ensure that foods do not cause harm,
illness, or injury; are not adulterated or misbranded; and are wholesome and fit for human
consumption. Food laws and regulations apply to all foods produced domestically, as
well as all foods imported into a country; foods cannot be imported if they do not
conform to the food laws and regulations of the importing country. Examples of food
laws are the U.S.
Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (FDCA), which is the primary law governing the
safety and quality of most foods in the U.S., and Canada’s Food and Drugs Act, which is
the primary food law in Canada. The U.S. Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) Title 21
and Canada’s Food and Drug Regulations are examples of food regulations that address
food safety and food quality. Food laws protect consumers from illnesses and injury by
prohibiting the presence of any poisonous or harmful substance in foods that are intended
for human consumption. For example, in the U.S., adulterated food is regulated primarily
under the FDCA, which covers all aspects of food safety and certain aspects of food
163
quality. In addition, food laws protect consumers from fraud and deception by prohibiting
false or misleading information relating to foods For example, in the U.S., misbranded
food is prohibited under the FDCA.
6.1.6 Enforcement of Food Laws and Regulations

The responsibility for enforcing food laws and regulations is assigned to government
regulatory agencies. These enforcement activities fall into two categories. First, they
include inspection and audit of establishments that process, handle, and store food to
ensure that the required sanitary and controlled conditions are followed; audits are used
by some regulatory agencies that enforce HACCP-based regulations. Second, they
include inspection and analysis of foods for harmful substances to ensure that there is
conformance to established limits and tolerances.
Despite efforts of government agencies to enforce food laws and regulations, misbranded
foods or foods that cause harm or have the potential to cause harm sometimes enter the
food distribution chain or the consumer market. Whenever a misbranded food is detected,
a harmful substance or agent is detected in a food, it is determined that there is a
likelihood for a harmful substance or agent to be present in a food, or an actual food-
borne illness or injury occurs, food companies and government regulatory agencies take
the necessary action to protect consumers against these violations. These situations often
result in the food being recalled from the marketplace. In addition, if it is determined that
adulterated or misbranded food has been produced as a result of negligence on the part of
a food company; legal action can be taken against the company.
It is essential for the basic products and the foodstuffs to be processed in total conformity
with the rules of hygiene. When drafting the basic rules, whichever authorities or private
sector organizations are responsible for them, generally prefer one particular type of
instrument: the standard. Even though standards vary in terms of their legal nature, they
meet the demands and specific features of a food quality policy. However, the word
164
"standard" means different things to different economic or para-economic partners. It is
therefore difficult to decide exactly what is a standard in terms of a mere definition, as is
always the case in administrative law.
The sale of high quality processed foods makes it possible to optimize the value-added.
To do this the efficiency of the production system must be enhanced, processing losses,
deterioration, maintenance and contamination reduced, and also to increase the
production and volume capacities and the complexity of the manufacturing rules
applicable to exported products.
In Ethiopia who has a power to enforce food laws and regulations to any
concerning bodies?
__________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________
What do you expect the reward for the violation of the food law and regulation will be
made in the illegal body?
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________
165
 For global (import and export) market improvement the external quality control
activity is very important aspect.
 There are three types of community policy related to food quality: regulation,
directives and decision.
 Know the types of control: product quality, production and product hygiene,
internal control system, documentation systems.
 Knowing the food laws and regulations including the dos and non-dos.
_______1. Incorporation of composition and specifications of the product in provision

governing regulations is a very important criterion.
_______2. The responsibility for forcing food laws and regulations is assigned by public
to public regulatory agencies.
______3. The basic objectives of food safety and food quality are to protect consumers
and enforcing that foods are fit for human consumption.
______4. The quality controller has no right to verify the composition or the genuineness
of the products in terms of regulations and current codes of practice, and ensuring
compliance with the rules relating to certification, labeling, appellations of origin and
trade mark.
166
6.2 Inspection of Agricultural Products
What is agricultural products inspection?
__________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________
Who is responsible for the quality inspection of these products?
__________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________
The absence of a reliable inspection and control system has repercussions both on the
volume of exports and the quality of the imports. For it seems that the countries that try to
export food are subject to substantial losses because of breakdowns in the production
chains: the legislation of the importing countries is generally very strict, which means
that products which are not safe are not accepted. Furthermore, if the inspection and
control measures are ineffective, the quality of the imports will leave much to be desired,
and unscrupulous exporters will try to dispose of all their poor quality food.
6.2.1 Forms of Data for Inspection of Agricultural Products
The whole data should be kept for reference. For tangible efficiency start from inspection
summary charts and quality control charts. These forms are:
167
1.Inspection forms: - every day the controller does at every line of process flow.
Should be convenient format, precise, not make confusion
To state general thing (format) for the specific product type
There are questions to be answered in inspection form
i. Each specific item in the form is necessary?
 Include only necessary items
 Should be only specific point. E.g. if size is not necessary for the
product delete from the form.
ii.Does the form include all the necessary information? No forgotten items
to be included?
 Always on the format indicate supplier, acceptor, location, date,
number of pieces in the lot, weight, … should be recorded and then
list quality characteristics, package categorize,---
 List on the format critical, major and minor characteristics
 For the same product but different purpose different parameters could
be recorded on format
iii.Is there sufficient space to include all pertinent information?
 If you are prudent, decide the place to write all ideas of the data
iv.Is items arranged logically?
 Should be arranged logically like 1st , 2nd, 3rd, ---steps to simplify
analysis and to consume time and to reduce error
2.Summary forms
 Shows general trend of the conditions
 Example for knowing defective parts the summary table would like:
o At top it could be written that
 Tolerance label (most of the case written as ± variance to indicate to
what extent accepted
 Product type and name
 Season
168
 Product character
 Number
 Inspector name
 Notice that, there are a several specific data forms for the inspection of
agricultural product quality systems: inspection forms and summary forms.
 It is very important to know what to be recorded on the data forms.
_______1. The data forms are should be as convenient as possible.
_______2. The absence of good quality inspection system and control has repercussions
both on the volume of exports and the quality of the imports.
______3. The logical arrangement of the product is not as such important in the
inspection system of agricultural products.
169
6.3 Certification and Quality Marks of Agricultural Products
What is certification process of agricultural products?
__________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________
What are the quality marks of agricultural products?
__________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________
Dear learners, you may came across the term product certification for quality, standards
alignments. In addition, also about different marks of quality of any products for specific
quality standards. In this sub chapter you will learn about the product certification
procedure of agricultural product. What by mean marks for specific quality and products
will be discussed here under.
170
6.3.1 Product Certification
If a product bears a recognized mark such as a national or regional (e.g. “conformité

européenne” (CE)) certification mark or international mark (e.g. an International
Electrotechnical Commission (IEC) mark), this gives an assurance to the buyer that the
product meets the specifications to which the mark corresponds. In other words, the
product may be considered a “quality/safe product” by the buyer. “product certification”
is defined as “a procedure by which a third party gives written assurance that a product,
process or service conforms to specified requirements”. The product certification
authorities usually permit the use of a mark on the product to demonstrate that the
product meets a defined set of requirements, such as safety, fitness for use and/or specific
interchangeability characteristics that are usually specified in a standard. The mark is
normally found on the product or its packaging; it also carries a reference to the number
of the relevant product standard against which the product is certified. Ideally, a product
certification mark should demonstrate to the consumer that a product meets the generally
accepted standard for that product.
6.3.2 Aim and Benefits of Product Certification

There are several benefits of agricultural products certification. Some of these aims and
benefits are listed as follow:
 Product certification helps the consumer to choose products that meet the
requirements of the specified standard, are suitable for the purpose and are safe
from hazards to life and property;
 Product certification gives an organized purchaser such as a government greater
confidence in the integrity of the product, saves unnecessary product inspection
and provides a convenient basis for concluding contracts;
171
 For the manufacturer, product certification streamlines the production process and
introduces a quality assurance system for ensuring conformity of the product to the
standard;
 Product certification enhances the marketability of products and provides an
opportunity for competing with similar products and building a better image of the
product both in the domestic and the international market;
 Product certification helps reduce technical barriers to trade, as the World Trade
Organization’s Agreement on Technical Barriers to Trade recognizes certification
as an instrument to prevent technical barriers and as an important factor in the
furtherance of international trade.
For certain products, it becomes a prerequisite for putting certain products on the market,
for example:
 Certain products that appear on the list of European Union product regulations are
required to bear a CE mark and
 Certain electric and/or electronic products cannot be marketed in Canada unless they
bear the Canadian Standards Association mark.
In India, food coloring, cement, infant foods and so on are required to bear the
certification mark of the Bureau of Indian Standards before they can be offered for sale.
 A product bearing a mark carries a third-party guarantee that;

