FNB News - QA vs QC: Different approaches to measure refined oils’ qty

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F&B SPECIALS

QA vs QC: Different approaches to measure refined oils’ qty

Sunday, 16 March, 2014, 08 : 00 AM [IST]

Venkatesh Ganapathy

The quality of fats and oils has become very important today, not only because it is a food product, but also because quality gives a competitive edge to a producer in the marketplace. The quality of the oil depends on its physical and chemical parameters, and these are dependent on factors like the source of the oil, geographic, climatic and agronomic variables. It also depends on the quality of the oilseeds, processing conditions and packaging.

Oil that has a high acid value is one contains free fatty acids. A quality check after the refining, bleaching, filtration and deodorisation process is indicative of the success of the processes. Storage and transport conditions are important in determining the final quality of the oil. Fatty acid composition and oxidative stability are important from nutritional and sensory quality view points. Inspection for quality also becomes important to check for the adulteration of the vegetable oil. The prolonged storage of oil could lead to rancidity, auto-oxidation and frying can lead to thermal oxidation.

Control over raw material supplies is one of the most important factors that affect the ability to continue production and the profitability of an oil processing enterprise. Consistency is the key to good product quality. Manufacturers have to understand how to control the process to make consistent products.

Ask yourself if the product is good enough for your customers;
Do not compromise on the quality of the raw material;
Maintain your quality standards, because once customers are lost, you cannot get them back, and
Do not forget quality assurance in the storerooms and during distribution

Most crops must be harvested when they are fully mature to give the best yield of oil. Some farmers harvest their crops too early, either because they need to generate an income as soon as possible, or because they fear theft from the fields. However, immature crops increase processing costs because of lower oil yields. The moisture content may also be too high, because the crops have not properly dried, which again allows moulds to grow and risks contamination by aflatoxins.

Additionally, mould growth on a few seeds or nuts can quickly lead to the spread of infection and the resultant loss of a whole batch. If possible, the processor should work with farmers as part of a contract arrangement to specify and/or supervise harvesting at the correct stage of maturity, and also control on farm post-harvest processing to properly dry crops and to reduce the risk of contamination. During initial inspection of crops, it is important that the processing staff is trained to remove any discoloured or mouldy pieces, as these are likely to contain aflatoxins (especially groundnuts) and would also lead to off-flavours in the oil.

Difference between quality assurance and quality control
Quality assurance (QA) and quality control (QC) are the terms that have been used to describe how quality is monitored in processing facilities. QC is a process function with evaluations at each step of the process and specifications set at each step. The interpretation of results, followed by process adjustments, ensures that final product meets specifications.

The function of QA encompasses all aspects of oil processing including specifications, packaging, shipping, receiving, purchasing, sales, service, storage and sanitation. In the early 80s, QA was channelised into the total quality management (TQM) movement in process industries. But quality is no longer concerned only with controlling the process to meet minimum product specifications.

It is now assured through all aspects of production, from management to shipping to product characteristics.

Many people and organisations are confused about the difference between QA and QC. QA is a set of activities designed to ensure that the development or maintenance process

is adequate to ensure a system would meet its objectives, whereas QC is a set of activities designed to evaluate a developed work product.

QA activities ensure that the process is defined and appropriate. Methodology and standard development are examples of QA activities. A QA review would focus on the process elements of a project (for instance, ensuring that the requirements are being defined at the proper level of detail). In contrast, QC activities focus on finding defects in specific deliverables (for instance, whether the defined requirements are the right requirements or not). Testing is an example of a QC activity, but there are others as well (such as inspections).

Quality assurance procedures
The main quality factors for cooking oil are colour, clarity, taste/flavour and odour. The correct colour and clarity are mainly due to proper clarification after the oil has been extracted. The flavour and odour of oil depend on the type of raw material used and the extent of rancidity.

Many producers think of quality assurance as simply testing their products (which is quality control), but a QA programme is much wider than this, and should include the following components:

Raw material inspection;
Process control and the correct operation of equipment;
Operator training and hygiene;
The condition of the building and routine cleaning programmes;
Product quality;
Correct fill weights and sealing of packs, and
Control over storage and distribution

Hazard Analysis
Hazard analysis is used to identify anything in the oil production process that is potentially harmful. This includes ingredients, storage conditions, processing conditions, packaging and even actions by staff that may affect product safety or quality.

A hazard analysis and critical control points (HACCP) plan allows the potential hazards in a process to be identified, assessed, and controlled or eliminated. In oil processing, potential hazards include poisons such as aflatoxins in oilseeds, pesticide residues or physical contaminants (such as dead or living insects, excreta, hair from rodents, metal fragments or glass) that, if eaten, could harm consumers. A HACCP plan sets the tolerances that are allowed for each hazard.

The system is based on monitoring critical control points (CCPs). These are points or stages in the process where a loss of control would result in an unacceptable risk to food safety or quality. The system also defines the actions that need to be taken when the results of checks on CCPs are outside pre-set limits.

