Measuring effectiveness of food quality management

Keywords: effectiveness, food quality management, instrument, quality performance, contextual factors, agri-food production, conceptual model, performance measurement indicators, identification, validation, assessment, quality assurance systems, QA systems, HACCP, Hygiene code, ISO, BRC, GMP, bakery sector.

In the last decade several incidents have occurred in the agri-food sector, such as the affairs of dioxin and BSE, whereas also the incidence of food-borne diseases and the production of higher risk products are increasing. In order to build and maintain trust of consumers in food quality and food safety, quality management is of major importance in the food sector. Food manufacturers use several quality assurance systems, like HACCP, ISO and BRC, to assure food quality. However, their effectiveness cannot be assessed because an instrument did not yet exist for the food industry. The aim of this thesis was to develop and validate an instrument that measures effectiveness of food quality management. This instrument enables the selection of appropriate QA systems and supports a proper application. A reliable and valid instrument "IMAQE-Food" was obtained that measures effectiveness of food quality management. The development was based on a structured procedure including a comprehensive literature research, development of a conceptual model, qualitative research,delphisessions, quantitative research, and validation. IMAQE-Food is generic for the bakery sector and is expected to be applicable in other food sectors as well after small modifications. IMAQE-Food was used to investigate the effectiveness of food quality management in the bakery sector and to study the interdependency between the level of food quality management and the context of bakeries. Moreover, IMAQE-Food can also be used for assessment of quality performance and/or food quality management, obtaining insight in the interdependency between contextual factors and production quality, and analysing the appropriateness of QA systems in increasing the level of quality management to obtain a higher production quality.The insights of this study support food manufacturers in deciding which quality management activities are most suitable for their situation and how their objectives have to be achieved. Policy makers can use information about effectiveness to improve established QA systems and to develop effective implementation methods. This can result in a more effective quality management and an increased production quality, which will lead to more confidence of consumers in food production quality and improving competitiveness of food manufacturers. The developed methodology will also support other researchers to develop similar instruments. For application in other food sectors, IMAQE-Food could be further tailored using the structured procedure as described in this thesis.