 The product has been produced according to an applicable standard;
 The production process has been supervised and controlled; and
 The product has been tested in an independent laboratory.
If the customer finds that a marked product does not meet the declared standard, he or she
can approach the certification body for redress of the complaint. Product certification
carried out by third-party certification bodies (i.e. independently of the consumer, seller
172
or buyer) is most acceptable to purchasers, importers and regulatory authorities. Many
national standards bodies in developing countries provide third-party product certification
services. In some countries, certification is carried out by trade or industry associations,
governmental institutions or private certifications bodies, for example, the certification
mark of KEMA, a producer of electrical items in the Netherlands, the certificate of
lubricants given by the Lubricant Manufacturers Association in the United States of
America and the certification of raw agricultural produce (AGMARK) of the Directorate
of Marketing and Inspection of the Ministry of Agriculture of India.
6.3.3 General Principles and Procedure of Certification

The many marks that exist specifically for the quality of food products show that a food
business is voluntarily complying with a set of standards to obtain certification. All these
differently mark can be grouped into two categories:
i.Certification of conformity of foodstuffs (product or commodity certification); and

ii.Certification of quality assurance systems (business certification).
It should be noted that some of these types of product certification are designed to protect
higher quality foodstuffs, such as agricultural labeling, attestations of specific character
and appellations of origin.
The certification procedure requires the intervention of a third party, the certification
authority, which actually delivers the certificate whether it deals with products or
businesses.
Quality assurance certification can also apply to a laboratory, in which case it is called an
accreditation. As a rule, certification means that non-mandatory rules are being
voluntarily applied. However, it can also guarantee compliance with regulations: in some
countries, the borderline between voluntary and mandatory regulations in certification is
173
not always clear (the United Kingdom, the United States, Australia). However, it differs
from the mandatory export certificate discussed earlier.
Certification can also lead to the issue of a certification mark (a collective mark) used to
distinguish other individual or collective marks which do not presuppose that a
certification procedure has been followed. In most of the countries studied in this book,
no specific certification legislation exists, and the legislation deals with trademarks.
Exceptions to this are Belgium, France and Portugal, which have specific legislation on
certification.
The following are generally the steps followed by national standards bodies with a view
to granting licences to use their standard mark:
 An application is submitted to the national standards body on the prescribed

application form;
 After scrutiny of the application, the national standards body arranges an inspection
of the applicant’s premises to establish the production capability and quality
control system; and
 During the inspection the national standards body also takes a sample for
independent testing.
The national standards body of any country grants the licence if:
 The test report from an independent laboratory meets with the requirements laid
down in the applicable standard;
 The applicant agrees to follow a scheme of testing and inspection as a minimum
quality control during production; and
 The applicant agrees to follow the conditions of granting of licence, including
payment of the licence fee.
During the operation of the licence to use the mark of the national standards body on the
product, the following surveillance is maintained by that body over the licensee:
174
 The licensee must continue to follow the scheme of testing and inspection and to
maintain records of testing and inspection, which are checked through periodic
surprise inspections by the inspecting officers of the national standards body;
 During the inspections product samples are tested in the laboratory of the licensee
and test results are compared with the testing data of the licensee;
 Samples taken during inspections, from the open market or from bulk users, are
tested in an independent laboratory. (Normally four such samples are tested in a
year); and
 If the inspection reports and the test reports are satisfactory, then renewal of the
licence is granted and the above checks continue every year.
All certification systems are subject to certain practical limitations. One of the most
common limitations is that total item-by-item compliance with the specifications is not
attainable. However, a properly devised certification system can provide the optimum
assurance that goods have been produced under the best practicable conditions of
manufacture, in compliance with the commercial, legal and social situation prevailing at
the time, and it thus can minimize the chance or risk of the buyer obtaining substandard
products.
Business certification: The objective here is to ensure that products meet specific
requirements, so that a guarantee can be given that all the products using that system
routinely reach specific quality levels. The requirements must also meet the customers'
explicit needs (satisfaction/service) or implicit needs (safety, hygiene). The organization
of different business certification systems. There are two main ways of organizing
certification: one-tier and two-tier systems. One-level systems: in these cases, businesses
are certified by a body, which generally has, the status of an association recognized to be
of public interest. While: Two-levels systems several certification bodies, generally
private, are accredited under a single national organization.
175
Certification of food businesses: This type of certification is found mainly in the
Common Law countries that have longstanding experience with it. When the certification
body certifies a mark for a particular foodstuff, it takes account of specific quality
assurance features. The difficulty with quality assurance certification lies in interpreting
the ISO 9000 standards. Some certification bodies guarantee that the certified business
will provide products meeting the specifications of each customer on a continuous basis
others merely guarantee that the business has put in place an organizational system that
meets the description of the standards, but it does not certify that the business actually
produces commodities that meet certain particular requirements. Even though this type of
certification applies to all businesses, the food industry possesses certain specific features
that food businesses must have. Generally speaking, in the food industry the certification
bodies have to show a prior their level of industrial technical knowhow. This expertise is
based upon the qualifications, skills and experience of the auditors. However, in
Germany for example, the system is more liberal because the certification organization is
completely free to set up its own systems of sectoral intervention. In other countries, such
as Ireland, the certification body requires the food business to comply with a national
standard of good hygiene practice.
The certificate obtained by the business provides the following information: the field of
activity, the geographical location and the model used for auditing the business's quality
system. The audit or verification process, which gives pride of place to examining its
control and inspection records, is accompanied by discussions with the officials
principally responsible for complying with the work schedules and sampling products,
where necessary.
Certification of food products: Although there exist many different systems in this area,
this type of certification is generally performed by actually marking the product itself,
176
unless the producer has his own mark. The certification of the product is based upon a
given benchmark (specifications or standards) and is issued by the certification body.
6.3.4 Basic Benchmark: Specifications or Standards

There are two types of specifications: professional codes of practice, and regulated
specifications.
Professional codes of practice: These are codes of use or good practice. These
documents routinely contain all the items relating to manufacturing procedures
(conditions of manufacture, husbandry practices, good hygiene practice) and sometimes
quality assurance rules. They devote particular importance to product safety giving
pride of place to aspects relating to production conditions. But these codes do not
necessarily lead to certification. They are mainly found in Common Law countries and
in Northern Europe, where they are used to raise the quality level of national products.
Regulated specifications: These are all the types of specifications that are drafted
jointly by members of the trade and the national or regional authority concerned. They
are required to be approved by the authorities and in most cases they are officially
published. Specifications of this type are mainly found in countries with many typical
products or products associated with a specific territory.
Certification of conformity: The certificate of conformity is issued by organizations

independent of the producer, manufacturer, vendor or importer. The conformity report
could contain information on the following:
 the structure and the bylaws of the organization concerned;

 the organization of control and inspection, and the breakdown of responsibilities;
 the terms of reference and composition of the Board of Directors, or the equivalent
body, and the names of the officials;
177
 the qualifications of the permanent staff responsible for certification, and
 its resources.
In order to demonstrate the certification body's independence of the producers,

