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Quality assurance and quality control procedures in place at large-scale flour mills
This indicator provides information on documentation of internal quality assurance and quality control procedures for fortification in place among the mills participating in the fortification programme. It prompts direct follow-up with producers of the flour if inconsistencies are identified.
Flour fortification takes place at mills, and all mills need documented quality assurance systems and procedures in place to ensure that the flour is produced consistently and according to regulations. At a minimum, quality assurance systems should follow Good Manufacturing Practices (GMPs). Ideally, mills follow internationally accepted quality systems such as International Organization for Standardization (ISO) 22000, ISO 9001 and Hazards Analysis and Critical Control Points (HACCP). Systems to ensure quality should include, but are not limited to, procedures for the following:
• Premix procurement and storage
• Certificate of Conformity or similar approval document for premix received from certified supplier
• Feeder/dosifier installation
• Feeder calibration
• Feed rate calculations
• Process controls
• Check weighing, standards and sampling schedule
• Iron spot test (qualitative) for flour
• Preparation of composite samples
• Record keeping
• Laboratory quantitative analysis for vitamins and minerals added to the flour
Specific quality assurance activities include ensuring the following:
• Quantity of the premix procured is in accordance with quantity of flour being produced
• Premix is provided by an approved supplier who presented a Certificate of Analysis
• Premix is appropriately stored and used based on date of production
• Premix dosage is in accordance with fortified flour production rate
• Premix feeders are installed, working properly and periodically maintained
• Fortified flour is regularly confirmed as fortified through qualitative tests
• Fortified flour is packaged, labeled, and stored according to specifications
A specific quality control activity is ensuring the average and acceptable variation range of nutrient content in samples is according to regulations.
The percentage of mills with adequate quality assurance and quality control procedures in place at large-scale flour mills.
Numerator: the number of mills with adequate quality assurance and quality control procedures in place, as assessed by an inspector over a given period of time (e.g. the last 12 months).
Denominator: the number of all mills in the fortification programme [usually producing >12 metric tons (MT)/day] or those that were assessed by an inspector over the same period of time
• Divide the numerator by the denominator. Multiply the result by 100 to convert the number into a percentage.
Considerations for the calculation:
• Together, millers and the regulatory agency need to develop the minimum requirements for quality assurance systems and procedures; these then form the basis of the inspectors’ assessment at each mill.
regulatory monitoring,internal monitoring,mill monitoring,quality control (QC),quality assurance (QA),good manufacturing practices (GMP),International Organization for Standardization (ISO),hazards analysis and critical control points (HACCP)
Food fortification
Activity
Quality
School age children, 12-23 months, 24-35 months, 36-47 months, 48-59 months, 6-11 months, Adolescents, All, Men, Women of reproductive age
None,
All
Market-based
This indicator should be assessed by inspectors at every mill until adequate quality assurance and quality control procedures are documented to be in place, and then periodically thereafter as described in the (national) regulations.
Mills with these systems and procedures in place indicate readiness and ability to produce quality fortified flour.
This indicator does not provide verification that the systems and procedures are being consistently followed or implemented well. Inspections need to be conducted regularly.
In a country, there are 11 mills with the capacity to produce >100 MT of flour daily, 22 mills with the capacity to produce between 50 and 100 MT of flour daily, and 175 mills with the capacity to produce <50 MT of flour daily. In the first year of the flour fortification programme, the country’s regulatory agency decided to focus on the 33 largest mills in the country. They found that 30 had adequate quality assurance an quality control procedures in place.
Numerator: 30
Denominator: 33
Calculation: 30/33 * 100 = 91% of mills had adequate quality assurance and quality control procedures in place for flour fortification.
1. ISO 22000. Food safety management [website]. Geneva: International Organization for Standards; 2018 (https://www.iso.org/iso-22000-food-safety-management.html, accessed 21 February 2021).
2. ISO 9001. Quality management systems – requirements [website]. Geneva: International Organization for Standards; 2015 (https://www.iso.org/standard/62085.html, accessed 13 April 2021).
3. Johnson QW, Wesley AS. Miller’s best/enhanced practices for flour fortification at the flour mill. Food Nutr Bull. 2010;31:S75-85. doi: 10.1177/15648265100311S107
4. Johnson Q. Quality and process control. In: Joint UNICEF & Flour Fortification Initiative Workshops on Flour Fortification in the CEECIS Region. Ankara,12-15 June 2012 (https://www.ffinetwork.org/ffimedia/2012-ceecis-regional-workshops, accessed 13 April 2021).
5. Flour Millers Toolkit [website with presentation]. Atlanta: Food Fortification Initiative (https://www.ffinetwork.org/tools#flourmiller, accessed 16 April 2021).