Quality Defination and Importance

We all are familiar with the word “quality”. If we bring some fruits or vegetables from the market, the other family members will reflect on their quality by making observations such as: fresh or stale, good or bad quality or inferior product, etc.These observations are perceptions of consumers based on the sensory attributes of the fruit or vegetables such as colour, appearance touch, smell or taste.

The quality characteristics of food that are acceptable to consumers are comprehended under the term “Food Quality”. It includes external factors such Quality as appearance (size, shape, colour, gloss, and consistency); internal factors (chemical, physical, microbial) and characteristics/ specifications prescribed under the Government laws/ standards. If consumers perceptions regarding quality of food are not positive he or she either will not purchase the material or will be paying less compared to when the consumer has positive perception about the quality. Our country is the largest producer of the milk in the world and has good potential to export the dairy products, particularly indigenous dairy products such as ghee and khoa /chhana based sweets. Food items or dairy products to be traded in international markets should be manufactured in accordance with global accepted norms and standards. In order to improve the quality of milk and milk products the Government of India is focusing on “Clean Milk Production”. As a dairy technologist and entrepreneur, we must ensure production of quality products.Let us learn more about quality.