manufacturers, vendors and importers of the commodities to be certified, the application
file must describe:
 the procedures used for certification and the rules for obtaining it;
 the conditions for handling the documentation and monitoring the certification
procedure;
 the testing and controlling facilities which the certification body possesses;
 the measures that apply in the event of failure to comply with written undertakings,
and procedures for appealing against decisions;
 the means used to ensure that consumers are aware that a particular product complies
with a given standard or some other normative type document.
Forms used for certification: The business must ensure that the presentation and labeling
of a product must indicate the nature and the certified features and characteristics. This
enables consumers to gain a better understanding of the product and assess it.
Conversely, although this is not mandatory, the business may use a collective mark
taking the form of a logo attesting to certification. Each certification body may use its
own logo (too much diversity here is not necessarily a good thing, because it may create
confusion in the consumers' minds).
Penalties: Penalties for deception are provided for any fraudulent use or attempted use
of certification, or for the use of certification without complying with the conditions, or
for presenting a product in a way that misleads consumers into believing it to be certified.
178
Labelling: Lebelling itself constitutes a mark. It testifies that a product is of a certain
quality level and that the Ministry of Agriculture has approved it after having drawn up
rules for its use. The economic basis of the labelling system is to establish an objective
and measurable definition of the quality of a particular product in order to encourage high
quality agricultural production by setting a minimum quality threshold.
National labels: The application for the approval of a label must be accompanied by the
following documents:
 the articles of association and bylaws of the applicant body;

 a list of the directors and officers of the applicant body;
 the resources of the applicant body;
 all the standard contracts concluded by the applicant body;
 the draft regulations which must specify
 the product and the zone in which it is produced and processed,
 the distinctive sign chosen for the label,
 a technical note defining the specific features of the product,
 a report on the procedures and regularity of the inspections carried out on the
product at different stages in production and marketing, together with a list of
internal penalties;
 eligibility conditions for new label holders;
 a specimen of the label design.
Certificates of specific character: The certificate of specific character is the recognition

confirmed by Community registration that an agricultural product or a foodstuff is clearly
distinct from any other similar product or foodstuff belonging to the same category. The
Commission has instituted a register for certificate of specific character giving the names
of the agricultural products and foodstuffs whose specific character has been recognized.
Compliance with specifications: The specifications establishing the composition of

product must contain the following elements:
179
 the name of the agricultural product or foodstuff, drafted in one or more languages,
 the description of the production method, including the type and features of the raw
materials and/or ingredients used and/or methods adopted to process the
agricultural product or foodstuff in reference to its specific character,
 the elements by which it is possible to assess its traditional character,
 the description of the features of the agricultural product or foodstuff by indicating
its main physical, chemical, microbiological and/or organoleptic characteristics
relating to its specific character;
 the minimum requirements and procedures for controlling its specific character.
TQC proudly presents the Retail Food Safety Audit Program, which is specially designed
for retail food premises including restaurants, food outlets and clubhouses.
The retailer food safety audit is very important for several reasons. The followings are
some of them.
 To support the Food Safety Management Scheme initiated by the Food and
Environmental Hygiene Department, whereby food premises recognized under the
scheme will be subject to a revised inspection regime and excluded from the
Demerit Points System.
 To alert the management of any potential risk of food quality and safety resulting
from malpractice of hygiene rules.
 To raise the food safety awareness of all personnel.
 To give confidence to the consumers and hygiene inspectors.
Food Safety Audit Program that is highly consistent and specific to customers needs. The
program consists of:
 On-site auditing
180
 On-site feedback
 Detailed report with recommendations
 Microbiological test (5 samples from food, water and food-contact surface)
 Training on food safety
 Regular monitoring of performance
The checklists in food safety audit program consist of a list of food safety criteria and a
rating system based on international food safety management standards and local legal
requirements, including Adequacy of Food Safety Program, Pest Control, Operational
Methods and Personal Practices, Maintenance and Repair, and Cleaning Practices. A
1000-score rating system is used to classify the retail food premises as follows:
 Superior: 900-1000;
 Excellent: 800-899;
 Satisfactory:700-799;
 Unsatisfactory: < 700
 Know the definition of the product certification and aims and benefits of the
product certification.
 There are two principles and procedure of certification: certification for
conformity and certification for quality assurance system.
181
_______1. Product marks are not as such important for product certification system.
_______2. Certification system may or may not apply laboratory system.
______3. The specifications for composition of products may contain the name of the
product in several languages.
______4. The food safety criteria and rating system are one of the check lists in the food
safety auditing program.
6.4 Standardization and National Standard Bodies
The standard practice adopted by governments used to be the following: technical rules
governing food were drafted in the form of legislation, secondary legislation or
administrative measures, laying down technical specifications, and codes of conduct or
good practice.
A basic piece of legislation (hereafter "the law") is enacted laying down the general
principles governing food production, handling and marketing. The aim is to safeguard
the health of the consumer and protect against fraud. Since enforcement is the
responsibility of several government departments (mainly the ministries of agriculture,
health, trade and industry, fisheries) difficulties are likely to emerge enforcing the law,
because this is done under subordinate legislation.
182
The law generally includes a definition of food, a definition of the statutory conformity
requirements, and the offences created; sometimes there is also a definition of food unfit
for human consumption.
The essential feature of the new approach to standards, namely that they should be non-
mandatory, does not contrast with the classical principles of the civil-law system. For the
new standards are producers using equivalent to instruments already.
The quality control of food products is based on government responsibility, which

includes the general duty to protect citizens against health hazards and commercial fraud.
Control is carried out by an administrative body and relates both to domestically
produced food and imported food. The purpose of this type of control is to seek out and
ascertain breaches of the law, regulations and food practices.
Food standards
In addition to food laws and regulations, food standards also establish requirements for
the safety and quality of foods; however, unless a food standard is part of food
regulations (e.g., standard of identity in the U.S. CFR Title 21), it is not a legal
requirement. The Codex Standards are the best examples of food standards. The Codex
Alimentarius Commission has the mandate to implement the joint Food and Agricultural
Organization (FAO)/World Health Organization (WHO) Foods Standards Program. This
has resulted in the Codex Alimentarius, a collection of standards for food quality, food
suitability, and food safety. These food standards have been adopted by countries
worldwide and are intended primarily to protect consumers and to facilitate international
food trade. They include codes of practice such as The Codex General Principles Of Food
Hygiene, standards for maximum residual levels (MRL) for pesticides and for veterinary
drugs in foods, and standards for specifications for food additives.
183
Dear learners to standardize the agricultural products, it is very important to define the
quality characteristics to be measured. The first questions which must be answered
concerning standardization are:-
 Exactly who is to select and define the quality characteristics?

 Should it be the ultimate consumer or an impartial government or institutional
agency?
 Obviously, the producer, the use regulatory any regulatory agency all have an
interest in this definition and should all be consulted
Using sweet corn grown for the cannery as an example, the grower and the canner are the
procedure and the user, respectively. The ultimate consumer is not involved directly,
although indirectly he may influence the interest of the canner in that the canner would
desire to have a standard by which he could measure the extent of to which the raw corn
offered to him will be accepted by the consumer after it has gone through the canning and
market operations. Thus, the canner should know what factors of quality are of
importance to the consumer and in that respect be the consumer’s representative.
Of greatest importance in this capacity is the buyer. It is his requirements which must be
considered, so that it is necessary to obtain from him dependable information, just as
precise and detailed as possible, regarding exactly what he looking for, what he considers
optimum and what he is willing to accept.
A general over all indication of the desired quality is inadequate. Referring to our
definition of quality we note that quality is a composite of a number of characteristics.
Thus, the problem is an analytical one, where the overall a quality must be broken down
into its component characteristics. Wherever possible, these characteristics should be
broken down and defined so precisely that it may be possible to measure each
characteristic by physical instrument or chemical procedure.
184
 Search for methods of measurement: Once the characteristics of quality have been
defined, a thorough survey of literature should be made not only of previous
attempts to measure these quality characteristics for the same product, but also a
review of developments in related fields. Engineers, physicists, chemists and
commodity specialist should be consulted at this time. Mere is an opportunity for
the quality control worker to apply his ingenuity, imagination and experience,
which along with the information gained from the literature and consultations
should result in a number of possible approaches for methods, which may be
studied.
 Correlation with human evaluation: These possible methods of measuring the
particular quality factor should be tried on limited number of samples (10-50)
showing large variations in the quality characteristics under study. At this point it
should be possible to discard many of these suggested methods which are lacking
in precision or which show little promise of reflecting human evaluation.
The remaining procedures should be tested on a large number (100-1000) of selected

