FOOD AND WATER QUALITY

Food and water quality are the quality characteristics of food and water that are acceptable to consumers. This includes external factors such as appearance texture, and flavour and internal (chemical, physical, microbial). Food and water quality is an important requirement, because consumers are susceptible to any form of contamination that may occur during handling. Many consumers also rely on manufacturing and processing standards, particularly to know what ingredients are present due to dietary, nutritional requirements (kosher, halal, vegetarian), or medical conditions (e.g., diabetes, or allergies).

WATER QUALITY

Today’s modern food processing industries are heavily reliant upon water as both an ingredient and as an integral part of their preparation and processing functions. While in some instances the water used is further processed and treated by the food manufacturer, in many cases this supply of water is obtained from local municipal sources and under goes no further monitoring or processing beyond what is done by the local utility that supplies it to the end users. Unfortunately, in most cases little or no monitoring of the quality of this water by the water provider occurs beyond the water treatment plant. The complex and wide network of pipes which includes the water distribution system is unmonitored.

Potable water is widely used in the food industry for many purposes. Its quality should be assured in the same way as any other raw material or ingredient. A quality assurance programe for water should cover its source, its treatment and its distribution and storage within the factory, and include regular checks for compliance with internal or legislative standards. To establish such a monitoring programme the choice of parameters, standards, analytical methods and sampling plans, as well as the interpretation of the results and decisions on corrective measures, should be considered in the light of the local situation. Guidance is given on how to establish such a monitoring plan. Details are not specified because such a plan must be a factory-specific document which cannot be generalized.

Consequently, drinking water must be fit for human consumption in microbiological, chemical and physical terms. It must satisfy the defined hygienic and microbiological requirements and conform with the tolerance and limit values. Additionally, it must be comparable with the standards in relation to the flavour, aroma and appearance. The microbiological, physical and toxicological criteria relating to conformity with the Law and with standards are clearly defined and compliance is checked by official controls.

Ideally, drinking-water should not contain any microorganisms known to be pathogenic—capable of causing disease—or any bacteria indicative of faecal pollution. To ensure that a drinking-water supply satisfies these guidelines, samples should be examined regularly. The detection of Escherichia coli provides definite evidence of faecal pollution; in practice, the detection of thermotolerant (faecal) coliform bacteria is an acceptable alternative.

In rural areas of developing countries, the great majority of health-related water quality problems are the result of bacteriological or other biological contamination. Nevertheless, a significant number of very serious problems may occur as a result of the chemical contamination of water resources. Some potentially chronic effects may occur in rural areas where overuse of agrochemicals leads to significant levels of pesticides in water sources. The presence of nitrate and nitrite in water may result from the excessive application of fertilizers or from leaching of wastewater or other organic wastes into surface water and groundwater. Although effects may be difficult to detect in human populations, such contaminants may pose a risk to health.

Some water pollutants which become extremely toxic in high concentrations are, however, needed in trace amounts. Copper, zinc, manganese, boron and phosphorus, for example, can be toxic or may otherwise adversely affect aquatic life when present above certain concentrations, although their presence in low amounts is essential to support and maintain functions in aquatic ecosystems. The same is true for certain elements with respect to drinking water. Selenium, for example, is essential for humans but becomes harmful or even toxic when its concentration exceeds a certain level.

Drinking water has a central importance in the framework of operational hygiene. In the HACCP concept (Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Points), it is taken account of within the hazard analysis in the classification of environmental factors. Additionally, as a raw material, drinking water should be considered as a foodstuff ingredient and an aspect of “product quality”. As a foodstuff, drinking water must fulfil high quality requirements as it can have a large influence on the hygienic and technological characteristics of the processed product.

It should be observed that the water quality can also vary as a result of the external supply due to major changes in the weather conditions (dryness, rainy periods and snow melt).

The quality of the water within the company’s own water pipeline systems also changes over time. Depending on conditions (temperature, corrosion, calcification, flow profile), considerable bacterial populations can form up to the level of biofilms that are a permanent source of contamination.

INFLUENCE OF THE WATER QUALITY ON THE QUALITY OF FOODSTUFFS

In food processing, the quality of the ingredients used is of crucial importance for the end product. It is therefore sensible to define the requirements on the quality of the drinking water that is to be used as an ingredient under technological and economic aspects when the specifications are created, and to define the frequency that it will be monitored. Some examples have been compiled in the table that show which water parameters in the individual sectors could have an influence on the quality of the product.

