Frequently Asked Questions: Food & Beverage QMS
What is a food and beverage quality management system (QMS)?
A food and beverage quality management system is a comprehensive platform that streamlines business processes and is focused on ensuring product/service quality that meets or exceeds customer requirements. Because there are many sectors of the food and beverage industry – from the farm to the retailer – quality management looks different depending on the sector where a business produces. Overall, food and beverage quality focuses on protecting consumer health by avoiding food contamination. This could take many forms, such as proper storage after harvesting, maintaining specific conditions during processing or safe handling at the point of sale.
What quality regulations does the food and beverage industry need to follow?
Several regulations govern the food production and supply chain, and many differ from country to country. In the United States, most common regulations are put forth in the Food and Drug Administration’s Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA), which focuses on preventing foodborne illness in human and animal foods. Though not a law, Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Points (HACCP) is a system that addresses food safety through the analysis and control of biological, chemical and physical hazards. It is often used to meet regulatory requirements and is mandatory for the control of certain food products in the United States, Canada, Mexico, the United Kingdom and the European Union.
Safe Quality Food (SQF) standards address food safety from every aspect, including agriculture and delivery. The requirements are used as part of the Global Food Safety Initiative (GFSI) certification program required by many retailers and food manufacturers in order for them to purchase your product.
Please note that this is a general overview for informational purposes only. For more detailed information about food quality regulations, contact the proper authorities in your market.
How does quality management software (eQMS) help the food and beverage industry?
Quality management software streamlines and centralizes quality management tasks, enabling food and beverage businesses to more easily comply with food-related regulations. QMS software provides efficiencies that help your business work smarter, such as automated document management with built-in traceability, integrated employee training, and supplier management features.
Why choose QT9 QMS to address your quality management needs?
QT9 QMS is a highly rated quality management solution geared toward compliance and efficiency. We provide more than 25 modules that come standard, including:
- Document Control
- Audit Management
- Nonconforming Products
- Corrective Actions
- Employee Training
- Risk Management
- Inspections
QT9 QMS is backed by free software updates, full customer support, an available ERP integration with electronic batch records and a Business Intelligence tool. Our cloud-based platform allows you to keep track of quality from an easy-to-use dashboard, and to synchronize records and tasks across departments and locations.
With QT9 QMS, you get unlimited scalability and traceability at a great price, so you can bring quality products and services to market in the most efficient way.