samples varying across the entire range of quality. It is more efficient to select these
samples not by a random survey method where a very large portion of the samples would
cluster about the average quality, but to attempt to obtain an equal number of samples
across the entire quality range. A duplicate set of samples or where possible, the identical
set of samples should be submitted to a sensory test panel consisting of rained judges.
These judges should be instructed to rate these samples on an arbitrary numerical scale
for differences rather than preferences. Thus, for example, if the hardness of peas is the
factor under study, the judges on the sensory panel should rate the peas on a degree of
hardness scale alone and not rate the samples for the degree of hardness which they
prefer.
The experience of our laboratory has indicated that a correlation between two sensory
panels rarely exceeds 0.94. Hence, it is assumed that a correlation of 0.94 rather than a
correlation of 1 indicate practically prefect agreement between any given test and human
185
evaluation. For this reason it may be assumed that any method showing a correlation of
0.90 or better is an excellent indicator of human evaluation. Similarly, a correlation of
0.80 or better is considered satisfactory for use, although a higher correlation is desirable.
If the correlation fails to reach 0.80, the method is considered unsatisfactory and that
particular characteristic of quality may not be measured by any but sensory methods.
It is possible, perhaps because of insufficient definition of the characteristic involved or

because the characteristic simply cannot be broken down sufficiently that, a combination
of two or more physical or chemical tests may be used to obtain a satisfactory correlation
with human evaluation. This was found to be the case with the factor of “maturity” in
sweet corn where the tests of moisture, pericarp and kernel size, singly, did not meet the
requirements for a correlation of 0.80 or higher with human evaluation, when varietal and
seasonal differences were disregarded. However, the multiple correlations between all
three tests and human evaluation were found to be 0.93.
It should be noted that there is a hazard involved in the use of correlation coefficients in
the above manner. Such use is valid only if the samples used cover, but do not exceed
appreciably the commercial range of quality and if the samples are fairly well distributed
across this range. If the samples do not cover the entire commercial range the correlation
coefficient will probably be deceptively low (as it will be if the regression line is not
fitting). If the range in quality of samples is substantially beyond commercial limits, the
resultant coefficient is likely to be deceptively high. In such cases a regression rather than
a correlation analysis would be preferable, with the results provided in the form of a
prediction equation ± calculated confidence limits.
 Improving the method: Assuming a satisfactory method or methods are found to

measure a given characteristic of quality, it is desirable that the selected method be
as precise, simple and rapid as possible. At this point, therefore, each step in the
method should be examined carefully to see whether it can be omitted or modified
with the view of improving speed and simplicity and yet retain maximum
186
precision. The relative precision of the method is extremely important in grading
operations since it is frequently desirable to perform a minimum amount of
replication. Thus, for example, four replications would need to be averaged in
order to obtain the same precision with a method having a coefficient of variability
of four percent as compared to a single determination by a method having a
coefficient of variability of only four percent. Previous work may have established
a principle of measurement which is applicable, but the principle may be applied
in a more rapid or simpler way.
 Establishing a scale: Assuming that a method of adequate precision and accuracy

has been developed which is also sufficiently rapid and simple for routine use, it is
now necessary to establish scale by which values obtained by means of the
proposed method may be translated in terms of quality that will have meaning to
the producer and user. Thus, for example, an alcoholic insoluble solids value of
less than 20% may mean fancy whole kernel canned sweet corn, while a value of
21% may mean only extra standard quality and a value of over 27% may indicate
substandard quality. The establishment of such a scale again requires the use of a
sensory test panel. Whereas before a “difference” panel was employed, a
“difference preference” grading type panel is required at this point. Thus, this
panel would grade on a numerical scale, but, should indicate preferences as well as
differences and the most desirable samples would be rated as highest. The actual
numerical scales used by the panel may differ for different purposes. Where values
above the standard range are to be established, it may be convenient to use a ten
point scale where panel members may indicate substandard value by the number 1,
standard by 2, 3, or 4; extra standards by 5,6 or 7; and fancy by 8, 9 or 10. The
equivalent values for the objective method may be obtained by the proposed
method on the same set of samples. Because of the obvious importance of this
panel which would establish the grade brackets for each characteristic. It should be
surely representative of the producers and the users of the product involved. For
187
federal standards, it should include representatives from each production area and
from each group having an interest in the standards. For non-perishable
commodities it may be practical to have a separate panel in each region to which
identical sets of samples would be submitted. The local panel results could then be
compiled into a national average. For individual company use, the panel could
well consist of sales personnel who should best know buyers preferences.
 Integration by weighting of quality characteristics: In many instances, it is not

necessary or desirable to attempt to attempt to combine several characteristics of
quality in to an overall quality value any more than it is necessary to combine
individual nutritive contents into an overall nutritive value. In some cases,
however attempt are made to integrate separate quality characteristics into an
overall quality standard. This is done by assigning relative weights to each of the
quality characteristics in accordance with its importance. This weighting can be
done objectively by the use of multiple correlations where the individual tests of
quality characteristics may be correlated against an overall grade provided by a”
difference preference”. There relative weights, however, would be calculated
statistically from the above correlations and regression equations. So that
conclusions would be more objective in that respect. Another result of these
calculations would be the coefficient of determination (R2) which should indicate
how much of the overall quality is covered by the characteristics measured.
 Application: After the methods have been developed and the relative important
weighed and grade brackets established, the standard is ready for application. No
matter how precise and accurate the testing procedure may be, it will not be
satisfactory if the lots to be tasted are not adequately sampled. It is, therefore,
necessary to work out statistically an adequate sampling procedure which will
insure that the sample removed from the lot will not be overly destructive or too
time consuming, but yet sufficiently precise as an indication of the quality of the
188
lot. It may be found that the standard developed for a particular product may not
be practical to apply in its entirety under actual inspection conditions. It may be
possible to develop some short cuts, which the individual inspector might use, and
the complete procedure may reserve for supervisory purposes.
An example is given below of the development of grades and standards and is of a

procedure that is limited in purpose in that it is intended as a production standard for in
plant use and does not necessarily apply under all conditions.
Examples: Revising a production standard
Definition of the problem:- an apple sauce canner has a problem of controlling

consistency of his product. He can measure the consistency of the finished sauce very
nicely by a flow through an orifice method; however, it is too late to do anything about
the sauce consistency, if it is too thick or too thin, after it has been made. What is needed
is a means of measuring the rheological properties of the raw apples and obtain the
results at such a time that the final consistency can still be controlled by the addition of
more or less water, by different blend of varieties or by some other means. Results from
such tests should be available at a time when the sauce consistency can still be
manipulated.
A search for possible methods: - the obvious method suggested was that a sample of raw
apples be peeled, cored and comminuted and a test of consistency made on this slurry.
Another suggestion was to determine the solids of the raw apples with the thought that
the apples with higher solids would result in sauce of higher consistency. A third
suggestion was a measure of shearing force needed for the raw apples, since a measure of
shear is also a form of rheological measurement.
Correlation with human evaluation:- Samples of 50 apples each were obtained from the
flume lines and the operation was so timed that it was possible to obtain samples of
finished sauce made of the same materials from which the respective sample of raw
apples was taken. All process settings were noted and were not changed during the
189
process of the investigation. Each 50-apple sample was peeled, cored and sliced. A
portion of the sample was comminuted in a laboratory pulper finisher. This material was
promptly, thoroughly mixed; a one-quarter-volume placed in a tapered container with an
orifice of a fixed diameter. The time required to for 250ml of material to flow through the
orifice was noted. In another set of consistency, the truncated cone shaped container of a
consistometer was filled with the apple slurry and up on rising of the container, a notation
was made of the ring to which the slurry spread on the plate. Approximately 10 grams of
the slurry were weighted into drying dishes and total solids determine by official vacuum
oven method. The refractive index was obtained by the use of an Abbe refractometer. For
the shear test, entire slices were filled into the shear cell of the shear press and a reading
of peak force was obtained, using 1000N proving ring and 30second speed of stroke, flow
through orifice readings, as well as test panel evaluations, were obtained on the samples
of finished apple sauce. Eight panelists scored the samples on a seven scale, with 0 as
optimum consistency, +1 to +3 indicating increasing levels of thickness, and -1 to -3,
increasing levels in thinness.
Since space will not permit presentation of all the detailed data, only partial results are
shown in the following tables and calculations. In order to find not only the extent to
which each of the proposed test are correlated with panel scores but also the nature of this
relationship, that is, whether it is or is not linear, it is most helpful first to plot the data
9see figure). Once plotted, on these scattered diagrams, a mere glance is sufficient to
conclude that of the six methods tried, only the shear test on the raw slices and the flow
test on the processed sauce are highly correlated to panel scores for consistency, since
these are the two relationships showing a definite patterns. When we make the analysis of
the figures, we find significant positive correlation with panel scores for consistency of
the finished sauces, only for shear values on raw slices and the flow test on the processed
sauce (Table 6. 2 and 6.3, respectively).
The method of determining not only the significance but the actual extent of the
correlation is by the calculation of the correlation coefficient. This can be accomplished
190
very rapidly where the number of pairs being correlated is small by converting values
into ranks and determining the rank correlation (P) instead of the least square correlation
coefficient (r).
Table 6.1: Relation of some measurements on raw apples to the consistency of canned
apple sauce
Canned sauce Raw apple
1 2 3 4 5 6 7
Average Consistency Consistency Consistency Total solids Soluble Shear force
panel score seconds per seconds per spreads (%) solids (%) (N)
(-3 to +3 250ml flow 250mlflow (cm)
-1.9 15 8 8.2 16.8 13.7 145
-1.7 25 23 9.3 17.8 16.0 300
-1.1 23 13 8.6 16.8 14.8 330
-1.0 40 18 7.4 16.1 14.2 270

