For bakeries, delivering consistent quality products to retailers and the end consumer is of paramount importance. Quality control in bakery processing has never been more challenging; ensuring the quality of the ingredients themselves and then maintaining that quality throughout processing until product delivery. Foreign body detection, for example, is a major component, to avoid unnecessary recalls and reputational issues. Vice President of Global Quality and Food Safety at the Kellogg Company asks in her article, “Is Zero Foreign Material Possible in Food Processing?” She concludes that it is with the help of in-line detection systems, and here at FPE we knew that already. Read on to find out more.
Overview:
- What is quality control in a bakery?
- How do you check the quality of a bakery product?
- How do you ensure quality control in bakery processing?
- Safeguarding quality of bakery products with Eagle
What is quality control in a bakery?
Quality control (QC) in a bakery is the process of ensuring that all food items, from raw ingredients to final baked products, adhere to set standards.
How do you check the quality of a bakery product?
There are a number of quality control parameters that could be relevant to baked goods processors. These include:
- Contaminant levels
- Protein content and quality
- Moisture content and drip loss
Historically, bakeries have used the senses – touch, sight, hearing, smell and taste – to assess the quality of a baked product. For example, the sight of mould or an “off” smell is a clear sign that microorganism levels are too high. Today, we have more scientific, accurate methods of measuring and therefore controlling the quality of baked goods.
How do you ensure quality control in bakery processing?
Today, quality control in bakery processing is managed with quality control processes and technology. Bakeries apply QA systems such as Hygiene code, HACCP (Hazard Analysis Critical Control Points), and ISO (International Organization for Standardization).
The Hygiene code describes production processes and guidelines to assure food safety and is based on HACCP-principles. HACCP uses a plan of steps to identify, evaluate and control the points in food manufacturing that are critical to food safety). The ISO 9000-series aims to achieve uniformity in products and/or services.
However, it has been noted that most quality assurance systems are too generic; they only describe what level of quality should be reached but not how to arrive at that level. This is where technology comes in.
Safeguarding quality of bakery products with Eagle
With X-Ray food inspection equipment, bakery manufacturers can deliver final products that consistently meet retailer and customer expectations. Eagle PI’s dual energy X-Ray systems not only detect and reject contaminated items from your line, but also simultaneously perform key quality control checks to ensure high standards. Say goodbye to voids in bread loaves, underfilled pies and pasties and more!
Superior X-Ray inspection
Canadian food manufacturer Boulangerie St-Donat significantly improved their food quality assurance & traceability with the Eagle Pack 320 Pro.
Guillaume St-Amour, President of Boulangerie St-Donat, said, “We were using a metal detector to inspect some problematic products, but that was all and we were keen to find a product inspection solution capable of detecting a wider range of contaminants in cakes and pies in aluminium trays.”
The Eagle Pack 320 PRO was chosen and installed at the end of their production line. Designed specifically to inspect high-speed lines of packaged food products, the system is able to inspect and weigh 20 pies per minute.
Capable of “seeing” straight through the aluminium and foil packaging, the Eagle Pack 320 PRO can detect and reject a range of foreign contaminants, including glass shards, metal fragments, mineral stone, calcified bone and even some plastic and rubber.
Accurate chemical lean calculation
For meat pie producers and other meat-based baked goods, Eagle machinery has even more benefits. Eagle’s dual energy X-Ray absorptiometry (DEXA) machines can also produce chemical lean (CL) values within +/- 1CL. The accuracy of this measurement combined with its superior inspection capabilities provides the baked goods industry working with meat a cost-effective, efficient tool to prevent lean giveaway.
Now you know the most effective methods of quality control in bakery processing. If you’d like further details about the Eagle machines we supply or any of the other bakery processing equipment we have available, please don’t hesitate to contact our friendly team on AUS 1800 882 549 or NZ 0800 100 003.