FOOD QUALITY

The terms food safety and food quality can sometimes be confusing. Food safety refers to all those hazards, whether chronic or acute, that may make food injurious to the health of the consumer. It is not negotiable. Quality includes all other attributes that influence a product’s value to the consumer. This includes negative issues such as spoilage, contamination with filth, discoloration, off-odours and positive attributes such as the origin, colour, flavour, texture and processing method of the food. This distinction between safety and quality has implications for public policy and influences the nature and content of the food control system most suited to meet predetermined national objectives.

So what is quality? Quality of food includes all those characteristics of excellence that make it acceptable to the food buyer. The fact that food quality turns out to be the standard consumers will accept doesn’t have to be a bad thing. The majority of consumers find acceptable product quality in the market, They must, estimates vary, but it appears that shoppers in food markets make choices at the rate of about 4 per second. Shoppers do take sanitation and safety of food pretty much for granted.

The foremost responsibility of foodcontrol is to enforce the food law(s) protecting the consumer against unsafe, impure and fraudulently presented food by prohibiting the sale of food not of the nature, substance or quality demanded by the purchaser.

Confidence in the safety and integrity of the food supply is an important requirement for consumers. Foodborne disease outbreaks involving agents such as Escherichia coli, Salmonella and chemical contaminants highlight problems with food safety and increase public anxiety that modern farming systems, food processing and marketing do not provide adequate safeguards for public health. Factors which contribute to potential hazards in foods include improper agricultural practices; poor hygiene at all stages of the food chain; lack of preventive controls in food processing and preparation operations; misuse of chemicals; contaminated raw materials, ingredients and water; inadequate or improper storage, etc.

Specific concerns about foodhazards have usually focused on:

• Microbiological hazards;

• Pesticide residues;

• Misuse of food additives;

• Chemical contaminants, including biological toxins; and

• Adulteration

Large companies that can afford advertising space on the radio, television or in the press emphasise the quality of their goods, often in a very subtle way. This quality image is given by stating for example "our foods are made only from high quality ingredients." They also project a quality image through packaging etc. Producers who sell intermediate products, such as dried fruits, to a secondary processor will find that the buyer expects the foods to meet an agreed standard. In the case of exporters, these standards are becoming more and more strict.

In order to improve and control product quality it is essential to fully understand the meaning of the term quality. A common definition is "achieving agreed customer expectations or specifications". In other words, the customer defines the quality criteria needed in a product. To meet this standard the manufacturer puts in a Quality Control System to ensure that the product meets these criteria on a routine basis.

Quality control or quality assurance

The following examples using baked goods illustrate the difference between quality control and quality assurance. A customer may specify that bread should be white, with a good loaf volume and pleasant flavour and taste. The manufacturer then needs to focus on the process to ensure that the raw materials are consistently handled to produce uniform white loaves with the expected volume and taste.

Controlling quality may be achieved by:

• Inspection of raw materials to ensure that no poor quality ingredients are used.
• Carrying out checks on the process to ensure that the weights of the ingredients and temperature and time of baking are correct.
• Inspecting the final product to ensure that no poor quality loaves are sent to the consumer.

·         All food companies, including the smallest manufacturers, have a responsibility to provide consumers with safe, wholesome foods. Safety is not an option but it is an essential part of the planning, preparation and production of foods. Any lack of consideration of safety can result in a serious threat to public health. This is recognised by the law in most countries and serious penalties exist for those who contravene hygiene and food safety legislation. At present in many countries, enforcement staff are not always sufficiently resourced to be fully effective, but this situation is changing as consumers become more concerned about food safety.

·         An important management method to ensure the safety of foods is the Hazard Analysis Critical Control Point (HACCP) system. This is based on quality control, microbiology and risk management and it has been adopted throughout the world, although some countries have tailored the approach to the needs of their particular food sectors. Many small producers may consider that the development of HACCP systems is not feasible or appropriate to their current needs. However larger manufacturers and producer groups who export to industrialised countries are increasingly finding that HACCP is not a matter of choice but is demanded by the importing company. With time, it is likely that the use of HACCP will be more broadly required by food manufacturers. For this reason a brief description of the application of HACCP is included in this book and examples are given using a number of commodity groups.