Essay Sample on Development and Implementation the Food Safety and Quality Culture Plan in Manufacture

Background

Since inception in 2000, Spice O'Life Company has been on the forefront towards the transformation of Ireland's quality and food culture to conform to the European standards. Located in the heart of West Cork, Dunmanway, Ireland, the company has close to 50 employees. The company has a diverse manufacturing practice that encompasses various products such as marinades, liquid sauces, and dressings. Additionally, the company manufactures ready-to-use consumer products. The unique manufacturing practice enables the company to provide its customer with the right product at the right place and time.

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The company's manufacturing culture is quite flexible to meet the demand and the changing demands of the clients. To achieve that feat, the company recently construction, commissioned a new laboratory that ensures food safety and the safety of the ingredients before undergoing the manufacturing process. The objective is to guarantee the clients (mostly marketers and seller) a competitive product that meets the market demands. The manufacturing unit consists mainly of trained and experienced professionals who strictly operate the British Retail Consortium (BRC) Quality Standards. It is worth noting that the company has continually scored the coveted Grade A due to its impressive conformance to the quality standards in its testing and manufacturing units. Therefore, it is safe to infer that the company's development and the implementation of the food safety and the quality culture are impressive by all standards. Nevertheless, there is always room for improvement.

The Survey on Current Quality and Food Safety CultureThe Food Culture and the Quality Survey was carried out in January-March 2019. The survey sampled 50 employees (mostly the ones who have direct link to the testing and the manufacturing procedures), quality managers, laboratory technicians, and manufacturing plant operators. The survey mostly applied the random sampling that enabled it stratify the data based on the point of contact with the company's products, meaning that the employees had an upper hand in the entire process since they form the primary point of contact and understand the processes and the procedures involved in the entire process. The sample consisted of 50 employees, 40 marketers, and 30 final consumers. In other words, 42% of the respondents were company managers, 30% laboratory technicians (the primary clients to the company), and 28% plant operators (mainly the people who operated the manufacturing plants).

The determination of the quality standards and the food culture depends on a number of indicators that include but not limited to the management of quality, the employees assigned for particular tasks and the levels of training. Additionally, the survey sought to establish investments made in safety and quality, familiarity with the Ireland and European Food Safety Legislation, and the familiarity with the food quality and quality management standards. In the contemporary setting companies strive to comply with the request of the distributors and the buyers. The company has its own quality and management system that governs the entire manufacturing process. Most companies do not engage in the implementation of staff training and the implementation of international food quality and safety culture. A small firm like the Spice O'Life Company only allocates between 5 to 6% of its total budget to staff training and development, which quite little, to say the least. Arguably, the training in the company is not so common since it not a high-risk venture per se.

Spice O'Life Company relies on various standardized measures to ensure food quality and the maintenance of quality standards. Towards this end, the compliance with the food safety standards and requirements stood at 40%, meaning that the priority for the company is to meet the consumer demands. The company also gave priory (38%) to its internal food safety and quality management system that encompasses every aspect of food production. Spice O'Life Company also relies on third party inspection that forms close to 25% of the strategies used in the quality management in terms of budgetary and personnel management. The introduction of the international (European) safety standards had little priority and had a total investment that constituted close to 6% of the quality management in terms of budget and personnel allocation. The other measure to ensure food safety and quality is the training of staff that forms a meager 5% of the total investment in that regard.

Compliance with demands or the food safety requirements of the distributors and clients 40%

The developments of internal quality management mechanisms 38%

Reliance on the third party for inspection and advisory services on quality 27%

The introduction and the reliance on international food safety standards 6%

Staff training and other mechanisms 10%

The table above shows the measures, mechanism undertaken by Spice O'Life Company in quality regulation and the implementation of safety rules. The Percentages represent the estimation in terms of financial investment, personnel allocation, and the frequency of application.

