Over three decades of active consultation with the food industry, largely on microbiological matters related to investigation, risk assessment, and control, I have seen companies in both the best of times and the worst of times. During hundreds of visits to many food processing companies, I sometimes get the impression that food safety programs and environmental monitoring programs (EMPs) are unwanted necessities to prevent recalls or meet a requirement of regulators or customers. The basic presumption in these instances is that such programs drain profits because of sampling, testing, personnel, and other costs. My contention is that quality assurance and food safety programs, including EMPs, done well can add to the bottom line of food processors.
In all of life, the idea of perfection and the actual reality of a situation often create frustration, dissonance, and sometimes resignation as one realizes that he or she fell short of some previously undefined goal. The phrase “Well, that’s the way it is,” as well as the song “Slip Slidin’ Away,” comes to mind. However, perfection is in the eye of the beholder, and if left undefined, it can mean anything at any time. Vague concepts like “good quality” and “goodness” mean different things to different people. But if a requirement is defined narrowly and precisely, it can be achieved most of the time. For example, we expect that we will receive exact change when we purchase something. It is a known requirement of society. This rarely fails. Society is intolerant of “approximate” change. We need, as food industry and quality assurance professionals, to move beyond vague concepts of perfection and good quality and carefully define our achievable criteria, wherein deviation is not tolerated. These are our requirements. The difference between the cost associated with nonconformance and the requirements results in “the price of nonconformance” or PONC. PONC is the measure of quality.¹ As such, it can be measured in dollars subtracted from the bottom line.