Food Service

Rev Chil Nutr Vol. 38, Nº3, Septiembre 2011

DEVELOPMENT AND APPLICATION OF A METHOD FOR QUALITY ASSESMENT OF PERISHABLE FOOD SUPPLIERS FROM A FOOD SERVICE DESARROLLO Y APLICACIÓN DE UNA METODOLOGÍA DE EVALUACIÓN DE LA CALIDAD DE PROVEEDORES DE ALIMENTOS PERECIBLES DE UNA UNIDAD DE ALIMENTACIÓN Y NUTRICIÓN
Heliane Aparecida Barros de Oliveira (1), Monise Viana Abranches (2), Ceres Mattos DellaLucia (1), Helena Maria Pinheiro Sant’Ana (1) (1) Department of Nutrition and Health, Federal University of Viçosa, Brazil. (2) Department of General Biology, Federal University of Viçosa, Brazil. ABSTRACT Studies evaluating the quality of food providers and the guidelines for their better qualification are scarce in literature. A structured checklist was applied in the supplier establishments toevaluate: infrastructure, sanitaryhygiene control of foods and handlers, and conditions of transportation and receiving. The Supplier Quality Index was used to calculate the scores of vendors, and the score was assigned according to the fulfillment of the items presented on the checklist: “compliant”, ≥75.0% compliance and “non compliant”, 75.0%). A high proportion of adequate delivery was alsofound by Cardoso and Souza Santos (2005) (6) in which 100% of those responsible for the facilities analyzed reported validity of the products delivered, 85% observed sensory aspects of the product and 95% were concerned with evaluating the packaging conditions. In the present study, food suppliers whose requiring controlled temperature transportation showed full compliance, which can be consideredan important factor in ensuring the quality of the food purchased. In addition to evaluating the shipper with regards to the conditions of delivery and how the product is handled, the attitude of the buyer must also be observed. These factors affect the quality of product provided, and reflect the image of the supplier in the market. In the present study, the item “professionalism of thedelivery” returned 33.3% “non compliance”, which negatively affects the image of the supplier company and demonstrates the need for training and orientation. Professionalism of the company should be evaluated even at the time of delivery, including the timeliness of delivery and presentation of the vehicle, such as cleanliness, refrigeration system and periodic insect and rodent control are factors of greatimportance for

336

DEVELOPMENT AND APPLICATION OF A METHOD FOR QUALITY ASSESMENT OF PERISHABLE FOOD SUPPLIERS FROM A FOOD SERVICE

preserving food quality. A study conducted by Schneider (2006) (5), which examined the supply of fruits and vegetables, showed that the aspects that most influence the signing of contracts with suppliers were: 1) hygiene of the product, truck and boxes, 2)willingness to meet unplanned requests, 3) maintenance of quality standard and 4) confidence in the supplier. Periodic audits to suppliers should be conducted by food service units and other food producing establishments, in order to identify the situation-problem and propose improvements. In this sense, the SQI was calculated for each group of perishable commodities supplied. With respect tosuppliers of meat, it was found that the degree of compliance was less than 85% when evaluated by the SQI (figure 2). Suppliers C and E, despite conforming, still require further qualification because hygiene and sanitary control of these raw materials (protein foods such as meat, milk and dairy products and eggs) are most important given their high perishability (26). The SQI percentage was greaterthan or equal to 86% for suppliers of bakery products (figure 3), and the suppliers B and C reached indices greater than 90%. Despite the need or adjustments, these results can be considered satisfactory. Vegetable supply chains are currently facing the

challenge of aligning demand and supply of products efficiently. On the demand side, demanding clients are interested in high quality...