Quality assurance (QA) standards are considered to be a proven mechanism for delivering quality of product and service. This paper seeks to analyse critically how effectively this mechanism has been implemented in the integrated food supply chain.
This paper focuses on the development of QA standards and organisational business models. The research included a literature review and evaluation to determine the mechanisms currently in place with particular emphasis on poultry meat.
Historically private quality assurance schemes have been developed to demonstrate compliance with a set of extrinsic quality standards or “pre‐requisites”. These have often included qualitative rather than quantitative measures of quality. In order to demonstrate to external stakeholders and the consumer that QA schemes actually deliver tangible benefits, quantitative measurements should be included in QA models especially as these measures can improve intrinsic product quality, drive business performance and supply chain efficiency and compliance with legislative requirements.
This paper analyses the current status of QA in the food supply chain and is of relevance to a cross‐section of the industry.
