Quality assurance programs vital to protect consumers

By Dr. Lalith Senaweera

With the globalisation of trade, the products manufactured by different countries move fast within the globe and therefore, markets are becoming choosy and competitive.

In this context, it is pertinent to look after the interests of consumers or the public as many products have an impact on health or safety.

The consumers expect the products that they buy to be safe or fit for consumption and, therefore, manufacturers and importers have a responsibility to meet their expectations.

One way of assuring this is to have a sound quality assurance program within the country and it should be country specific as it is based on the Quality Infrastructure of that country.

In any Quality Assurance program consumer protection and minimising of health and safety related issues are two essential elements and are a shared responsibility of national governments, the regulatory bodies and consumers.

Health

However, there is increasing public concern about the health and safety of products available in the market as there have been serious cases reported in the past decade with regard to effects on public health and the social significance of the issues because of the use of sub standard products.

Due to this almost all countries use a regulatory regime to protect consumers from receiving substandard products especially those having an impact on health and safety, by using effective legislation based on the principles of risk-based approaches to handle health and safety issues in the market.

These mechanisms are crucial in enabling countries to assure the quality, safety and health of products entering international trade and to ensure that imported products conform to national standards as national standards cover the basic needs and wants of that country.

It is for these reasons that standard based product assessments are important for any country as it provides quality assured products to consumers.

Regulatory approach

Normally regulators before issuing any regulations consult the relevant Institutions and obtain the views of those Institutions to ensure that there is really a need to bring in such products under regulations to assure its quality.

It is also necessary to take into consideration Technical Barriers To Trade (TBT) and Sanitary and Phytosanitary agreements of the World Trade Organisation WTO) to avoid unnecessary barriers in the market.

Based on that consultation process the regulators issue directives if there is a need to regulate the markets covering those products for the benefit of the customers. Regulators should be open, and keep regulations simple and user-friendly.

In the regulatory approach, it is mandatory for Institutions to establish, manage, coordinate and monitor the quality control and quality assurance systems and their integral standard operating procedures and other quality documents to provide quality products and services to fully satisfy customer needs and expectations.

This process would help the Institutions to carry out the implementation of regulations in an efficient and effective manner so that stakeholders would benefit.

The executing institutions need to be strengthened with the resources such as inspection, testing, surveillance and administration work related to the implementation of the regulations that need to be coordinated and implemented without undue delay.

Quality assurance

Sri Lanka has a number of institutions which have the authority to regulate products to ensure that the consumers receive quality assured products.

The Sri Lanka Standards Institution (SLSI) being the national standards body of Sri Lanka, engages in monitoring the quality of the selected items which have an impact on health and safety based on the regulations issued under the Import and Export Control Act. SLSI has devised a scheme to assure the quality of 121 products based on Gazette notification 1844-49 of 2014-01-08 under the Import and Export Control Act No.1 of 1969.

As the executing authority, the Institution ensures the conformity of consignments of the designated items for import based on -

a) Acceptability of the conformity certificate/s supporting the consignment, from the exporting country.

b) Acceptability of the Product Certification Mark issued by the National Standard body of the exporting country or National Standards body of another country.

c) Reliability and past experience with the manufacturer of the product from the exporting country.

The SLSI has developed the assessment mechanism based on international guidelines to provide the maximum assurance to the consumer about the quality of the designated items while providing a speedy service to clients.

The criteria used are - Consignments accompanied by acceptable conformity certificates from an overseas laboratory or an inspection agency or any other Government Institution registered with the SLSI.

Consignments with a Conformity Certificate from the National Standards body of the exporting country. Conformity Certificate should be issued in accordance with the relevant Sri Lanka Standard Specification. Consignment imported from a manufacturing plant registered with the SLSI.

A Conformity Certificate should accompany each and every consignment from the manufacturing plant. Consignments of products carrying 'Product Certification Mark' of the National Standards body of any country where the standard used for the said certification is compatible with the corresponding Sri Lanka Standard Specification.Consignments which do not fall into any of the above categories will be checked by drawing samples against the applicable Sri Lanka Standard.

SLSI at present monitors the quality of 121 products and makes recommendations to the Customs based on the above criteria

Benefits: Prevents sub standard products reaching the country and customers, Protective barrier against dumping of any kind of product having a bad impact on consumer health and safety, Saves valuable foreign exchange by stopping the import of substandard products, Strengthens society by providing them quality assured products as the consumers are protected from unnecessary health and safety issues. Importers are educated to go for quality products as they receive valuable inputs about the status of the product imported.

The International Organisation for Standardisation has published a series of standards on food safety as international standards are needed to ensure the safety of the global food supply chain. The ISO 22000 family contains a number of standards each focusing on different aspects of food safety management. ISO 22000:2005 contains the overall guidelines for food safety management.

ISO-TS 22004:2005 contains guidelines for applying ISO 22000. ISO 22005:2007 focuses on traceability in the feed and food chain. ISO 22000:2205 specifies needs for a food safety management system where an organisation in the food chain has to demonstrate how to control food safety hazards to ensure that food is safe at the time of human consumption.

The standard for Food Safety Management Systems processes and procedures necessitates that organisation implement prerequisite programs and HACCP. ISO 22000 is a generic food safety management standard and can be used by any organisation directly or indirectly involved in the food chain.

It applies to all organisations in the food chain. It doesn't matter how complex the organisation is or what size it is, ISO 22000 can help ensure the safety of food products. The food chain also includes organisations that do not directly handle food.

These include organisations that produce feed for animals that produce food and for animals that will be used as food. It also includes organisations that produce materials that will eventually come into contact with food or food ingredients.

Structure of ISO 22000:2005

The ISO 22000 standard includes five sections covering the setting up of a sound food safety management system.

Section 4: General Requirements. Section 5: Management Responsibility. Section 6: Resource Requirements. Section 7: Planning and Realisation. Section 8: Validation, Verification and Improvement.

Implementation

Application of an effective ISO 22000:2005 Food safety Management system needs the commitment of the management and involvement of every employee in the company.

An effective application of ISO 22000:2005 leads to: Identification of critical control points to limit technical resources targeted at the management of food safety program, Disciplined and a systematic approach for continuous improvement in product safety, Providing confidence to consumers on food safety and assisting in demonstrating food safety and food hygiene regulations, Demonstrates the professional approach of the organisation in implementing food safety system and enables the organisation to compete more effectively in international markets, Places the responsibility for ensuring food safety on the organisation, Brings management commitment and encourages people from all operational areas to take an active role in planning and implementing food protection controls, Encourages in-depth understanding and familiarity with the procurement process of raw materials, manufacturing system and storage and distribution, emphasising hazard prevention early in the food production system.

Increase awareness among the employees of the organisation about the important techniques that control the safety of food. Communicate effectively food safety issues to suppliers, customers and interested parties in the food chain.

Benefits: It is internationally recognised as one of the most effective food safety management systems of controlling food related problems worldwide. It is compatible with any other management system. e.g. ISO 9001. It demonstrates management commitment to food safety.

Role: SLSI has devised a scheme to certify organisations against ISO 22000 Food Safety Management System standard and today over 100 organisations have been certified under the scheme.SLSI has 30 professionally qualified auditors who provide valuable input to business enterprises to improve and maintain an effective Food Safety Management System while helping them to penetrate international markets.