QUALITY OF FOODS

AND
QUALITY STANDARDS

BY:
VAISHALI SHUKL
2012412012

QUALITY OF FOOD:
Food quality is the quality characteristics of food that is acceptable to consumers. This
includes external factors as appearance (size, shape, colour, gloss, and consistency),
texture, and flavour; factors such as federal grade standards (e.g. of eggs) and internal
(chemical, physical, microbial)
Food quality is an important food manufacturing requirement, because food
consumers are susceptible to any form of contamination that may occur during the
manufacturing process.
Food quality in the United States is enforced by the Food Safety Act 1990. Members of
the public complain to trading standards professionals, who submit complaint samples
and also samples used to routinely monitor the food marketplace to Public Analysts.
Public Analysts carry out scientific analysis on the samples to determine whether the
quality is of sufficient standard.
Besides ingredient quality, there are also sanitation requirements. It is important to
ensure that the food processing environment is as clean as possible in order to
produce the safest possible food for the consumer. A recent example of poor sanitation
recently has been the 2006 North American E. coli outbreak involving spinach, an
outbreak that is still under investigation after new information has come to light
regarding the involvement of Cambodian nationals

Food quality also deals with product traceability. It also deals

with labeling issues to ensure there is correct ingredient and nutritional
information.
There are many existing international quality institutes testing food
products in order to indicate to all consumers which are higher quality
products. Founded in 1961 in Brussels, The international quality
institute Monde Selection is the oldest one in evaluating food quality

FOOD SUPPLY CHAIN

To fork

From farm

Agriculture
production

Sale of
commodities/
raw material
local,
national,
international

Manufacturin
g packaging
of food
products

Sale of food
product
import
wholesale
retail trade

Consumer

Stakeholders responsibility for food and quality

GAP

GDP

GMP

GDP

GHP (eg. HACCP)

GAP: GOOD AGRICULTURE PRACTICES
DISTRIBUTION PRACTICES
GMP: GOOD MANUFACTURING PRACTICES
HYGIENE PRACTICES

GDP: GOOD
GHP: GOOD

BUREAU OF INDIAN STANDARDS (BIS)

INTRODUCTION:
The Bureau of Indian Standards, empowered through a legislative Act
of the Indian Parliament, known as the Bureau of Indian Standards
Act, 1986, operates a product certification scheme, and has till date
granted more than 30,000 licenses to manufacturers covering
practically every industrial discipline from Agriculture to Textiles to
Electronics. The certification allows the licensees to use the
popular ISI Mark
The Bureau's predecessor, the Indian Standards Institution began
operating the product certification Scheme in 1955. Presently more
than 19000 licenses are in operation covering about 1000 products

OPERATING PRINCIPLE
BIS product certification scheme operates in an impartial, non
discriminatory and transparent manner
Procedure for operating a license are given in another document called
the scheme of testing and inspection (sti)
Certification advisory committee: reviews the performance of the
scheme and advises on key policy issues. Composed of persons from
varied sectors like manufacturers, consumers, government agencies,
industries associations.
'Additional director general (marks)' is responsible for ensuring that the
scheme operates within the framework of rules and procedures
established.

POWERS AND FUNCTIONS OF THE BUREAU

Grant, renew, suspend or cancel a license for the use of the standard
mark
Levy fees for the grant or renewal of any license
Makes inspection
Establish, maintain and recognize laboratories
Appoint agents in India or outside India for the inspection, testing and
such other purposes as may be prescribed
Establish branches, offices or agencies in India or outside

CERTIFICATION SYSTEM
BASED ON ISO GUIDE 28
All BIS certifications are carried out in accordance with Indian Standards
TYPES OF LICENSING
BIS continues to grant licenses on application, the enforcement of
compulsory certification is done by the notified authorities
Special certification schemes
Lot inspection scheme.
BIS Foreign Manufacturers Scheme and Indian Importers Scheme.:
This is for Overseas applicants and Indian Importers

OPERATIONAL AREAS

Textiles
Chemicals and Pesticides
Rubber and Plastic products
Cement and concrete products
Building materials
Pumping, irrigation, drainage and sewage equipment
Pipes and fittings for water supply
Basic metals and fabricated metal products
Machinery and equipment
Electrical, electronics and optical equipment
Automotive components
Agriculture, food and tobaccos
Black tea and beverages
Packaged drinking water and Natural mineral water
Leather products
Wood products
Paper and pulp products
Testing instruments

