STUDY ON THE IMPLEMENTATION OF QUALITY MANAGEMENT TOOLS IN THE FOOD SERVICE OF A MILITARY ORGANIZATION OF THE BRAZILIAN ARMY
Quality Control,Food Safety, Food Defense
The Quality Management tools are essential tools in the formulation of food production processes, in the search for strategies that can combine efficiency with excellence in the criterion of Food Safety. The Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Point System (HACCP) is one of the most modern control tools for safe food production. His methodology encompasses proactive scientific concepts on the mapping of the productive process, focused, above all, on the critical points to be controlled. It is recognized by the international community and by the Codex Alimentarius and its precepts are accepted and employed by several Foreign Armed Forces as the most effective method to maintain the operability and hygiene of its members. However, even after HACCP regulations have been in force for more than 20 years in the Brazilian Regulatory Bodies, such as the Ministry of Health and the Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock and Supply, the subject has not yet been included in the scope of the Brazilian Military Legislation. In the same context, despite its terminology in the Military Manuals, the Food Defense tool is insipidly delineated and without application references. The present study intends to carry out the implementation of the HACCP and Food Defense Quality Management Systems in the food service of a Military Organization (OM), and for this, the sanitary conditions of the current production process will be carried out, mapping critical control points, preparing their respective spreadsheets, and preparing the Food Defense Plan. Training will be carried out, investing technically in team formation and continuous professional improvement. The hygienic-sanitary conditions of the food produced, production environment and manipulators will also be registered, through microbiological analyzes carried out before and after the implementation of the quality tools. It is hoped that the implementation represents an opportunity for improvement, structured from a critical perspective, with the inclusion of its principles in the Brazilian Armed Forces Food Manuals, contributing to the practices of Food Security and Defense, serving as a model for the other MO.