**5. Advancing quality in dairy processing**

The global dairy industry is fast evolving, as are trends in consumption patterns. The issues surrounding environmental sustainability and increased production demands are placing pressures on the dairy manufacturing industry to produce product in adherence to regulatory bodies and consumer requirements, as well as keeping costs to a minimum. Manufacturing product that is chemically and microbiologically safe for human consumption however, is the core of any production plant and ensuring that efficient quality systems are put in place to capture this is vital. The literature suggests however, that flaws can, and do exist within quality systems and this is evident within the dairy manufacturing industry. There are areas for optimisation in quality systems within the dairy industry. Trend analytics of historic data and making scientific and industry contrasts concerning quality systems will enable dairy manufacturers to become more in control of processes, which will effectively drive costs down.

To ensure high quality products are delivered to the consumer, the dairy manufacturer must evaluate milk quality throughout the value chain and be strategic in their approach to minimising product contamination and upholding quality. De Silva et al. [41] strongly recommended that following good management practices (GMP) will uphold product quality. GMP is described by the Codex Alimentarius; hygiene in the primary production, hygienic design of equipment and facilities, control of operations, maintenance and sanitation practices, personal hygiene, transportation, product information and consumer awareness and training [42]. Based on the PDCA (Plan, do, check, action) cycle, the implementation of GMP is a continuous process [43]. The roadmap to implementing GMP is led by strategic management where there are three basic elements; (i) The formation of a strategy, (ii) the implementation of a strategy and (iii) the control and evaluation of a strategy [44]. Considering the many variables involved in the milk processing and the effects they can have on quality and composition, having a strategic quality management system in place is critical. Moving from a product based testing regime to a process focused approach, has been widely adopted by the food and pharma industry in the last decade. An exclusive product based inspection system has proven to be an inefficient method of regulation, however a poorly monitored process based level of inspection can be just as incompetent.

An effective quality management system (QMS) will document processes, procedures and responsibilities, that will enable a company to meet customer and regulatory requirements [17]. Additionally, the effective management of data will facilitate a quality team's decision making surrounding process and product variability. According to Strong et al. [45], the barriers to data accessibility are poor systems, the timeliness of inputting data and accessibility to data systems.

The successful management of quality and traceability is dependent on a company's ability to demonstrate product quality and safety to regulators, customers and consumers. Influences on process optimisation and quality within the dairy industry can be multi-factorial including: seasonality; the quality of incoming milk and herd

health; the level of skilled laboratory technicians; the level of production and the digital capabilities of a dairy processing company can all have an impact on optimising the quality management system.