The benefits of a TQM system are more cost-effective production (by getting it the right first time); reduction in wasted materials; consistently meeting customer needs (which results in increased customer confidence and sales and fewer customer complaints); improved machine efficiency, and increased production capacity.

The system also results in better trained staff and their heightened awareness and commitment to quality. It shows regulatory authorities that the producer has a commitment to high-quality products.

Analytical methods to test quality
For years, vegetable and edible oil refineries have been using spectrophotometers, colorimeters and turbidimeters in their labs to analyse process samples. The samples are pulled from the process, brought into the lab and tested to ensure proper product specification. Real-time measurements eliminate the delay in getting results, and avoid the reworking of products inadvertently processed out of spec, which is costly.

Monitoring processes such as winterisation, bleaching, hydrogenation, and finished oil quality can be greatly improved with the use of these inline colorimeters and turbidimeters. Out-of-spec products are immediately detected, allowing proper process adjustments to be made quickly, avoiding product reworking.

Modern analytical techniques are now available for quality control of edible oils. The FT-NIR spectrometer, for instance, is an analytical device that can quickly analyse the quality of an edible-grade vegetable oil. The parameters to assess the quality of edible oil include iodine value, free fatty acids, trans fatty acids, fatty acid profile.

The standardised chemical and physical methods for testing the quality of edible vegetable oils are sanctioned by the American Oil Chemist Society (AOCS). In India, we have the ISI (Indian Standards Institute) that undertakes the testing of edible oils. These tests are done in the lab and may take some time. However, analytical techniques like gas chromatography can present information in an agile manner.

For instance, gas chromatography could be used to find out the fatty acid composition of a vegetable oil and this can be a process control measure. FT-NIR spectroscopy is a technique that is used not only for analysing vegetable oils, but also for analysing oil seeds and residues in oil and moisture content.

Near-infra-red spectroscopy is a fast and economical method to assess the quality of deep-frying oil with regards to its key parameters – total polar compounds (TPC) and polymerised triacyl glycerols (TAG).

QA is a necessary function in a vegetable oil company. It provides the necessary know-how to the plant, so that they can deliver finished products of the highest standards. QC plays a supportive role. The training of lab personnel and production staff becomes very important to meet the quality objectives. Today many of the vegetable oil companies have research and development (R&D) and QC labs equipped with state-of-the-art equipment.

Quality standards, process standards and packaging standards complement each other. People give little importance to packaging, without realising that it plays an influential role in the quality image. For instance, refined vegetable oils of an excellent quality may be packed in pouches that leak? Factories are intent on manufacturing vegetable oils with zero defects, and the quality process starts from checking and inspection of incoming raw materials.

Poor storage of finished goods, the marginal quality of raw material and the lack of inventory rotation can lead to quality failures.

The shelf life of edible vegetable oils is important, and therefore, the finished product must be robust enough to retain its high quality throughout the time normally required for its distribution and sale.

Every manufacturer has standard operating procedures (SOP) to conduct quality checks. Quality certifications like International Organisation for Standardisation 9001 (ISO 9001), ISO 14001 and Occupational Health and Safety Advisory Services 18001 (OHSAS 18001) add value to the equity of a brand, because the achievement of the quality certifications is an indicator of a firm’s commitment to quality assurance efforts.

HACCP certifies that the oil manufacturer has met prescribed food safety and hygiene standards. For example, exports to the European Union (EU) would require a HACCP certification.

The concentration of chlorophyll varies in oilseeds. Large amounts of chlorophyll can reduce the shelf life of edible oils. Oils with higher concentrations of chlorophyll require an extra processing step which involves heating the oil to break down the chlorophyll. This means one has to monitor the oil in the pipeline before the bleaching process. Colorimeter is an instrument that is capable of measuring low levels of chlorophyll in the oil.

Bleaching of vegetable oil is done by adding a controlled amount of clay that adsorbs all the colored impurities in the oil. A turbidimeter is an instrument that measures the turbidity of the bleached oil. When oil is turbid, it means that it is hazy and so the bleaching process continues until we get edible oil that is crystal clear.

After refining, bleaching and filtration of the in-process vegetable oil, the next step is to carry out deodorization, where all the volatile components are distilled off, and the oil is subject to a final quality check prior to storage.

Summary
Oil producers are keen to connect with their customers at different points of their value chain. Many manufacturers are looking at new product development, supply chain efficiencies and improvement in the quality image.

While firms have to monitor the quality of the finished product as part of the operational support required for manufacturing, they also need to look from the strategic point of view by maintaining robust quality standards as part of quality assurance activities. Achieving certification for quality standards is one of the ways to maintain a competitive edge, but today, with most companies achieving the certification, the need of the hour is to redefine quality from the point of view of the customer. This sort of differential approach would help edible oil manufacturers grow their businesses in an intensely-competitive market.

[The author works as associate professor (marketing and operations), Presidency School of Business, Bengaluru. He can be reached at gvenkatesh.2012@yahoo.in)]