Food Quality Control Case Study

The importance of Food Quality Control in Industry

Introduction

The importance of food quality control is becoming more and more demanding. Consumers are not only looking to purchase food that is only economical, tasty and healthy, but consumers want the reliability that the foods they are consuming are safe and will not cause any harm when it is prepared or eaten.

With the increasing rate of food industries worldwide, competitiveness of food industries and production, quality control is an essential building block to gain a quick, strong, competitive advantage in business, if the products meet/exceed the consumers’ expectations. This will provide consumer satisfaction and loyalty. Consumers will purchase with some disregard of quantity

Enteriditis in Eggs

In September 2010, an outbreak of Salmonella Enteriditis was report in Austria. The outbreak occurred amongst employees, residents in student complex. Investigations took place to identify the outbreak source. 30 cases of gastro-enteritis were reported by the public health authority in September 2010. It was discovered after 66 people attained the outbreak case and having 14 lab confirmed cases that the outbreak cause was from the consumption of potato salad and cheese-sausage cold plate.

It was identified that cross-contamination had occurred during the preparation of the potato salad with the eggs having positive results of S.Enterditis.

It was discovered that a large hen holding premises in eastern Austria in two different districts were the egg source for the residence before the outbreak.

Two flocks of the premises had resulted as positive for S.Enterditis. It was also noted that environmental sampling would not have been the most efficient and effective ways of detecting the salmonella. This is due to a number of reasons; may have been sampling from the incorrect flock(s) and the flock(s) that may have caused the contamination, may not have been shedding any longer. (Hens stop shedding the bacteria after three weeks). (Eurosurveillence,