CASE STUDIES FOOD ANALYSIS FNA400S

The following case studies are to be discussed amongst yourselves in the group and a 30 minute

presentation prepared for the class. Each group will be required to present a solution for the case

study assigned to them. But each group will be expected to submit a report for each case study.

1. As the HR manager of ADZ Foods, you are tasked with filling vacancies as a result of

expansions in your company.

Your most pressing objective is to fill the newly created post of food analyst in the chemistry

labs

Draw up a detailed job description for the post. Explain / motivate the reason for each item

on the job description.

2. During the course of your work as the food analyst at ADZ foods, you decide to put together

SOPs for the handling, preparation and storage of samples prior to analyses. During your

research into the topic, you discovered that there are numerous physical, chemical,

biological and biochemical techniques, depending on sample type and desired outcomes

that can be used to prepare samples. Some of these include simple, single stepped processes

whilst others can be complex and multi stepped.

Draw up your SOPs for samples lists identified in (3) using the following guidelines:

a. Identify the different types of sample preparation methods

b. Explain how and why the different types of methods are used i.e. what is the

purpose of each method identified?

c. Draw a flow diagram of the process.

d. What are the advantages and disadvantages of the methods identified.

3. You have just been appointed as the food analyst at ADZ Foods; your tasks include carrying

out analyses of materials from your suppliers and finished products from your factory. Your

suppliers include:

a. Granary – Stores its grains with which you are supplied in silos

b. Fishery – Frozen fish in boxes on a pallet (1.5m X 1.5m X 1.5m)

c. Grain packers – Stores grains in 50Kg bags

d. Meat packers - Frozen meat in boxes on pallets (same dimensions a s fish)

e. Spice packers – Spices in 2Kg boxes, 2Kg glass jars and 50Kg bags

f. Nut processing factory – different types of nuts packaged in 50Kg full barrier bags.

g. Dairy Processing plant – MSNF and whole (dry) milk packed in 50Kg containers.

Outline in detail, a standard operating procedure for testing samples from each of these

suppliers, from obtaining the samples to the tests utilised.

i. How would you obtain test samples from these suppliers

ii. What would you test for in these materials and why?

iii. Explain in detail how these tests would be carried out.

4. For each of the products listed in (3) above you as the food analyst need to draw up SOPs for

your technicians to follow when analysing for safety. Draw up your SOP using the following

guidelines:

a. Identify potential hazards in each raw material.

b. Describe a sampling method to be used for each raw material

c. Give a stepwise description of the sample preparation method to be used,

explaining the reasons for each step.

d. Identify equipment to be used for final analysis and why.

e. Draw a flow diagram for each method from sampling to analyses, explaining each

step along the way.

5. As the new food analysts at ADZ Foods, you realise that your new department is lacking

several essential pieces of equipment that would make doing your job more feasible.

Motivate your CEO to allocate funds to obtain these pieces of equipment which include:

a. HPLC Chromatograph

b. GC – MS chromatograph

c. ICP – MS

d. PCR analyser

In motivating for these,

i. Explain how each piece of equipment works i.e. the principles of the process

ii. Applications of each piece of equipment

iii. Advantages and disadvantages of each piece of equipment

iv. Possible alternatives to the chosen pieces of equipment.

6. As the food analyst at ADZ foods, you are required to liaise with the QA manager as far as

QA systems implementation is concerned. From your end, it is required that you have a

traceability system in place in order to be able to identify potentially problematic

samples/products.

a. Explain the purposes of traceability systems and why they important?

b. Describe / explain the different components of a traceability system.

c. How would you incorporate traceability into your SOPs for the different products

you test in your lab?