Application of a Quality Management System in the Dairy Plant “ECOLAC”

Abstract

The consumption of milk and dairy products in the world population is growing significantly. The demand of the consumers to acquire safe and quality products, causes that the medium and small companies, have the urgent necessity to implement Quality Management Systems (QMS), in such a way that it allows them to enter the highly competitive markets. This research analyzes the effects of the application of the QMS on the organoleptic, physiochemical and microbiological parameters of raw and pasteurized milk. The samples were taken in the processes of raw material reception, pasteurization and storage, and the analyses were performed in triplicate for each of the samples. For the analysis of the data a “Students t” test was applied, to determine the differences after the application of the QMS. The results indicate that the application of QMS had positive effects on the physicochemical parameter of acidity and on the microbiological load of mesophilic aerobes in the milk reception process. On the other hand, not effects on organoleptic characteristics, density, pH, fat and total coliforms growth were evidenced. These findings are important since they can be replicated in other dairy processing plants.