PROCEDURE FOR GRANT OF BIS LICENCE FOR DOMESTIC

MANUFACTURERS
Normal Procedure: In this the applicant is required to submit the
filled in application along with required documents and requisite fee to
the nearest BIS branch office. Subsequently, after recording of the
application, a preliminary factory evaluation is carried out by BIS
officer to ascertain the capability of the applicant/manufacturer to
produce goods according to the relevant Indian Standard and to verify
the availability of complete testing facility and competent technical
personnel.Samples are tested in the factory and also drawn for
independent testing. Grant of licence is considered by BIS provided the
samples pass during independent testing, preliminary evaluation is
satisfactory and the applicant agrees to operate the defined Scheme of
Testing & Inspection and pay the prescribed marking fee
Simplified Procedure: In the simplified procedure, applicant is
required to furnish the test report(s) of the sample(s) got tested by him
in the BIS approved laboratories, along with the application.If the test
report(s) and other documents are found satisfactory, a verification
visit is carried out by BIS. The licence is granted thereafter if the
verification report is found satisfactory.The applicant also has the
option to get the documents and other details as specified in the
application, certified by a Chartered Engineer and submit the same to
BIS. The licence then shall be granted after scrutiny of the documents

ASSOCIATION WITH INTERNATIONAL STANDARDS BODIES

BIS is a founder member of International Organization for Standardization
(ISO)
It represents India in ISO,
the International Electro technical Commission (IEC),
the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) and
the World Standards Service Network (WSSN)
STANDARD FORMULATION & PROMOTION
Major functions of the Bureau is the formulation, recognition and
promotion of the Indian Standards
LABORATORIES
To support the activities of product certification, BIS has a chain of 8
laboratories. Approximately, 25000 samples are being tested in the BIS
laboratories every year.

MANAGEMENT SYSTEM CERTIFICATION

Quality Management System Certification Scheme IS/ISO 9001
Environmental Management System Certification Scheme IS/ISO 14001
Occupational Health and Safety Management System Certification Scheme IS
18001
Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Scheme IS/ISO 22000
Service Quality Management System Certification Scheme IS 15700
NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF TRAINING FOR STANDARDIZATION (NITS)
It is a training institute of BIS which is set up in 1995. It is functioning from
Noida, Uttar Pradesh, India.
The primary activities of NITS are:In-House and Open Training Programme for Industry
International Training Programme for Developing Countries (commonwealth
countries)
Training Programme to its employees

GRIEVANCE CELL
If any customer reports about the degraded quality of any certified
product at Grievance Cell, BIS HQs, BIS gives redressal to the customer.
SMALL SCALE INDUSTRY FACILITATION CELL
SSI Facilitation Cell became operational since 26 May 1997. The aim of
the Cell is to assist the small scale entrepreneurs who are backbone of
the Indian industry.
It has an incentive scheme to promote such units to get certified with ISI
Mark

AGMARK

Agmark began operations in 1977 as a commodities brokerage firm is

certification mark employed on agricultural products in India

The term agmark was coined by joining the words 'Ag' to mean agriculture and
'mark' for a certification mark

FOLLOWS set of standards approved by the Directorate of Marketing and

Inspection

The AGMARK is legally enforced in India by the Agricultural Produce (Grading and
Marking) Act of 1937

AGMARK LABORATORIES
Agmark certification is employed through fully state-owned agmark
laboratories located across the nation which act as testing and
certifying centres
There are regional agmark laboratories
Regional laboratories is equipped with and specializes in the testing of
products of regional significance

In addition to the central AGMARK laboratory (CAL) in nagpur, there

are regional AGMARK laboratories (RALS) in 11 nodal cities
(mumbai, newdelhi, chennai, kolkatta, kanpur, kochi,
guntur,
amritsar, jaipur, rajkot, bhopal)
COMMODITIES AND TESTS
Testing done across these laboratories include
Chemical analysis, microbiological analysis, pesticide residue,
and aflatoxin analysis on whole spices, ground spices, oil cake,
essential oil, oils and fats, animal casings, meat and food products
Vegetable oils
Foodgrains
Seed

