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NEWS & EVENTS
Latest News: 2006-01-24 Flight Catering - Case Study Flight Catering, Second Edition – Edited by Peter Jones Case Study 9.1 – p. 187 Medina International Medina International is a company that specialises in conducting third-party audits for flight-catering production units. In 2002, the company conducted 316 audits, in 123 units, on behalf of four different airline companies. In 2003, Medina will extend its auditing process through the supplier chain using a new online software applications (ASP) for food suppliers. A total of 22 years experience in auditing gives Medina International Inc. a considerable knowledge base in the areas of auditor selection processes and audit procedures as well as technology developments to ensure rapidity of information and research projects related to in-flight food safety and catering standards. The actual audits include four different modules, namely Food Provisioning, Food Safety, Inventory and Catering specifications. Medina has found through experience that auditors cannot audit more than three stations a month as extensive travel can alter their work efficiency and audit quality. Furthermore, auditor rotation is essential in order to maintain the integrity of the audit. The same auditor cannot visit the same station twice within a year. The audit process includes a questionnaire, which ensures auditor objectivity. For example, a question could need a numeric answer such as four or zero but not in between as leaving a person to express a judgement call will create inconsistencies in the audit response. This questionnaire must relate to specific guidelines, which should be part of a monthly follow up training with auditors. Medina audit software integrates the guidelines for each question ensuring that each auditor understands the issues in the same way therefore guaranteeing objectivity. All guidelines are based on the airlines quality standard expectation from caterers and/or food suppliers. Each audit should take the necessary time to cover all issues in a professional manner. It takes an average of 2.5 days to complete a Medina audit. A basic visit includes areas such as the receiving area, storage areas, pre-preparation area, hot and cold kitchens, special meal areas, tray set-up area, dishwashing area, waste collection station, holding area, dispatch area, as well as a verification of HACCP logs and SOPS documentation. Medina also assesses catering specifications (weight checks and procedures), commissary, inventory, and in some occasions environmental issues. A typical audit report provides information on all observations and highlights areas of improvement, new non-conformities, and on-going non-conformities. The reporting process to airlines as well as the debriefing of the audit with the caterers or food suppliers is important in the audit process. Rapidity of information is essential so that any major food safety discrepancies can be addressed as fast as possible. Value for money, optimum customer satisfaction, consistency and safety of catering products is the basis of of auditing process so all audit reports should be transferred 24 hours after completion and an action plan to correct non-conformities should be submitted, a maximum of 5 days after the audit. The third-party quality assessment company should be responsible for monitoring corrective measures in order to notify its clients on a regular basis. Current technology enables clients to access rapidly their food safety audits at any time anywhere in the world so that they can be use to follow up action therefore limiting potential food safety liabilities. Audit information is essential to assess the auditing process and auditor performance. Each Medina audit is transferred into a central database, which is currently used for research on different aspects of the catering audit procedure such as auditor consistency during audits and assessment of in-flight quality standard. The database includes 4,000 audits and is classified according to continent, country, station, etc. Current issues and future developments The outsourcing of food processing and production may appear to shift the responsibility for food safety from flight caterers to suppliers. This is especially the case if food and drink is received and processed in sealed packaging. However, the flight production unit will still have to ensure that these items are stored at safe temperatures, as well as ensure stock rotation so that items are consumed by their use-by date. In addition, in the UK under the Food Safety Act 1990, the Food Standards Agency (FSA) with government support reviewed the powers of entry to ships and aircraft. While at the time of writing the industry had no idea what impact this would have on the airlines, it was advised that food safety training should be implemented for cabin crew in order to prove due diligence. In this regard, British Airways had already adopted a voluntary code of practice with all cabin crew undergoing a minimal module of training on food safety and galley hygiene. Other airlines are likely to follow. Conclusion Flight catering has an excellent record for food safety. There have, however, been cases of food poisoning traced back to flight caterers. The nature of the business – notably the delay between production and consumption of food – means that those involved in producing meals must be constantly vigilant to prevent contamination of foods and to ensure appropriate temperature control. One lapse in good hygiene practices could result in a large number of people being affected, with consequent effects on the business implicated. The method of choice for managing food safety is hazard analysis critical control points (HACCP), a proactive system that aims to predict possible hazards in food production and built in controls and monitoring procedures to prevent or minimise them. Evidence is starting to emerge confirming that this system does result in foods of a higher microbiological quality. It is important that everyone involved in flight catering, from chief executives to line operatives, understands the importance of maintaining good hygiene practices and that managers communicate this to their employees. 2006-01-23 IATA Press Release GENEVA: The International Air Transport Association (IATA) has launched the IATA Catering Quality Assurance programme (ICQA). ICQA provides airlines with the industry’s first global food processing safety and quality assurance programme using one set of global standards and guidelines with a harmonized auditing methodology. Currently, caterers are subjected to numerous audits conducted by different auditing bodies with diverse assessment criteria. The situation is complicated and costly for airlines and the caterers they audit separately. ICQA simplifies the process, raises the bar on food quality management and cuts costs by reducing the number of audits conducted each year. IATA is partnering with Medina Quality Assurance Services. Medina will audit catering facilities for compliance with ICQA standards on a contractual basis for programme participants. Over the last 25 years, Medina has conducted over 10,000 food safety and quality audits on caterers and food suppliers worldwide, for its airline clients. Two types of audits will be used by airlines participating in the programme. Validation Audits consist of an unannounced on-site review of the caterer’s facility and operations by Medina auditors that assess the degree of compliance with ICQA Standards and Guidelines. Web-based e-Audits are customized questionnaires designed to identify deficiencies. In both cases a final audit report is issued to the caterer and airline. In cases where two or more airlines wish to audit the same catering facility, costs can be shared and audit results pooled. The programme is open to IATA member airlines and non-member airlines. An ICQA Council, made up of participating airlines, will soon be established to oversee the programme, approve the annual audit schedule, and update standards, guidelines and the audit methodology. Air Canada, Aeroflot, Japan Airlines, KLM Royal Dutch Airlines and Northwest Airlines have already confirmed their participation in the programme. For more information on ICQA go to: IATA's website 2005-03-01 Double/Downline Catering Study Medina just completed a 2 ½ year study on Double (Downline) Catering, looking at the quantity, and positioning of dry ice in a trolley. Double (Downline) catering is the practice of stocking food items on an aircraft from the departing city to be served on the return flight. From our conclusions, we will be able to recommend appropriate guidelines to our airline clients. |
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