Lesson 2 - Quality Assurance and Quality Management
This lesson looks at the management of quality both generally and in the brewery. It discusses definitions of quality and then explains and compares approaches to quality control and quality assurance. Next, it details the components of a formal quality management system as well as tools used in quality management. Finally, it explains what tools are available for the systematic management of food safety and product integrity, and considers how these apply in the brewing industry.
TACCP and VACCP
We have learned that HACCP is an effective system for managing food safety. The problem is that it is only designed to protect food from unintentional contamination. Food integrity scares in Europe in 2013, involving horse meat added to other meats in processing plants, has led to the requirement from some customers and customer consortiums that producers protect their products from deliberate contamination.
TACCP stands for Threat Assessment and Critical Control Points and deals with threats to the integrity of products from deliberate contamination along the supply chain. TACCP is used to assess and control the risk to the product from economically motivated adulteration, malicious contamination, extortion, espionage, counterfeiting, and cyber-crime. TACCP is not a legal requirement but can be used as a legal defence against prosecution for supplying contaminated or misrepresented products.
While HACCP is ostensibly a system for use within production, TACCP considers the wider supply chain and will involve logistics/supply chain and security staff to the same extent as those in production. Implementation of TACCP follows similar steps to those of HACCP. The 10 steps are as follows:
1. Assemble a threat assessment team (should be multi-disciplinary).
2. Develop a risk assessment methodology.
3. Develop a flow chart of the supply chain.
4. Identify the steps where there is a potential threat to:
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the organisation and key staff;
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operations;
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the product.
5. Identify risks as CCP or Control Point (CP).
6. Identify and monitor threat controls for each CCP.
7. Develop an action plan for if controls are breached, including immediate correction and corrective action.
8. Document the TACCP Plan.
9. Train staff accordingly.
10. Regularly review the TACCP Plan.
In addition to TACCP there is VACCP. VACCP stands for Vulnerability Assessment and Critical Control Points and is concerned with the vulnerability of the supply chain to risks associated with dishonesty and economically motivated adulteration.