Introduction
As today’s U.S. dairies continue to become more sophisticated, the opportunity to apply principles and techniques that have been proven successful in other business sectors to the dairy business increases substantially. For some dairymen, thinking of the dairy as a business, rather than a way of life, requires somewhat of a paradigm shift.
With more progressive dairymen, the quest for innovative approaches to improve the dairy business has been in progress for years. Principles of finance, accounting, human resource management, risk management, and information management are routinely used in dairy herd management. Maybe you have also heard the buzzwords “Total Quality Management” and “Dairy Breakthrough Management” used in discussions of advancing dairy herd management.
Dairy Applications for ISO and HACCP
Recently, Fred Andersen (F.B. Andersen and Associates) presented information on an additional concept for dairy management in a presentation titled “Feedlot and Dairy Applications for ISO and HACCP” at the PerforMix Economic and Nutrition Symposium. Both of these programs fit hand in hand with the Total Quality Management and Dairy Breakthrough Management systems, but may provide additional benefits. Although they are technically separate programs, ISO and HACCP are closely interlinked and often integrated into one quality assurance and food safety system.
Fred Andersen is a registered ISO 9000 Specialist who has extensive experience applying these management principles in the agricultural sector. He has implemented ISO/HACCP systems for many feed manufacturers and has recently facilitated registration with all of the Agri-Beef Company’s feedlots. Andersen describes ISO as a “quality assurance system that provides an organization with the structure, responsibilities, processes, and procedures to ensure consistent and repeatable livestock and dairy product quality”. In simplest terms, it is a system designed as a better “way to run your business.”
ISO 9000
According to Andersen, the international marketplace has created the impetus for ISO, which is standard in most manufacturing circles, at the farm level. The ISO 9000 standards were first adopted in 1987 as established by the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) with the primary goal of facilitating international trade. To date, there are over 100 countries, including in excess of 750,000 companies, participating. ISO 9000 separates itself from other quality management systems in that it is the “only internationally recognized and independently auditable quality management system”.
The trend for ISO 9000 registration in manufacturing began in Europe, progressed to Canada and, in more recent years, moved into the United States. A primary goal with ISO is to have consistent and repeatable product quality. An essential part of an ISO system is to document everything done within the operation and make sure those documented procedures are followed through. In doing this, it is necessary to examine every process on the dairy. This involves development of Standard Operating Procedures (SOP’s), flowcharts, control points, and other quality records essential to the daily operation of the dairy business. Implementing an ISO system can be a challenging process, but it is worthwhile, since it requires critical evaluation of every aspect of a business.
As Andersen describes, the “strength is in the development and involvement of the people”. Ultimately, ISO provides management with assurances that quality controls are in place to address issues with milking, breeding, feeding, feedstuffs, animal traffic, treatments, herd health and any other area affecting milk quality and diary performance and profitability. Andersen estimates that “the cost of not doing things right the first time can amount to five to ten percent of operating expenses”. ISO will help insure that things are “done right the first time”.
HACCP
HACCP (Hazard Analysis Critical Control Point) may have even greater implications for dairy operations because of BSE and other food safety concerns amongst consumers. Andersen described HACCP as “providing a documented methodology, controls and best management practices to prevent, eliminate and/or reduce biological, chemical and physical hazards affecting incoming materials and processes in a dairy or feedlot”.
With the recent events surrounding BSE in North America, HACCP has been gaining more attention there. Unlike ISO, HACCP is a government driven program. In essence, HACCP helps put systems in place to prevent food safety hazards. HACCP places check points around medication, reconciliation, chemicals, lubricants, needles, incoming ingredients, and other places where the end product (in this case, milk) may be contaminated. At the present time, some companies may pay a premium for products from HACCP compliant dairies. However, in the future, HACCP compliance may simply be a “cost of staying in business”, Andersen concludes. The HACCP system fits very well with current consumer demands for product traceability and liability.
Developing a HACCP system
Development of a HACCP system involves creation of Good Operating Procedures (GOP’s) and Critical Control Points (CCP’s). A critical control point is defined as “a point, step or procedure at which a control can be applied and a food safety hazard can be prevented, eliminated or reduced to acceptable levels”. The prerequisites to any HACCP program are GOP’s designed to ensure food safety, soundness and wholesomeness at all stages of the process. Andersen lists the requirements of GOP’s as follows:
- Buildings and facilities must be of sound construction and good repair and designed to: permit easy and adequate cleaning and proper hygiene; minimize pest and environmental contamination; minimize cross contamination; provide adequate lighting in inspection areas; provide potable water supply; provide personal hygiene practice; control surrounding areas to reduce entry of dust, runoff, pests and other potential contamination sources.
- Equipment used in the process must be designed, constructed, maintained and operated to allow for: effective cleaning of surfaces; contamination control; calibration and maintenance to ensure control.
- Persons who process product should establish hygiene practice to ensure: washing of hands prior to contact with product; training is provided on critical control points, allowable tolerances and corrective actions required.
- All employees must: be provided documented procedures to ensure the processes do not pose a health risk; adhere to documented procedures; be involved in the preparation of a HACCP system.
- A documented sanitation program must exist that includes: equipment cleaning; housekeeping audits and associated corrective actions; pest control; waste disposal; bin inspections.
- Incorporated into the existing documentation there must be: process flowcharts and critical control points; monitoring mechanism for these control points; corrective action process; traceable records.
- A formalized customer complaint process must exist that includes a product recall process.
How can your business benefit?
How can becoming ISO registered and HACCP compliant benefit a dairy business? Andersen estimates that the payback is typically one to two years after registration. He views the most important external benefits to be:
- enhanced food quality and safety
- improved customer satisfaction
- enhanced competitive edge
- increased market
However, perhaps of greater importance are the internal benefits of:
- better documentation
- greater quality awareness among employees
- standardization procedures and controls
- enhanced intra-business communications
- reduced re-work expenses
By requiring an audit by an independent, third party organization, ISO provides a regular “check-up” to insure that you truly are following the systems you have established. Long-term benefits may be recognized in increased marketing opportunities for milk as consumers demand to have a better idea of where their milk is coming from and what all is involved in getting it to the supermarket shelf. These systems provide a great opportunity to improve the way you run your business today and in the future. It will require a firm commitment and buy-in from all employees, along with a significant amount of time and effort. But, as the late Ann Landers said, “Opportunities are usually disguised as hard work, so most people don’t recognize them”.
References:
Andersen, F.B. 2004. Feedlot and Dairy Applications for ISO. Proceedings of the 1st annual PerforMix Economic and Nutrition Symposium. Page 38.
Related Links:
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