An approach towards improving safety and hygiene control practices in emerging dairy chains : the case of Tanzania

Abstract

Foodborne disease outbreaks associated with the consumption of unpasteurized milk remains a major public health concern worldwide. However, in developing countries, this concern is exacerbated due to the extensive sales of fresh milk with improper pasteurization (Grace, 2015). On the other hand, wellperforming production practices are lacking to guarantee consistent availability of safe milk products.A focus towards effective production systems is necessary at the farm and further in the chain to realise microbial and AFM1 safety of milk products in the emerging dairy chain. Quality and safety management along dairy chainsFood quality management aims at realising product quality and safety in food production, which involves five food quality management functions identified as design, improvement, control, assurance, and policy and strategy (Luning & Marcelis, 2007). The production of milk and dairy products requires the implementation of control and assurance activities to achieve quality and safety along dairy chains.This thesis distinguishes quality assurance from quality control. Quality assurance involves setting system requirements, evaluating performance and organising necessary changes on production processes, whereas quality control aims at keeping product properties, production, and human processes within tolerable limits along a food chain (Luning & Marcelis, 2007;Park et al., 2013). Quality control involves thus the continuous action of gathering information and evaluating the performance of both technological and people-related processes to take corrective actions when needed (Luning & Marcelis, 2007;.The responsibility of quality assurance and control lies with actors at various stages of the food production chain. Generally, governments formulate public laws on food quality and safety, which are enforced through inspections, sanctions, and training (Trienekens & Zuurbier, 2008;Unnevehr & Hoffmann, 2015). At the manufacturing and retail stages, quality management systems (QMS) and food safety management systems (FSMS) are implemented based on prerequisite programs, hazard analysis critical control point (HACCP) principles and quality management requirements. Manufacturing and retail companies translate public and private quality and safety assurance requirements (e.g., ISO22000:2005, BRC) to set up their company-specific FSMS covering control and assurance practices 8 Chapter 1 General introduction 9