The investment used in the propagation and the maintenance of food quality, Spice O'Life Company majorly invested quite substantially in that regard in 2008-2010. The firm invested most of its borrowed and ploughed back profit in firm and machinery during the mentioned period. Close to 30% of the total revenue was invested in the manufacturing plans and the machinery for modernization and relevance purposes. In retrospect, investment in consulting, training, and the interactional and national certification happened less frequently. The survey (mostly inquiries from the managers) revealed that that the company plans to meet the requirement international laws on Food Safety and Quality, and the projected results are listed below. The figures are projected as per the percentage of the total investments aimed at meeting the inert national and European Quality Standards. Evidently, the company's priority is to keep pace with the changing tides or methodology in the manufacturing sector and the changing consumer tastes and preferences.

Upgraded facilities 35%

Upgraded equipment 31%

National Certification 12%

Consulting chargers, fees 10%

The training of the staff 7%

International Certification and other arising costs 7%

The table above shows the projected investment in the improvement of quality and standards in the future (mostly 5 years). The percentages represent the proportion of investment made in that regard.

The next phase of the survey focused on the assignment of the employees by the firm, managers to work on Quality Issues and Food Safety. Out of the 50 employees working at the firm, 35% (17) employees) worked full time on quality issues and food safety areas. Seven (7) employees (14%) worked part-time in the mentioned area. Overall, the company has 24 employees working to initiate and maintain quality and food safety culture within the organization. It is worth noting that the company has in its posterity strategy the plan to have additional workers (both full-time and part time employees) to meet the requirement of the international law that goes beyond the current allocation. The number of employees that the Spice O'Life Company plans to assign for safety purposes will be lesser that the ones already working to fulfill that objective. However, a combination of the old employees and the expected employees will certainly meet the number required by the international law.

The familiarity with the international law on quality standards and the food safety was another aspect of the survey. The survey interviewed the employees on their knowledge of international manufacturing laws such as Good Hygiene Practices (GHP), Good Manufacturing Practices (GMP), and the Hazard Analysis and Critical Point System (HACCP). Only 20% of the employees interviewed have basic or comprehensive knowledge of the laws mentioned. The rest (80%) had not heard of the laws or has heard of them but no idea of the provisions or practices found therein. As mentioned earlier, the company has 50 employees in total. The table below the percentage of employees who have knowledge on various laws that govern quality standards and food safety

ISO22000:2005 20%

ISO9001:2008 15%

GMP & GHP 12%

EU Food Safety and Quality Regulations 9%

HACCP 5%

Global Gap and other laws 3%

The next part of the survey focused on the employees' familiarity with the national laws that govern food culture and the quality standards as set out by the government and the regulation authority within Ireland. Close to 55% of the employees interviewed were familiar with most of the provisions of the Food Safety Authority of Ireland. Additionally, most of them had great knowledge of the provisions, requirements of the Department of Agriculture, Food, and Marine. However, close to half of the employees had no or little knowledge on the provisions of the two bodies, meaning that they lacked the knowledge on the implications of the mentioned requirements to the company. Astonishingly less than 5% of the employees know the provisions in details or comprehensively. The employees who are familiar with the provisions and the national laws on food safety and quality are quite optimistic of the consequences it portends for the company and the employees. The employees agree that the consequences of adhering to the laws are quite positive, and that the negative implications will only arise in case the company fails to conform to the provisions found therein. Close to 60% of the respondents think that the laws lay a good foundation that will ensure that the company produces high quality and safer products. Additionally, more that 25% of the respondents agree that the application, adherence to the laws will enable the company increase its share of the local, domestic market. Close to 20% of the employees interviewed believe that the law is a good foundation that usher the company into a new dawn that will ensure compliance with the international regulations. The latter feat will boost its share in the international market. On the other hand, close to 5% of the employees expect that the application of the laws would increase the cost of production. Additionally, other employees (close to 2%) think that application of the law will have no impact, particularly in the domestic market.

Finally, the survey focused on the sources of information of food safety and quality standards. A bigger percentage of the employees interviewed (75%) reiterated that the media (mainstream and social media) formed the source of information on safety and quality standards. Additionally, government publications (8%), plant protection journals (3%), and national food safety (5%) proved less informative for a majority of the Spice O'Life Company employees. It is worth noting that the stated ran...