Advances in the Research of Quality Management System of Dairy Enterprises

Peng WAN, Zhen ZHAO, Guoyan WEN, Yunshuang FU, Cuizhi LI, Zhiyong LU

Inner Mongolia Yili Industrial Group Co., Ltd., Huhhot 010010, China

Abstract As the global economy enters a new stage, Chinese dairy enterprises are gradually moving towards the road of internationalization. In this paper, the internationally common quality management system, food safety system and quality traceability system were analyzed and studied to promote the comprehensive transformation and upgrading of dairy industry and broaden the development road with the help of systematic construction.

Key words Quality management, Food safety, Traceability system

1 Introduction

As China’s economy has entered a new era, enterprises are required to develop to internationalization[1]. The international market has a larger market capacity and development space. If enterprises integrate into the international market, they can not only obtain profits, extend the industrial chain, but also improve brand value[1]. At present, Chinese dairy land tends to be saturated[2]. Due to the limited domestic land resources, the development of Chinese dairy industry is restricted. Dairy products rely on imports and their costs are controlled by foreign capital, which weakens the ability to resist external risks[3]. The establishment of a dairy product quality and safety management system is an important measure for enterprises to actively respond to the "Belt and Road" Initiative, promote the comprehensive revitalization, transformation and upgrading of the dairy industry, and broaden the development road of the dairy industry.

2 International general dairy quality management system

In the process of enterprise internationalization, it is very important to establish an international general quality management system, ISO9001 standard has high applicability and universality in quality, and is mainly used to control macro environment; there is no detailed control and requirements for each link of product production, so it is needed to establish HACCP, GMP and other food related systems to supplement and improve it and form a set of dairy enterprise management system applicable to the world. ISO9001 system can be used as the general principle of quality control and management of food enterprises, and GMP and HACCP systems are used to supplement ISO9001 system, while GMP system is the base of HACCP system. HACCP system focuses on food safety hazard analysis and control of critical control points.

Quality management is a comprehensive and systematic work. Only by establishing a mechanism that combines all the work related to quality organically and makes the whole system run effectively can the effectiveness of quality management work be guaranteed continuously.

2.1 ISO9000 quality management systemISO9000 standards are taken as the general international standards set by the International Organization for Standardization, of which there are four core standards: ISO9000QualityManagementSystems—FundamentalsandVocabulary, ISO9001QualityManagementSystems—Requirements, ISO9004QualityManagementSystems—GuidelinesforPerformanceImprovements, and ISO19011GuidelinesforAuditingofQualityand/orEnvironmentalManagementSystem.

As general international standards, ISO9000 standards are not restricted by the industry, and can be widely used in all kinds of enterprises and organizations of different sizes to promote mutual understanding and trust in the process of international trade. Enterprises’ ISO9000 certification is of great significance to product export and occupation of the international market. ISO9000 has a good guidance role for enterprises, and can help them strengthen quality management, improve economic benefits, promote their self-improvement and enhancement, break down technical barriers to international trade, improve product quality and competitiveness stably, and strengthen international economic cooperation and technological exchanges.

ISO900l quality system achieves the purpose of quality control through behavior control. From the release, implementation, and feedback to tracking and monitoring of quality system documents, the execution of system documents is ensured at all stages, and the quality management level and product quality of dairy enterprises have been steadily improved.

2.2 Good manufacturing practice (GMP)Good manufacturing practice (GMP) is a system that focuses on the management of product safety and hygiene throughout the production and processing process of products. GMP was first applied in the pharmaceutical industry and then food, cosmetics and other industries. It has been used in more than 100 countries, received international welcome, and is supported by consumers. Its purpose is to ensure that food enterprises can maintain good sanitary conditions in the production, packaging, storage and transportation processes, prevent the deterioration of food production environment, ensure product safety in the production process, reduce the occurrence of production accidents, and ensure the stability of food safety, hygiene and quality[4]. The promotion and implementation of GMP is conducive to improving the quality of dairy products, realizing the standardized and scientific quality management of dairy enterprises, establishing a good image and reputation of dairy enterprises, and facilitating dairy enterprises to enter the international market[5].