AGMARK REGISTRATION IS AVAILABLE FOR FOLLOWING

PRODUCTS
Hides, skins, Goat Hair, Animal Casings, Bristles, Wool, Raw meat
(chilled and frozen), Handpicked selected groundnuts, Cashew Kernels,
Ambadi seeds, Rape and mustard seeds, Taramira seeds, Groundnuts,
Walnuts, Vegetable oil cakes, Ghee, Vanaspati Creamery butter,
Essential oils, Vegetable oils, Tobacco, Bura, Sugarcane, Gur (Jaggery),
Lac, Arecanuts, Myrobalans, Tendu (Bidiwrapper Leaves), Senna
Leaves and pods. Tapioca products (Animals feed) Table Eggs, Honey,
Seed less Tarmarind, Daried Edible Mushrooms, Saffron, Sheekakai
powder, Kangra Tea, Agar Agar, Papain, Rice, Wheat Atta, Puhes,
Cercals, Besan (Gramflour), Basmati Rice (Export), Suji and Maida,
Grapes, Apples, Alphonso Mangoes-Export, Plants, Alphonso Mangoes
Homeconsumption, Canned, Bottled fruits and fruit products citrus,
Table potatoes, William Pears, Kanchan (Bathua), Mangoes, Home
consumption, Seed potatoes, Table potatoes Table potatoes (Export),
Water chestnuts. Coconuts, Curry Powder, Chillies, Cardamom,
Coriander, Garlic, Ginger, Onions, Chillies powder, Poppy seeds,
Turmeric, Pennel, Fenugreek and Clery seeds Cumin seeds, Pepper,
Ajowain Seeds, (Whole), Sannhemp, Palmyra Fibres, Cotton, Aloe
Fibres, Jute.and other products.

REQUIREMENT OF AGMARK APPLICATION PROCEEDINGS

Copy of test report(s), duly authenticated, from independent Agmark
recognized laboratory.
Document authenticating establishment of the firm, such as Registration
by Company Registrar
State Authority or Memorandum of Article in case Applicant Firm is a
Limited Company
Partnership Deed in case the applicant firm is under Partnership.
Name of the products .
Name of the applicant
Name of the Firm/ Company
Address of the Firm/ Company
Sample of the product (in pouch of 500gm or 1kg )
Starting Time period of product(specify exact Date/Month/year)
Total gross product in K.g.(for last year) and Turnover of last year

SPECIFICATION OF PADDY UNDER AGMARK:

Grade Specification (quality) of paddy.
A) General characteristics :
Paddy shall:a) be the dried mature grains (with husk) of Oryza sativa L.;
b) have uniform size, shape and colour;
c)
be hard, clean, wholesome and free from moulds, weevils,
obnoxious smell, discolouration, admixture of deleterious substances
and all other impurities except to the extent indicated in the under
special characteristics;
d) be in sound merchantable condition; and
e) not have moisture exceeding 14 percent.
B)Special characteristics:
Grade
designatio
n
I
II
III
IV

Foreign
matter
(% by wt.)
1.0
2.0
4.0
7.0

Maximum limit of tolerance

Admixture
Damaged, immature,
weevilled
(% by wt.)
(% by wt.)
5.0
1.0
10.0
2.0
15.0
5.0
30.0
10.0

C) DEFINITIONS :
Foreign - It includes dust, stone, lumps of earth, chaff, stem or
straw and any other matter Impurities
In case of admixture of other foodgrains in paddy, 0.5 percent of other
foodgrains shall be treated as free tolerance and any thing above 0.5
percent shall be treated as foreign matter
Admixture - Presence of inferior varieties shall be considered
admixture
Damaged- Grains that are internally damaged or discoloured, damage
and discolouration materially affecting the quality. The proportion of
damaged grains shall not exceed 5.0 percent for grade IV

Immature - Grains that are not properly developed.

Weevilled - Grains that are partially or wholly bored or eaten by

weevil or other grain insects.