-0.7 31 12 8.0 17.3 16.4 390
-0.2 48 18 10.5 16.3 14.5 490
+0.8 65 11 8.7 17.5 15.7 560
+1.0 52 26 9.8 15.1 13.5 480
+1.5 70 18 8.1 18.0 16.2 600
+3.0 80 20 9.8 17.8 15.3 700
Table 6.2: Data from table 1 converted to rank
Canned sauce Raw apple
1 2 3 4 5 6 7
Average Consistency Consistency Consistency Total Soluble Shear
panel seconds per seconds per spreads solids solids (%) force (N)
score (-3 250ml flow 250mlflow (cm) (%)
to +3
1 1 1 4 4 2 1
2 3 9 7 8 8 3
3 2 4 5 4 5 4
4 5 6 1 2 3 2
5 4 3 2 6 10 5
6 6 6 10 3 4 7
7 8 2 6 7 7 8
8 7 10 8 1 1 6
9 9 6 3 10 9 9
10 10 8 8 8 6 10
191
Table 6.3: Calculations for obtaining the rank correlation coefficient (P)
Rank Orders Deviations
Panel scores Consistency flow (1-2) (d) Squared (d2)
1 1 0 0
2 3 -1 1
3 2 1 1
4 5 -1 1
5 4 1 1
6 6 0 0
7 8 -1 1
8 7 1 1
9 9 0 0
10 10 0 0
=6 6
The rank correlation has added advantage on more nearly approximating the true
relationship. When the relationship is not linear and correlation for linearity is not made.
The first step in the rank correlation procedure is to convert scores to rank. This is shown
in table 2 where the scores tabulated in table 1 are converted to ranks. It will be noted that
the lowest value for each test receives the rank 1, the next lowest 2, etc., until the highest
value is ranked at the largest value receiving the first rank, etc, with identical results. The
next step is to obtain the deviation between each pair of values. Thus, when comparing
panel scores to consistency of the processed sauce (column 1 and 2, table 3). We obtain
the deviations as shown in column 3, table 3. We next square each of these deviations as
shown in column 4. We are now in position to sum the squared deviations ( ) and to
obtain the rank correlation in accordance with the following equation:
P (rank correlation coefficient) = 1-
Where n is the number of pairs correlated

Thus since the sum of the deviations squared for panel scores ar compared to consistency
of finished scored is 6 and the number of pairs compared is 10, then
P (rank correlation coefficient)= 1- or +0.964
192
When the other tests were correlated in a similar manner to panel scores, the following
rank correlation coefficients were obtained.
Table 6.4: Correlation value table

Panel scores correnated with Correlation coefficient (P)
Second flow, processed sauce +0.96

Second flow, raw sauce +0.39
Spread, inch, raw +0.32
Percent total solids, raw slurry +0.31
Percent soluble solids, raw slurry +0.24
Shearing force, raw slice +0.93
For a comparison of ten pairs, the correlation coefficient must be at least 0.632 for
significance difference at a probability of 0.05. Since only the correlations with flow on
the processed sauce and shear on the raw slices were above this required minimum of
0.0632, we again conclude that only the shear test on the raw slices is significantly
related to consistency of the finished sauce. Thus, we may select this test for further study
and discard the others. The excellent correlation between the flow test on the finished
sauce and panel scores further confirms the accuracy of this test as a measure of
consistency of the finished product. Further investigation of the shear test then need not
be done against panel evaluations of consistency, but, against the flow test on the finished
sauce.
At this point we should proceed with additional sampling on a substantial scale using the
shear test on the raw apples and the sets panels and flow test on the finished sauce and
repeat the correlation analyses. Assuming that the correlation is still satisfactory we are in
position to look to the method itself and determine how the shear test can be performed
most precisely and rapidly.
193
 Like food laws and regulations, food standards also established to secure the
safety and quality of foods and agricultural products.
 Note of that, how to set standards for agricultural products:- searching for
methods of measurement, correlation with human evaluation, improving the
method, establishing a scale, integrating with quality characteristics,
application to real product. Once the standard set, it is very simple for the
product to check for the standards.
_______1. The technical rule governing food drafted from legislation and administrative
measures laying down technical specifications and code of conduct is called standard
practice of agricultural products.
_______2. The lonely responsible in standardization of agricultural product is the

government.
______3. Correlation with human being mimicking the human sensory test and
instrument analysis.
______4. Choosing the best negative or positive correlated quality parameter is the basis
for standardization.
194
6.5 Testing Laboratories of Agricultural Products
It sets up a simplified procedure for adopting sampling methods or community analysis

methods in order to establish the composition, the manufacturing features, the packaging
and the labeling of a foodstuff. The number of samples that may be taken varies from one
country to another. Three samples may be taken in some countries, while in some
countries inspectors may be contented with only one sample, which is divided into three
parts; in the some countries, they may take only one sample, with a right to a
countersample. The sampling officer must generally send a copy of the results of tests to
the proprietor or the person responsible for the goods. Any measures adopted on the basis
of this Directive must also contain a safeguard clause justifying any measures laid down
by States to protect the health of their own nationals.
This regulation requires the inspectors to acquire representative samples from individual
lots. The inspector is required to indicate the lots of the product he wishes to examine in
order that the importer can submit them. A mark or some indication must be placed on
each lot, making it possible to identify them, indicating the type of produce, the
importer's name, the country of origin, the quality class, and if necessary the variety or
commercial type.
The purpose of sampling is to ensure the conformity of the packaging, marking, and the
product. If the inspector feels that the product is in conformity with Community
legislation, he issues an inspection certificate. If not, the proprietor or the importer must
be notified of the defects encountered, and a document issued indicating the quality
standards, which have not been met, and ensure that the products are not marketed for
consumption as fresh produce.
The test methods are discussed in second chapter of the module. Here under, there is a
little detail of sensory analysis terms and methods.
195
6.5.1 Sensory Evaluation
Every instrumental analysis is based on sensory evaluation. Many of sensory testing

