Quality Assurance in Food Production: 

Context

 

At one time, and still in some locations, food production was limited to the household  or hamlet level. Risk was minimal. Food produced in the household garden would be subjected to a quick wash, go through basic preparation and the cooking process would be enough to eradicate any potential.

 

  But, now things are a little different. In order to 'build trade' and fulfill the potential, the politicos set forth for us, of being 'the Food Bowl of the World' during the 50s and 60s, anything resembling a tree was cut down in order to maximise this. Every farmer had at least a pilot's licence, if he didn't have a plane to match it, and we created a market environment in which everything became available.

 

  The lifestyle changed dramatically. The aspect of colour and texture in food was a frontier that exploded. Not quite overnight, but close to it, with the aid of some notable, predominantly European chefs, Australia's palate demand changed from English Pub Food being the norm at a night out at the local pub, to the very best the entire world had to offer at the local restaurant.

 

  There were hiccups along the way. There was a brief flirtation with Nouveau Cuisine. The artistic format satisfied egotistical requirement if it did nothing to dampen the appetite, but after a while, the rapidly growing 'eating out' crowd of Australia got sick of the con of a medium rare Himalayan snow pea in the centre of a vast expanse of white plate, with just a piquancy of capsicum marmalata on the side to provide colour and contrast. Being essentially a nation of workers at that time, they started looking round for the honesty in their food to match their appetites.

 

  Emboldened by success experienced in food forays away from the previously shallow norm, Australia looked within and discovered the richness inherent in the people that had come over as part of the Italian, Chinese and Vietnamese communities. Here was food where poor quality ingredients couldn't hide behind rich, cream and wine-based sauces. The sauces were made up, predominantly, of the juices of the ingredients themselves. Suddenly the country discovered a healthier, lighter food style, geared for the Australian climate. These cuisines melded into a food style that has kept evolving with a new kind of chef, that is continuously on the search for something new and conducts a never-ending stream of experiments that any industrial chemistry laboratory would be proud of. A permanent escape from the English stodge that suited the English climate, but did nothing for those in the sub-tropical/tropical Australian climate except put them into a glutted torpor, like pythons after the still traditional English, Christmas dinner.

 

  Then the fast-food concept hit. The consumer market concept had hit with a vengeance and the American dream became the Australian one. Convenience food was quick and easy for the two-wage family and suddenly, restaurants conditioned to a lucrative six day/week trade found they were battling to have two good nights. The lady of the house found it far easier, after picking up the kids from school, to give the man of the house a call and get him to pick up the pizzas/Kentucky-fried on the way home from work. Everybody started eating in front of the T.V.

 

  All of this radical change revolutionised the supply chain.Bulk processing grew in proportion to market demand. In order to supply a market demanding out-of-season supplies, ingredients were shipped in from other locations and everything associated with them shipped with them. If one crop or herd source was infected, that infection was introduced into the central repository that was centralised production.What was once a negligible risk, suddenly assumed a potential that had no precedent in the Australian food production context and fields that had a recognised, if somewhat distant, association in the environment such as Quality Control, suddenly leapt to the fore, were found wanting and Quality Assurance was reborn as Australian.

 

  The vernacular of the new clique erupted. HACCP, SQF, amongst others and where the export market went to balance the import trade, such mysterious terms as BRC were heard. Training was implemented in order to understand this new language and the procedures they alluded to. An entirely new industry adjunct was created.

 

  A support network has sprung up. Where you have such mechanisms as Standard Operational Procedures, policies that must be defined and put in palce, records that must be kept in order to demonstrate the legal aspect of Due Diligence, technical writers, trainers and assessors and instructional designers, not to mention information designers, are all required. All these, beyond the base level Q.A staff, microbial testers and their facilities, to assume a stance - and the associated overhead - within the new age of food processing.

 

Are we better off?

Probably not.

 

  Preservatives are another field that has jumped ahead in order to facilitate the 'Fresh-To-Market' trade. There seems to be another field that has emerged in association with all of this with an increase in allergy incidence and type. And, as always within the context of the crowd, the unethical tends to abound.

 

  In hindsight, how many would prefer a return to a simpler life?