• Quality assurance scheme to be rolled out nationally - sappo

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QUaliTy aSSURaNce
Quality assurance
systems nothing new in
other countries
Quality assurance systems
are nothing new in other
countries and many meat
producers have been participating
in such systems
for many years, says Jacobus
Hoffman, manager of
the Premier Pork Producers,
who have been playing
a leading role in establishing
such a system for pork
producers in South Africa.
Hoffman points out that the National
Consumer Protection Bill, among others,
leave producers with little choice
but to adhere to the higest production
standards. Pick n Pay recently said: “The
recently tabled Consumer Protection
Bill leaves us with very little choice but
to pursue and escalate the process of
auditing our suppliers and holding them
accountable for the safety of the products
they supply to the retailers.”
But how does these systems work in
other countries?
The Neterhlands
The Dutch national quality system for
pig farming, Integrale Keten Beheersing,
integrated chain control (IKB), forms the
quality basis for the production process
of pork. IKB covers matters such as animal
health, animal feed, farming, animal
welfare and hygiene. IKB is based on
monitoring the entire production chain.
Transport companies, veterinary surgeons
and abattoirs and meat processing
plants all come under the IKB scope.
“Our system closely resembles the Dutch
system,” says Hoffman.
The USA
The American Pork Quality Assurance
Programme (PQA) has already started in
1989.
The purpose of the system is to help
American pork producers meet consumer
demands for quality and safety.
Since then, PQA materials have been
revised periodically to provide producers
timely and accurate information for
producing safe, wholesome pork.
US pork producers have a long tradition
of social responsibility. The tradition
includes the development of producer/
certification programmes that producers
can use to ensure that US pork products
are of the highest quality and safe, and
that the animals raised for food are cared
for in a way that ensures their well-being.
In 1989, pork producers developed
the Pork Quality Assurance programme,
a producer education and certification
programme to reduce the risk of violative
animal health product residues in pork.
New Zealand
Providing an “enjoyable eating experience
every time” has become a key
driving influence of the New Zealand Pork
Industry’s quality assurance programme.
This means providing a product that the
consumer finds enjoyable and safe to eat.
The Australians believe that perceptions
of quality are important and so is
animal welfare, worker health and safety.
The pork industry’s response was
the Pork Quality Improvement Process
(PQIP), an industry devised total quality
management programme.
Australia
A primary aim of the Australian Pork
Industry Quality Programme (APIQ) is to
have pig farmers think of themselves as
food producers, and focus on consumers’
rights to safe, wholesome food
accordingly.
In 1997, a new national quality assur-
Porcus November/Desember 2010