primarily as a research tool. It is widely used in product development to match products
with competition, to determine consumer acceptance, to improve products and to conduct
shelf-life studies (storage stabilities). But sensory testing and evaluations are used more
routinely for quality control function such as raw material control, evaluation of new
sources for raw material, process control (at every step of the process), evaluation of
process change, product grading and multi-plant quality coordination.
Ask any healthy person, if he or she can compare food flavor and chances are the
response will be yes. Ask, “Why are you qualified as a flavor judge?” and the answer will
be something like “because I have tasted foods every day of my life.” The only
reasonable conclusion to be drawn from these answers is that this individual is capable of
judging food flavors as pleasing or displeasing to himself but not necessarily to anyone.
Sensory evaluation of food are concerned with much more than flavor. Texture, color,
size, density, aroma and many other factors have sensory values which are often vital to
the quality acceptability of foods. The threshold level at which food characteristics can be
detected or the levels at which they can be differentiated, need to be understood. Then
there are preference values dictated by cultures, ethnic practices, age, geographical area
habits and so on. When we refer to sensory testing, we are concerned not merely with one
person’s evaluation of flavor, but rather with a vast field of sensory perceptions, which
require sorting out. Fortunately, a great deal of research has been devoted to this field and
sensory testing programs can be established at an almost infinite number of degrees of
complexity.
The scientifically trained person finds it difficult to understand why a clear preference for
one food item over another does not lead to instant success in the marketplace. The
significance of preference values is clearly demonstrated by a test conducted many years
ago. A consumer panel of nearly 300 subjects almost an unanimously rated a “new”
flavor of ice cream as “excellent.” When
196
The institute of Food Technologists agreed on a definition of sensory evaluation: “a
scientific discipline used to evoke measure, analyze and interpret reactions to those
characteristics of foods and materials as they are perceived by the senses of sight, smell,
taste, touch and hearing.”
A. Taste
By far, this is the most commonly evaluated characteristic of foods. Taste can be
classified into four basic flavors: sweet, sour, salty and bitter. The thousands of
characteristics, which we are loosely, call flavors, such as onion, strawberry, mint and
butter are better described as odors. If somebody blindfolded and fed a small piece of
onion, while squeezing the nose shut, it will most likely be identified as apple. The
characteristic onion flavor is actually onion flavor.
B. Odor
There are thousands of odors associated with foods. To date, a simple classification of
odors acceptable to the food industry has not been devised. The following 30 odor
classifications were utilized to compare odors of a sample group of products.
Table 6.5: Different types of odor in a food system

Fresh Green Sourish Tart Citrusy
Watery Metallic Floral Fatty Aldehyde
Vegetable Lavender Ciniferous Minty Medicinal
Fruity Honey Buttery Animal Erogenic
Sweet Aromatic Anisic Spicy Powdery
Dusty Earthy Smoky Woody Balsamic
Each of these classifieds was described by standardized chemicals, natural flavorings,

oils or other substances and may not be universally accepted as deceptive. For example,
minty was defined as like peppermint oil, buttery as diacetyl and aromatic as vanillin.
197
6.5.2 Sensory Testing Methods
Selection of a sensory test method is dependent first on the type of information required
and second on the precision required of the results. Hence, common questions to be
answered are the following:
 How do you like this produce?

 How do you like the color of this product?
 Are these two products the same?
 Are all of these samples are identical?
 Arrange these products in a column with the strongest at the top and the weakest at
the bottom, with intermediate ones in order of their strength.
 Arrange these products in a column with the one you like the most at the top,
decreasing until the one you dislike the most is at the bottom. Identify the one you
neither like nor dislike.
 Which samples have vanilla flavor?
 Which of these samples are alike? Are they better flavored than the single sample?
Once these questions are determined, a choice of test will usually be found among the
following methods.
 Monadic: The tester evaluates a single sample, based on past experience only. This
method is useful when an experimental product contains a major departure from
similar products on the market; such as lime-flavored apple juice.
 Paired comparison: A tester compares sample A with a somewhat similar sample B
and then describes specific perceived differences. Results are analyzed using the
two-tailed test, since either sample could be preferred. In contrast, the assertion
that one mean is greater or lesser than another (more salt, less sugar, stronger
flavor, etc) requires a one-tailed test.
 Threshold: A tester identifies which of several samples (usually five or more) do not
contain a given characteristic and which do. The samples are prepared by adding
some characteristic to a series of “blanks” in small incremental quantities.
 Dilution: This test determines the lowest concentration at which characteristics can
be detected. If differs from threshold test by use of complete product at different
198
strengths; threshold tests are generally concerned with a single component in a
bland carrier.
 Triangle: Two samples are identical and one is different. The tester identifies the
pair. Is the pair preferred for some designed characteristics?
 Double triangle: In this test, there are two sets of triangles, not necessarily with the
same pair in each. Testers identify the pairs and their preferences.
 Duo-triangle: Two samples are identical and one is different. One of the identical
samples is presented as a control and the tester is asked to identify the sample,
which differ from the control.
 Rating-scale: Testers apply a rating to each of a coded group of samples. The scale
may be a line with good at one end and poor at the others or adjectives such as
fair, ok, good, and excellent or numerical scales representing successive levels of
quality or other scalar devices. This is also referred to as an optical intensity scale.
Results may be analyzed using analysis of variance.
 Magnitude estimation: This is similar to the rating scale except that the tester is
asked to apply quantifying scales to some characteristic of a series of samples. For
example, the strength of a component might be assigned values from 0-100 by the
panelist, the values being of any perceived, not necessarily uniform.
 Ranking: The tester is asked to place samples in order from most to least or best to
worst. This test differs from the rating scale in that no suitable scale may be
available. It works best for preliminary screening and when differences are fairly
obvious, requiring little time for evaluation.
 Attribute analysis: A specifically trained tester is presented with a single sample and
is asked to list all attributes defining the quality of the sample. For example, the
list for a candy bar might include chocolate flavor, sweetness, size of nuts,
darkness of color, crunchiness, creaminess, grit, chocolate aroma, sour aroma,
bitterness and aftertaste/ result from 6-12 panelists may be analyzed for
significance by using analysis of variance.
199
 Hedonic scale: This is similar to the rating scale, except the criterion here is the
extent to which the samples are liked. No attempt is made to direct responses or
define the meaning of scale categories. The scale is presented in nine categories,
like extremely, like very much, like moderately, like slightly, neither like nor
dislike, dislike slightly, dislike moderately, dislike very much, dislike extremely.
When less experienced panelists, the moderate categories illuminated. When panel
consists of children, the following descriptors are suggested; love it, like it a lot,
like it a little, it is just so-so, dislike a lot and hate it. Hedonic scale testing is most
useful when conducted with 40-50 non-trained office personnel. If conducted
outside company, more than 100 consumers should make up the panel results may
be analyzed using analysis of variance.
 Flavor profile: Five characteristics are identified by the subject: character, intensity,
order of appearance, aftertaste and fullness. Order of appearance refers to the time
sequence at which the various aroma or flavor components appear. Fullness refers
to the overall impressions of blending of quality components and the
appropriateness of the factors to the product. This method is not subject to
statistical analysis. After panelists independently evaluate one to three samples,
they then report to a panel leader in open discussion.
 Texture profile: Three classes of characteristics are identified and described as:
 Initial perception of first bite (hardness, chewiness, adhesiveness), and
 Masticatory perception during chewing (gumminess, chewiness, adhesiveness),
and
 Residual perception during mastication (rate of breakdown, type of break down
moisture absorption and mouth coating)
No statistical analysis is possible, while individual judgments are discussed to arrive at an
average rating for each of the three classes.
 Routine testing: When a large number of production samples is presented to a
quality control technician for comparison to the quality standards, the usual
procedure is to taste them in rapid succession, referring to the standard only when
200
there is some doubt about the characteristic of an individual sample. Generally, the
products are smelled, tasted, and chewed out not swallowed. If there are lingering
characteristics, a rinse is recommended between samples. In the event of a suspect
sensory characteristic, a second opinion is recommended. When the number of
flavor variables is relatively small (such as with lemonade, coffee, or flavor
pudding) as many as 30 samples can be evaluated at one time. When the number
of flavor or texture variables is large (such as with beef stew, mixed vegetables,
fruit products) it is unlikely that even an experienced technician can handle more
than six samples at a time.
6.5.3 Prameters to be Considered for Sensory Analysis

