ABSTRACT
There has been much discussion about, and hence confusion over, the nomenclatureregardingthisfunctionwithinfoodmanufacturing.Itwas referredtorstasqualitycontrol;thiswasthenfollowedbyqualityassuranceandthenitbecamequalitymanagementand,nally,totalqualitymanagementalsoreferredtoasTQM.Somewhereinbetweentheseterms,there was product integrity, a term that, frankly, I preferred. However, by qualitycontrol,I refertothatfunctioninacompanyresponsibleforassuring thatallprocessing,product,environmental,andworkersafetystandards areadheredtoandthatallreasonableandpracticableprecautionstoprotecttheproductfromhazardsofpublichealthsignicancehavebeentaken. I include sanitation, worker training, worker hygiene, pest control programs, observanceofGMP(goodmanufacturingpractices),andestablishmentand observanceofhazardanalysiscriticalcontrolpoint(HACCP)programs. Somemakeadistinctionbetweenqualitycontrolandprocesscontrol.For simplicity, that distinction will not be made.