GMP management involves personnel, plants, equipment, raw and auxiliary materials procurement acceptance, semi-finished product inspection, packaging, finished product inspection, sales, transportation, customer opinions,etc.For example, Liu Shuyanetal.[6]established GMP-HACCP system in dairy enterprises to ensure the hygiene, safety and nutrition of raw milk from four aspects of feed source composition, epidemic prevention of dairy cattle, cleaning and disinfection, and transportation and storage of raw milk. From the aspects of plant design, production layout,etc.in line with the requirements of hygiene standards, strict control of sterilization temperature, cleaning and disinfection of equipment pipes, disinfection of packaging materials to prevent secondary pollution, control measures of key links in the process of raw milk processing was formulated. Finally, the evaluation procedure for the normal operation of GMP-HACCP system was established. Through the evaluation of implementation effect, it is found that the qualified rate increased by 14.7% after the promotion of GMP-HACCP system in dairy enterprises in the test area. Wang Mingzhuetal.[7]studied the implementation effect of good manufacturing practice for raw milk, and compared the changes in hygienic quality of raw milk after the implementation of GMP. The results showed that after the implementation of GMP, the total number of bacteria in raw milk decreased from 123 000 to 85 000 mL-1, that is, the implementation of standardized GMP effectively reduced the total number of bacteria in raw milk. In the process of implementing GMP, the quality awareness of dairy enterprises was strengthened, so that the possibility of errors in production, equipment, inspection, storage and other aspects was reduced to a minimum, and the quality of products was truly guaranteed. GMP requires dairy enterprises to form a production system that can guarantee product quality and stability, so that enterprises have the ability to guarantee product quality for a long time. Therefore, through the implementation of GMP, products with stable quality can be produced no matter now or in the future[5].

2.3 HACCP system of dairy production enterpriseHACCP is a kind of prevention system used to control food safety hazards, and can reduce the risk of food safety hazards to a minimum or acceptable level through prevention and control. On the basis of in-depth study of international standards, China has established the HACCP system suitable for Chinese enterprises. In addition to the general requirements of food production enterprises, the requirements for dairy production enterprises have been issued for the dairy industry, and have an important reference value for guiding dairy enterprises to establish a more scientific, standardized and operable HACCP system.

HACCP provides a means of systematic control of food biological, physical and chemical hazards, emphasizes preventive quality management, and aims to identify, analyze and control the key points to reduce food safety hazards, so it is an economic and efficient quality control system. China’s food industry has gradually integrated into the global food trade market, and the implementation of HACCP system by enterprises in food safety management reflects obvious advantages, which lays a solid foundation for entering the international market.

As the basis and prerequisite of HACCP, GMP is the process of evaluating whether enterprises meet the requirements of the specification, and a scientific and advanced management means to ensure the stability, safety and effectiveness of product quality. HACCP system can help dairy enterprises to carry out fine management and meet the high-quality requirements of dairy products. The application of HACCP system can not only effectively prevent the occurrence of product risks, but also minimize the economic losses caused by trade. HACCP transfers the emphasis of safety assurance from the traditional inspection of the final product to the control of technique process and the quality of raw materials, so as to avoid the loss caused by the mass production of unqualified products.

Tan Yujingetal.[8]studied the application effect of the ISO9001 and HACCP system implemented by Ningbo NBDG Company from the aspects of consumer satisfaction, consumer loyalty, market expansion rate, market share and industrial added value, and the safety and quality level of products were improved. Zhou Qietal.[9]found that after the implementation of HACCP system for pasteurized milk and pasteurized milk products, the number of complaints decreased from 0.38 to 0.25 times/t, and the percentage of coliform in pasteurized milk greater than 70 MPN/100 mL decreased by 0.67%, while the percentage of the total number of colonies in pasteurized milk greater than 10 000 CFU/g reduced by 0.23%. The application of HACCP system can meet the needs and expectations of consumers, and improve consumers’ satisfaction. Enterprises should constantly improve the management level of HACCP system to achieve the strategic goal of international development.

3 Food safety management system

3.1 DevelopmentIn 2005, the International Organization for Standardization issued the international standardFoodSafetyManagementSystemISO22000: 2005 on the basis of HACCP. Because different countries have different food safety standards for prerequisite programs, there is no unified global standard for prerequisite programs, and they are not recognized by the Global Food Safety Initiative (GFSI).

After integrating the ISO22000: 2005 food safety standards, PAS220: 2008 food safety public available specifications and some other regulations and customer requirements, Netherlands Foundation for Food Safety Certification launched the Food Safety System Certification 22000 (FSSC22000), and it was approved by the Global Food Safety Initiative in 2009. FSSC22000 is a certification standard specifically for food enterprises, and covers the main contents of all existing food safety standards or rules[10].

3.2 EstablishmentFSSC22000, which is widely applicable to different types of businesses, can help users to enhance the confidence and credibility of stakeholders, increase the effectiveness of the organization’s measures in the management of food safety and improve the performance, reduce risk and threat factors, enhance brand competitiveness, improve reputation and find new market opportunities[11].

With the rapid propulsion of FSSC22000 in the world and the rapid development of food enterprises in China, it is more and more urgent for Chinese food enterprises to pass FSSC22000 certification. The issuedLawofthePeople’sRepublicofChinaontheQualityandSafetyofAgriculturalProducts,GeneralHygieneStandardsforFoodProduction, Good Production Practices for Dairy Enterprises, green food standards, national standards for organic products and other related laws, regulations and standards in China have laid a good foundation for China’s food enterprises to pass the FSSC22000 certification.