FOOD SAFETY AND STANDARDS AUTHORITY OF INDIA

(FSSAI)
It has been established under Food Safety and Standards
Act, 2006 which consolidates various acts & orders that
have handled food related issues in various Ministries and
Departments.
FSSAI has been created for laying down science based
standards for articles of food and to regulate their
manufacture, storage, distribution, sale and import to
ensure availability of safe and wholesome food for human
consumption.
Highlights of the Food Safety and Standard Act, 2006
Various central Acts like Prevention of Food Adulteration
Act, 1954 , Fruit Products Order , 1955, Meat Food
Products Order , 1973, Vegetable Oil Products (Control)
Order, 1947,Edible Oils Packaging (Regulation)Order 1988,
Solvent Extracted Oil, De- Oiled Meal and Edible Flour
(Control) Order, 1967, Milk and Milk Products Order, 1992
etc will be repealed after commencement of FSS Act, 2006
The Act also aims to establish a single reference point for

FSSAI HAS BEEN MANDATED BY THE FSS ACT, 2006 FOR

PERFORMING THE FOLLOWING FUNCTIONS:
Framing of Regulations to lay down the Standards and guidelines in
relation to articles of food and specifying appropriate system of
enforcing various standards thus notified.
Laying down mechanisms and guidelines for accreditation of
certification bodies engaged in certification of food safety
management system for food businesses.
Laying down procedure and guidelines for accreditation of
laboratories and notification of the accredited laboratories.
To provide scientific advice and technical support to Central
Government and State Governments in the matters of framing the
policy and rules in areas which have a direct or indirect bearing of
food safety and nutrition .
Collect and collate data regarding food consumption, incidence and
prevalence of biological risk, contaminants in food, residues of
various, contaminants in foods products, identification of emerging
risks and introduction of rapid alert system.
Creating an information network across the country so that the public,
consumers, Panchayats etc receive rapid, reliable and objective
information about food safety and issues of concern.
Provide training programmes for persons who are involved or intend

ISO 9000
What is ISO 9000?
ISO 9000 is a set of standards and criteria regarding quality control for
companies specializing in manufacturing and services. Its purpose is to
provide a means for a company to demonstrate a commitment to quality to
their customers.
The International Standards Organization represents 140 countries around
the globe.
The Organization was founded in 1947 as a non-governmental organization
to promote the development of standards in quality.
The ISO 9000 standards were introduced in 1987.
The presence of ISO can be seen in our lives every day. The consistency in
dimensions of products such as cassette tapes and credit cards are the
result of ISO standards. These standards are necessary to insure quality
products that serve their purpose.
Most ISO standards are measurement oriented and consist of dimensions.

OBTAINING ISO CERTIFICATION

The initial step for obtaining the ISO certification is to have an in-depth analysis of the
companys own quality procedures and compare them to the ISO 9000 standards. If
the companys procedures and job training are poorly documented and there is proof
of poor communication with management, then compliance to ISO 9000 standards will
be very difficult to obtain (Emporia).
Next, an external consultant is hired to assess the original procedures and take the
necessary steps to conform them to ISO 9000 standards. To ensure that these
measures are kept, a quality assurance program is created and implemented. This will
often require some description of the system, evaluation of new training needs,
calibration of equipment, and a corrective/preventive system to stop recurring
problems.
The assessment process is the next step, which involves a system of audits by a third
party. This involves inspection of the organization, documentation, employees, and
their knowledge of the quality system.
Finally, a third party registration agency will issue certification, assuming the company
complies with the standard of ISO 9000. The ISO 9000 certificate will usually expire
after three years which forces companies to annually audit their processes

The cost of obtaining an ISO certification will vary from among

companies. An estimate of the implementation cost can be found by
brining into account factors such as
Employee size
Multiple locations
Degree of closeness to ISO 9000 standards
Needed steps to re-engineer quality procedures (Cost)

ISO 9000 VARIATIONS

Although many companies strive to attain ISO 9000 certification, there are
many different ISO certifications available. ISO 9002 1994, ISO 9003 1994,
and ISO 9001 are just a few variations of ISO program that tailor to the
individual quality needs of competitive companies.
The differences in versions relate to various tasks a company performs. The
9001 version covers requirements for businesses whose operations include
the entire production process, from design through manufacturing to
service. ISO 9002 is aimed toward a company that does not design its
product. This version mirrors 9001, except that the design requirements are
excluded.
The most popular upgrade from ISO 9000 is ISO 9001, which has now made
9002 and 9003 obsolete.
ISO 9000 can be described as a plant standard, while ISO 9001 can be
though of as an enterprise standard, with the addition of management
principles

The following are examples of the new management principles required to

become ISO 9001 certified: (Praxiom, 2001)

