Date of Award

1-1-1998

Document Type

Thesis

Publisher

Edith Cowan University

Degree Name

Master of Applied Science

Faculty

Faculty of Science, Technology and Engineering

First Supervisor

Dr Ajay Singh

Abstract

Quality assurance (QA) has become a key factor to business success in the marketplace. Within Australia, companies normally approach QA by implementing formal systems which maintain the consistency of manufacturing processes, and hence, the quality of subsequent output. These systems have increasingly been based upon the international series of standards, ISO 9000.In the food industry, safety is a minimum requirement for food quality. As Governments and food authorities have endeavoured to reduce the incidence of foodborne illnesses, they have promoted the implementation of additional systems developed to a specific standard for food safety, namely Hazard Analysis Critical Control Point (HACCP). However, the cost of developing and maintaining separate systems to ISO 9000 and HACCP is prohibitive to many food companies, particularly smaller operators. As a consequence, a number of alternative standards have been recently developed that are more relevant to the needs of these companies (e.g. SQF 2000, HACCP-9000). The purpose of this study was to develop a QA plan which could be successfully applied by a particular small food manufacturer (Westoz Brewing), This was achieved by adopting a technique used in a number of these alternative standards, i.e. application of HACCP to both safety and wider quality issues. Due to time constraints, the study focussed on applying HACCP only to quality issues rather than to both quality and safety issues. In particular, these issues were associated with lager-style products manufactured at one of the client's breweries. As a result of this research, the client was provided with a practical plan suitable for the application of a QA system to the production of a Westoz beer. In addition to reducing costs associated with maintaining an integrated system, further savings would be made due to the preventative nature of HACCP, i.e, minimisation of product reworking and waste by ensuring that more products are manufactured "right first time". The developed plan also represented an initial step towards certification to recognised quality standards such as SQF 2000.

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