FSSC22000 is the refinement and improvement of ISO9000, is consistent with ISO9001, ISO14001 and other standards, and can be integrated into the overall quality management system of an enterprise. On the basis of GMP, FSSC22000 describes the prerequisite scheme, and combines ISO9001 system method, HACCP method and the prerequisite scheme to constitute a complete management system.

4 Quality safety traceability system

4.1 Necessity of establishmentThe International Organization for Standardization defines traceability as the ability to trace the history, application, and location of an entity through the identification of records. The dairy traceability system records and stores relevant information of the whole process of dairy production. When there is a milk quality problem, the corresponding raw materials or production links can be quickly and effectively queried and tracked, and they should be recalled if necessary. Targeted improvement measures should be taken to improve the quality of dairy products. The food safety problem of dairy products may involve all links, and raw materials, production, transportation, sales, consumption and other links may cause the quality safety problem of the final product. After the establishment of dairy quality safety traceability system, the responsibility link and scope of problem products can be quickly and accurately defined after the occurrence of safety problems, and targeted improvement measures can be developed, or substandard products are recalled to minimize losses. The establishment of quality safety traceability system by enterprises is conducive to providing consumers with high-quality and safe products, and breaking trade barriers set by traceability system abroad, so as to improve the international market competitiveness of Chinese milk enterprises[12].

4.2 Frame constructionThe construction of quality safety traceability system should consider all supply chains of dairy products, including dairy farming, raw milk transportation, product production, packaging and transportation, product sales and after-sales service,etc.Each supply chain has its own function, and they are interrelated and independent.

The traceability system of dairy cattle breeding involves the breeding archives and tracking system of the whole process of dairy cattle breeding, including forage and feed, cattle information, seed selection and breeding, milk production records, disease prevention and medication management,etc.The archival information should be timely, accurate, true and complete. Raw milk transportation uses information technology, integrates GPS and video monitoring system, establishes the monitoring platform of raw milk production process, realizes seamless supervision of the whole process of raw milk production and transportation, and guarantees 100% safety of raw milk production and transportation process. Production traceability management system can efficiently provide traceability analysis services. Using advanced marking technology, two-dimensional labels are pasted on products. Visual identification equipment is associated with production information through a QR code to provide traceability services, and each product has a unique QR code. The logistics delivery tracking system uses barcode identification technology and wireless network to scan and record the delivery of each batch of products. The traceability system of market channel should be built, and the automated program is used to simulate the transfer process of products in each link of the market channel, including dealer warehouse, distributor warehouse and terminal purchasing warehouse. The system collects the packaging and identification information of products in each link, realizes the transfer of products in the simulation program, automatically records product traceability, and quickly and efficiently controls the real-time inventory and sales situation for marketing analysis and decision-making.

4.3 ApplicationHACCP system is the basis of traceability. Mary Xuetal.[13]applied radio frequency identification technology and wireless sensor technology to the quality management of the whole process of the dairy supply chain. Real-time monitoring and early warning of changes in geographical information, temperature and humidity and other environmental information during the transportation of raw milk or products should be conducted to realize real-time tracking and tracing of information in the transportation process.

Sun Xiaoyuanetal.[14]developed a dairy supply chain traceability system based on control tower technology, and it has a good visualization effect and controllability. The relevant data of dairy processing and production collected by the dairy supply chain traceability system are integrated, cleaned, transformed and regulated according to the data processing and analysis rules, and information interaction is realized with the public information platform of the dairy supply chain through data exchange. Through the analysis and mining of related data of dairy products, dairy products manufacturing enterprises, suppliers, distributors and consumers can be provided with dairy product information inquiry, real-time equipment status inquiry, comprehensive dairy product information and other services.

Jin Yupingetal.[15]organically combined radio-frequency identification sensor technology, ultrasonic milk component analysis technology and electronic weighing technology to build a traceability and monitoring system for the quality safety of raw milk. The system can continuously and accurately record the milking volume and weight of a dairy cow, raw milk index and other information under certain feeding conditions, so as to realize the individual traceability of raw milk quality.

5 Conclusions

Dairy quality is the lifeline for the development of dairy industry. At present, the development of economic globalization promotes the continuous development of various fields in China. Dairy enterprises are faced with increasingly complex and changeable external environment, so they need to constantly improve their future development strategies to form a benign development situation from inside to outside. Formulating the international development strategy of dairy enterprises plays an important role in China’s economic development, such as establishing an effective quality safety management system for dairy products, improving the overall production capacity and quality of domestic dairy products and raw materials for processing, enhancing the ability to resist international trade risks, and effectively boosting people’s confidence in domestic brands to achieve independent and healthy development of dairy industry.