Support quality

Promote the importance of quality

Develop a quality management system

Implement your quality management system

Improve your quality management system

Define responsibilities and authorities

Appoint management representative

Support internal communications

Perform management reviews

Review quality management system

Examine management review inputs

Generate management review outputs

Provide quality personnel

Use competent personnel

Support competence

Control realization planning

Plan product realization processes

Develop product realization processes

To get ISO 9001 certification, a third party auditor must conduct an onsite audit of a companys operations against the requirements of the
appropriate standard (ASQ, 2001). Once certification is attained, the
company receives a registration certificate that their quality system is in
compliance with ISO 9001. This process is similar to the certification
program for ISO 9000

ISO AND FOOD:

ISO food standards create confidence in the products we eat and drink
ISO food standards provide benefits for all participants in the supply chain,
from farm to transportation and logistics, from manufacturing to retailing
and services, from consumers to regulators and analytical laboratories
ISO brings all stakeholders on board to share best practice, promote stateof-the-art technology, and ensure safety and quality

ISO STANDARDS FOR FOOD:

From agricultural machinery to logistics, from transportation to
manufacturing, from quality and safety to management and traceability,
from labeling and packaging to storage ISO standards cover every step
of the food and feed supply chain. Some 1 000* ISO standards out of a
current total of some 19 000* are specifically dedicated to food, most of
them developed by the following technical committees (TCs)

 Food products (ISO/TC 34) Covers the food and feed chain from
primary production to consumption for practically all products, from
cereals to coffee, from spices to milk and cheese. Nearly 800* standards
provide terminology, tests, analysis and sampling methods (including
for sensory analysis), product specifications, quality management and
requirements for packaging, storage and transportation for food and
animal feed. Its recent work addresses food irradiation, detection of
genetically modified organisms and molecular biomarkers.
Essential oils (ISO/TC 54) Focuses on essential oils used in food
products, perfumes, cosmetics, phytotherapy, aromatherapy, and so on.
Its more than 120* ISO standards help ensure quality in testing,
transport, labeling, nomenclature, terminology etc.
Starch and its by-products (ISO/TC 93) Found in foods like potatoes,
maize and wheat, starch provides about half of the worlds daily calorie
intake, and its extraction is one of the most important agro-industries
worldwide. ISO standards provide valuable methods of analysis for the
industry.

Fisheries and aquaculture (ISO/TC 234) Aims to promote sustainable

development of the sector ; outline specifications for technical
equipment adapted to local environments ; improve surveillance and
management of marine resources ; generate international agreement
on terminology and sampling methods ; and ensure safety. Examples
of standards under development include environmental monitoring of
the seabed impacts from finfish farms (ISO 12878) and methods for
calculating fish-in/fish-out ratios (ISO 16566).
Melamine and milk
In 2008, a number of children died and many became seriously ill after
drinking milk contaminated by melamine. In response to this crisis,
ISO and the International Dairy Federation prepared technical
specification ISO/TS 15495, which provides a robust internationally
recognized means for regulatory authorities, Manufacturers and
producers to determine the presence of melamine, in order to ensure
the integrity and safety of milk products and prevent future incidents.

WHO BENEFITS FROM ISO STANDARDS ?

Industry : Farmers, manufacturers, retailers and service providers
benefit from not having to comply with multiple specifications and
requirements for different markets. ISO standards make industry more
competitive and promote global trade. They disseminate best practice
and innovations so that industry does not need to reinvent the wheel,
while at the same time facilitating market access to the latest
technologies.
Regulators : Regulators can rely on trusted internationally harmonized
solutions, which are continually reviewed and improved, as a technical
basis for market-friendly regulations that meet the expectations of
citizens.
Consumers : ISO standards ensure the safety and quality of products
to protect consumers worldwide. They address issues of concern to
consumers such as nutritional value, labeling and declaration, taste,
hygiene, genetically modified organisms, limits on additives,
pesticides, contaminants, and so on.

ISOS PARTNERS
The development of International Standards cannot take place in
isolation. The value of ISO standards relies heavily on its multistake
holder approach, which consolidates contributions from industry,
government, research, academia, international organizations and NGOs
representing all stakeholders including consumers and small
businesses.
ISO works closely with key organizations for the food industry such as
the Codex Alimentarius Commission (CAC), the Food and Agriculture
Organization, the Global Food Safety Initiative, the International Dairy
Federation, and the World Health Organization.
ISOs observer status to the CAC provides an opportunity for the
coordination of issues related to a variety of ISO standards that are
adopted and used by Codex in its work. ISO also has observer status at
the World Trade Organizations Committee on Technical Barriers to
Trade and Committee on Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures.