Assessing Food Quality

As a significant quality aspect of a product, a food formulation generally needs to be reassessed from time to time. But how often should such an assessment be made, and what should trigger formulation changes? To find best practices, we asked representatives from within the industry and its suppliers. The following recommendations were provided by California Natural Products (CNP) Compliance Manager Bruce Ferree, Wipro Technologies Consumer Goods Consulting Global Practice Partner—Value Chain Optimization Subramanyam Venkataraman, and Wipro Principal Consultant—Agribusiness Sriniwas Acharya.

How frequently or for what reasons should product formulations be reassessed?

Ferree: Formulas should be reassessed on a routine basis—I try to look at them annually, and definitely assess all the “branded” items on an annual basis. Because these are our products, we can set the specifications, and when needed, we simply change the specs. We also own the label nutrition panel, and we have to test to confirm. When we see issues with it, we need to find a way not just to review the information provided on the package, but also to assure that the formula is correct. There are times when a change in supplier will change the nutritional panel, and that, in turn, changes the formula. On the other hand, for our branded items, consumer demand and changes usually cause us to change the formula, and then the packaging—not the reverse.

For customer-owned/co-pack products, we sometimes let the one-year assessment frequency slide based on the product. For example, a new product needs to be reviewed, but a product that has been made for the past 10 years may not need an annual review. Instead, we can base reformulation decisions on other criteria, such as any complaints from the field and internal issues with manufacturing processes. To determine if a co-packed product formulation needs to be reassessed, I look at our ability to achieve our customer’s expectation. If we are having trouble with a product, I can suggest that the formulation may need to change. This also is a good time to determine if the formula is correct but the specs need to be updated.

Venkataraman/Acharya: Processors reassess formulations for several reasons, and typically the frequency of reassessment depends on the specific reason.

To get to a least-cost formulation, processors often explore using different raw material combinations or changing the existing formulation for a given product. We have seen some meat and deli product companies do this three to four times in a year.

In product line extensions, such as blending different flavors, reassessment might typically happen two to three times per year

To deal with product yield and other quality issues, the reassessment can happen as and when such issues crop up.

How much impact does consumer preference/media focus have on formulation changes (such as natural or clean label, low sodium, gluten-free, etc.)?

Ferree: CNP makes products that meet certain niche market needs. Because of this, we have to listen to consumer preferences and media focus. However, from a quality perspective, the R&D group makes the desired changes after marketing reviews. Marketing makes the call in what is desired and asks R&D to make adjustments and trials. Quality then follows with full specifications. The bottom line is that CNP pays a lot of attention to the marketplace to see if adjustments are needed.

Venkataraman/Acharya: Consumer preferences, such as those mentioned in the question, have a significant bearing on processor’s product and formulation strategy. Many processors consider inputs from consumer panels to align with the general consumer’s changing tastes and preferences, for example, moving toward lean, health and wellness, and natural products.
 

What communication is necessary to ensure that suppliers communicate with you on any formulation changes in ingredients?

Ferree: We ask that suppliers inform us, but we don’t have the means to confirm that they always do so. However, we do review COAs on each delivery and “trust” that we catch changes in composition if they have occurred. We also require updated specification documents on a routine basis. From a quality perspective, “How often is needed to assure?” is the hardest question to answer when setting up the supplier approval program.

Venkataraman/Acharya: Proactive communication regarding material specification changes, material changes, material mix and percentages, or new material inclusion in supplier formulation is needed. These changes could have a bearing on government regulations like added ingredients and nutrition labeling for the processor.
 

Do sensory panels provide useful insights for assessing quality?

Ferree: Sensory evaluations are a must for quality reviews of production. Broccoli cannot be blue in color and cannot taste like chocolate ice cream. Sensory reviews must be conducted routinely on every production run as well as after the run by a select group to assure the day-to-day groups are not slowly changing their concepts. Third-party sensory panels have not been found to add value in our operation.

Venkataraman/Acharya: Consumer sensory panels can play a key role in defining the quality guidelines around product taste, smell, and appeal (including packaging) during the initial new product introduction phase. The panels also come in handy when a food company is bringing out product variants or creating line extensions. Consumer panels can help fix the quality norms especially around the latest trends in food habits, such as organic ingredients, green initiatives, etc.

Once the product is running on steady-state production, however, we have seen very limited use of consumer panels in quality assessment. Rather, there is a trend toward replacing human sensory panels with electronic sensors (temp., moisture, smell, etc.) which come with various capabilities and can play a vital role. The very basic ones, which can detect changes in ambient temperature, storage moisture levels, etc., assist in monitoring and controlling food quality while in line, storage, or transit. Deviations in these parameters can alert food manufacturers of possible contamination. There also are more advanced sensors which can capture data that is gathered through the absorption of molecules emanating from the aroma of the food product (they can be a virtual nose and eyes). This data, when compared with referenced formulation data (prefixed algorithms based on sensory interactions of food tasting/inspection experts), can provide deeper insights into the quality of food being manufactured.

The author is Editor of QA magazine. She can be reached at llupo@gie.net.