Fatigue and frequency of testing:- In-house panels consist of office, plant and laboratory
personnel who have responsibilities, interests and time constraints, which may pressure
them to rush through the sensory tests. Obviously, this will affect their reliability. On the
other hand, some subjects enjoy the break from the monotony of their routine. With the
exception of those whose duties require continuous sensory testing, such as quality
control laboratory inspectors and technicians, it is wise to restrict the number of fitness in
which a subject participates to no more than one per day, and preferably one every other
week. At a single setting, the product will determine the limitations as much as the
tester’s abilities. Weak or mid flavored products can be presented in as many as three
simple tests without fatigue, but strong or harsh flavor can dull the senses very quickly. A
single test will end the day’s testing for any panelists. Alcoholic beverages present
obvious limitations to the amount of product, which can be consumed before test results
become suspect.
Performance grading:- Many panelists will hand in their score sheets with the question,
“did I get them right?” For some tests, there are no right or wrong answers, but when a
participant selects a pair from a triangle test or grades five aged products for staleness,
there is no certain amount of pride in knowing that one has the ability to discern the
201
correct answers and this might motivate testers to continues to concentrate on future tests
and look forward to participating again knowing that there are correct answers. For those
who missed the correct answers, perhaps they will try harder on the next test.
Blind versus open testing:- Exploratory tests may be performed open: - that is, the
panelists may be told which sample is the standard, what the other samples are and the
purpose of the test. It instills a measure of confidence and speeds up the testing. Blind
testing, where unbiased data are essential, some information can and perhaps should be
made available to the tasters. For example, presented with five oranges and ask to
evaluate them for appearance (without further explanation), some panelists might look for
size differences. The test might have been designed to evaluate the effectiveness of
various levels of controlled atmosphere storage, or different temperature storage or
irradiation, but the testers might totally miss rating the samples on the basis of color,
absence of mold, shriveled skin or odor any of which could have been the major goal of
the test.
Order of presentation:- When samples are presented one at a time for evaluation, the
order of presentation becomes significant. Each sample is subconsciously related to
decisions about the preceding sample. This contrast effect varies among subjects and
neither experience nor training will eliminate it. It can be reduced by changing the order
of presentation to each subject and if possible, changing the order in repeat testing as
well. Even when samples are presented simultaneously, as I triangle test will bias
evaluation of the next two.
Temperature control:- For different testing, most products should be presented at room
temperature. For performance testing, they should be at the temperature normally served.
If unsure of the effect of temperature, tests may be repeated at various temperatures and
the result compared.
202
Reference standards:- If the company’s product A is to be rated against similar
competitive products X, Y and Z; should A be identified as the company’s product for
comparison purpose? Generally, the answer is no. it should be tested against standards.
The techniques for preparing a true standard for a taste are often difficult to establish.
When comparing the browning reaction in sliced apple or potato, should be compared
with the standards.
 Written standards
A documented flavor profile My as a flavor standard for relatively
uncomplicated generic type of products. It may be made somewhat more
definitive by including charts of chromatographic or spectrophotometric peaks.
Although this may function satisfactorily for a while, its effectiveness becomes
questionable as sensory judges move on and are replaced by others who are
less familiar with the sensory objectives of the original product defined by such
a document.
Photographed standards
These standards are quite effective for defining physical characteristics (colors,
blemishes, defects, sizes, proportions and so on) provided the photographs are
visually protected from changes.
Verbal or mental standards
Some flavors and textures can be communicated too others through experience.
Example of these include wood, tallow, hide, wine, cardboard, nutlike, straw,
acidic and gummy. Training most healthy people to recognize these
characteristics is not particularity difficult. The main problem is defining the
extent or strength of these characteristics in a given sample. A second
difficulty is training panel member to uniformly rate the degree or intensity of
these characteristics. By using larger panels for these inexact measurements,
the average reaction becomes more meaningful.
203
6.5.4 Types of Sensory Panels in the Analysis of Food Products
Experts in the sensory evaluation field tend to treat the subject as if it were directed to
large companies with vast financial resources. This leaves the quality control supervisor
for small companies in dilemma; his sensory panel consists of himself, plant manager and
consumers. How can a quality controller supervisor provides separate panels for the
many sensory applications that arise? He cannot, but armed with information regarding
the functions of specialized panels, he should certainly be able to provide at least the
basis of sensory quality control to his company. There are different types of sensory
panels or evaluators.
Expert panels: This is group of specially trained individuals whose function is to make
fine sensory distinctions between products or evaluations of single products. In addition
to being used by the research department, experts are often routinely used by raw
materials purchasing departments to evaluate both offerings and receipts. Frequently,
they will check the finished product to determine if their section of raw material
withstood processing without showing undesirable characteristics. It is relatively unusual
for a quality control panel to maintain a special expert panel. In the rare event that the
routine quality control sensory panel finds an unidentifiable characteristic, the product
can be sent to the expert panel elsewhere in the company for further analysis. If none
experts, it can be sent out to an independent laboratory.
In-house panel:- The term in-house merely identifies the panel as consisting of company
employees who may or not be specially trained and who may or may not regularly
participate in sensory testing. Frequently, an in-house trained is one which evaluates
specific products (new developments, critical complaints, competitive comparisons) as an
inexpensive way to determine if outside technical assistant is required. An in-house panel
may occasionally be used as a miniature consumer test, providing rapid and tentative
results when broad scale consumer tests are being conducted simultaneously by outside
marketing organizations.
204
Informal panel:- In addition to the research and control panels which use relatively
rigorous procedures in conduction their functions, companies may also have a number of
informal groups who meet periodically to “see how things are going”. An example might
be the monthly sales or marketing meeting. Where sample of the company’s major
products can be formally reported to those of the competitions. The procedures are
usually casual, with prepared samples being offered to each participant for comment.
Results may or may not be formally reported to other departments. Under these
conditions, major product differences discovered are liable to be viewed as catastrophes
and either the researcher or quality control department quickly becomes involved. The
name type of informal competitive sampling may be performed by any concerned
department research, quality control, purchasing and others. Because these tests are
similar to the actual treatment a product might receive by consumers, some surprising
characteristics are occasionally revealed.
Acceptance panel:- This is a rather loosely defined term that describes the result of any
number of sensory panels acceptance or rejection of a sample. In quality control, an
acceptance panel is one that can be used in audit functions, daily routine sampling or
sorting rejected material. In a manner of speaking, however, screening panels and in-
house panels are also acceptance panels.
Interplant panel:- Some companies with more than one plant might wish to dignify the
function of those quality control panelists who are responsible for maintaining identical
product quality characteristics in all plants with a special title, interplant panelists. At
best, it might be a part-time duty of those responsible for routine sensory testing. This is
not to be little; the function is of prime importance and requires special quality control
efforts. The greatest contributing factors to multi plant or even international quality
control are the development and maintenance of strictly enforced standard methodology,
including a communication network.
205
Outside panels:-Outside assistance exists in many forms. Marketing and advertising
companies frequently maintain panel facilities for advertising, copy, label design, flavor
testing and focus groups. Focus groups are panels selected or maintained by market
research organizations to explore existing or new concepts concerning products. The
groups are carefully selected to represent the potential consumers conducted by the
panels are carefully monitored and directed by a professional group leader. In addition to
marketing and advertising laboratories.
6.5.5 Selection and Training of Panels

In order to obtain meaningful evaluations from a panel, members should be selected and
trained with care. Uniformed prospective panelists from within the company consider
sensory panel assignment as a fun and games diversification from the routine of their
regular jobs.
As a guide, an in-house panel of 8-10 members can be selected from a group of 15-20
volunteer employees. After two or three training sessions, the six most reliable and
consistent candidates should be identified; others can be held in reserve as needed. The
training sessions should include techniques in which the panelists follow well-defined
procedures:
a. Rinse mouth with room temperature water
b. Sip (middle) the sample
c. Chew and roll over front, side, rear of tongues
d. Spit sample into cup provided (do not swallow)
e. Record observations as instructed
f.Rinse mouth until flavor sensation has disappears
g. Repeat for next sample
206
 Know what is sampling is and rules of sampling.
 Sensory testing terms and methods.
 Know the importance of sensory testing methods in agricultural product quality
establitiong and standardizations.
_______1. The primary thing in testing for laboratory of agricultural products is good
sampling of the product.
_______2. Sensory analysis is hardly important for agricultural products in

standardization and quality control system.
______3. The order of the products has no effect on sensory evaluation system.
______4. Trained panels are more accurate than the expert panel in sensory evaluation.
______5. Texture profile is one of the most important sensory characteristics to be

measures during the sensory evaluation.
207
 Checklist
Review what you have studied in this unit according to the following checklist. If you are
not sure go back to the text and read again.
S.No Sub topic Key Concepts

1 Introduction to external  Defn. of external quality control
quality control activities  Who is in charge of quality control
of agricultural products  Community policy related to food quality
 Food inspection and certification systems
 Types of controls
 Power of inspection officer
 Effective control system as of FAO
 Food law and regulations and enforcements
2 Inspection of agricultural  Defn of inspection 
products  Who is responsible for inspection
 Different types of forms of inspection
3 Certification and quality  Certification process and procedures 
marks of agricultural  Quality marks
products  Aim and benefits of certification
4 Standardization and  Why standardization 
national standard bodies  Food standards
of agricultural products  Standardization methods/procedures
 The role of Quality and Standard Authority
of Ethiopian (QSAE) in standardization
of agricultural products
5 Testing laboratories of  Sampling methods 
agricultural products  Sensory evaluation terminologies/methods
208
Summary
External quality control activities of agricultural products are the heart of controlling the
business (export and import) and the consumer safety and quality of the products. The
quality control activities are based on government responsibility to protect his citizens
against quality fraudulent. The food regulations, directives and decisions are the
community policy related to food quality. There are several controls: product quality,
production and product hygiene, internal control systems, documentation systems.
Keeping food laws and regulations by the concerning body and enforcing these laws and
regulations is very important by government to keep his public against food safety and
food quality.
Certification and quality marks of agricultural products are very important concerns in
standardizations and quality controls. Product certification is a procedural mechanism by
which third party gives a written assurance that a product, process or service conforms to
specified requirements. There are several benefits of product certifications.
Standardization and national standard bodies of agricultural products are also very
important aspects in standardization and quality control of agricultural products. There
are several methods and procedures of standardization of food in which every principles
mimics human true evaluation.
Testing laboratories of agricultural products also other aspects which are important to
consider. Good sampling for your products is the very important concern. Among the
laboratory tests sensory evaluation is the important ones. The sensory terms and analysis
methods are explained in this chapter.
209
Further Reading
Barrett D. M., (1996). Quality assurance for processed fruit & vegetable products.
perishables Handling Newsletter Issue No. 85.
FAO, (1995). Legislation controlling food control and certification. pp: 39.
FAO, (2008). A Contemporary Approach to Food Quality and Safety Standards. User’s
manual. Developed for Codex-India through the FAO Project TCP/IND/0067.
Hoyle D., (2006). ISO 9000 Quality Systems Handbook. ELSEVIER publisher. 5th edition
Inteaz Alli, 2004, Food quality assurance principles and practice, page 43.
Johnson G.I., Nguyen Duy Duc Le Van T., and Webb M.C., (2000). Quality assurance in
agricultural produce. pp:45.
Merton R. H., (2003). Statistical quality control for the food industry. 3rd ed. Kluwer
Academic / Plenum Publishers
Schlickman J., (2003). ISO 9001:2000 Quality Management System Design.
http://www.bisenter.com to register it.
USAID/PEPFAR, (2008). Quality assurance and improvement standards for OVC
programs in Ethiopia
Vasconcellos J. A., (2005). Quality Assurance for the Food Industry A Practical
Approach.
210
Activity 6.1
1.Explain the external quality control activities of agricultural products.

___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
______________________.
2.Who are responsible for the external quality control in Ethiopia?
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
_______________________.
3.Explain the inspection forms and what to be recorded on it for agricultural products.
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
_______________________.
4.Explain the certification procedures/methods and aims and uses of agricultural
products.
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
_________________________.
211
5.How do you do to set standards for specific agricultural product?
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
________________________.
6.Explain the sensory testing methods and sensory procedures.
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
______________________.
212
Answer keys to self-assessment questions
Unit 1
1)B 2) A 3) D 4) D 5) D 6) B 7) D 8) B 9) A 10) E
Unit 2
1) D 2) C 3) A 4) D 5) B 6) C 7) D 8) A
Unit 3
1) D 2) E 3) E 4) C 5) B 6) E 7) E 8) E
9) D 10) C
Unit 4
1) A 2) B 3) B 4) E 5) E 6) E 7) E 8) D
9) D 10) E 11) E 12) E 13) E 14) E 15) E
Unit 5
5.1: 1) False 2) False 3) False 4) True 5) True
5.2: 1) True 2) True 3) False 4) True 5) True
5.3: 1) True 2) False 3) True
5.4: 1) False 2) False 3) True 4) True 5) False
Unit 6
6.1: 1) T 2) F 3) T 4) F
6.2: 1) T 2) T 3) F
6.3: 1) F 2) T 3) T 4) T
213
6.4: 1) T 2) F 3) T 4) T
6.5: 1) T 2) F 3) F 4) F 5) T
214

Module Final Quality Assurance

Uploaded by

Document Information

Original Description:

Copyright

Available Formats

Share this document

Share or Embed Document

Sharing Options

Did you find this document useful?

Is this content inappropriate?

Copyright:

Available Formats

Module Final Quality Assurance

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

AGRICULTURAL EXTENSION MID-CAREER

Quality Assurance and

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ................................................ Error! Bookmark not defined.

 Unit One: General concepts of quality and quality control

 Unit Two: Introduction to standard tests for quality assessment

 Unit Three: Standards and specifications of agricultural products

 Unit Four: Quality control in food industry

 Unit Six: External quality control activities of agricultural products

 Know standard tests for quality assessments of agricultural products

 Explain the quality control systems in food industry

 Illustrate quality assurance and quality control of agricultural products

 Apply the external quality control activities of agricultural products

QUALITY CONTROL CONCEPTS AS APPLIED TO

At the end of this unit you should be able to:

 State the importance of quality and quality control of agricultural products.

How do you explain the term quality for agricultural products?

Quality components for foods are related to:

1.1.1 Implicit Needs

1.1.2 Explicit Needs

1.1.3 Quality Attributes

In conclusion, the general concept of quality in the agricultural food sector

1.1.4 Importance of Quality Agriculutural Products

What is the need for quality agricultural products?

1.2 Major Quality Control Functions

What is the need of understanding quality control?

A major challenge, in addition to that of ensuring that food is produced in a controlled

In essence the national food control system supports trade by playing a

1.3 Historical Background of Quality Control

Do you think quality control is a new concept?

(Use the space left below to write your responses.)

To date, the quality control of agricultural products is based on government responsibility,

1.3.1 National Quality Control

Generally, the quality control of agricultural food products for domestic

1.3.2 Responsibility for Quality Control at National Level

In other countries, such as Finland, responsibility lies with a number of different

1.4 Quality Control Functions

What are the major quality control functions of agricultural products?

(Use the space left below to write your responses.)

Figure 1.1: Interaction of quality control systems

Quality control is one of the most important components of quality management. If

a.Provide adequate infrastructure. This includes providing and maintaining building

d.Make available easy-to-understand raw material and product specifications. Unless

o.Conduct stage inspection during manufacturing. In addition to certain checks on the

A.Taste, smell and texture

C. Quality must be a feature of all commodities

_____ 7. Select the one that is true of quality control:

A. Quality control prevents unsatisfactory products from being delivered to

_____ 8. Which one of the following is false?

_____ 9. Chose the one that is correctly stated

A. All countries are equally concerned about quality control measures

Quality control activities include providing an adequate infrastructure and work

International Trade Centre (ITC) and Physikalisch-Technische Bundesanstalt (PTB).

STANDARD TESTS FOR QUALITY ASSESSMENT

Define the term testing for agricultural products;

What is the term and principle of testing for agricultural products?

2.1.1 Definition and Concepts of Testing

Testing as defined by ‘ISO/IEC 17000:2004 is a ‘technical operation that consists of

Not all testing is conformity assessment and a substantial amount of

Why testing is important for agricultural products?

Typical reasons for testing in the fresh agricultural products are:

Is it expected to have own testing laboratory or use external laboratories?

When considering possible outsourcing of laboratory activities, a common practice is to

There are advantages in having immediate access to in-house testing