Quality Assurance Stephen Cater, Ph. D Director, Quality Assurance - - PowerPoint PPT Presentation

Stephen Cater, Ph. D Director, Quality Assurance

Trade Symposium May 27, 2016

Quality Assurance

Agenda

QA Requirements Sensory Labelling Laboratory Testing Organic Update Packaging

Quality Assurance Requirements for Beverage Alcohol in Ontario

LCBO: “importer of record is responsible for the quality and safety of the products it sells” FDA & Regulations of Canada

Why We Test

• Food & Drugs Act & Reg’s
• Consumer Packaging and

Labelling Act & Reg’s

• Ontario Liquor License Act &

Liquor Control Act

Legislation

Corporate Social Responsibility

Ensure products offered for sale are:

• Of Sound Quality
• Authentic and Safe to

Consume

• Compliant with Applicable

Regulations

Role of LCBO QA

LCBO QA Quality Management System

LCBO CoAs

• Valid for one year from

issue date

• Cost is charged to supplier
• Accepted internationally
• Can be used to export

Canadian products into

• ther countries

LCBO CoAs

• LCBO QA monitors and

works with many regulators and industry groups to be aware of emerging issues

• Helps determine

chemicals that require testing and maximum allowable limits

Industry Advisor/ Affiliations

• Police Services
• Royal Canadian

Mounted Police

• Canadian Border

Services Agency

• Alcohol and Gaming

Commission of Ontario

Regulatory Partners

Sensory Evaluation

Characteristics & Attributes Grading Categories Comments Excellent Very Good Good Satisfactory Unsatisfact. Appearance & Colour Aroma & Bouquet Correctness Intensity Quality Taste Correctness Intensity Finish Quality Harmony

5 6 7 11 6 7 5 15 10

Final Score: 14.4 (20-point scale)

72

Sensory Method Score

Sensory Results

Unacceptable Sensory Quality 13 Acceptable Sensory Quality

Score Method Output

13.0

Score & Reasons for Rejection

Score

20.0

• Not a confirmation of sensory findings
• May determine presence of a “fault”

but not sensory acceptability

• Sensory faults are usually the result of

more than one chemical compound

• The combination of compound,

intensity and ratio makes the “fault”

• Same compounds, same

intensities and ratios may be sensorially acceptable in one wine but not in another

Laboratory Confirmation

Most issues screened at NISS stage Existing products-

• ccasional quality issues

such as sediment, sulphur

Sensory Evaluation

Labelling

• Bilingual- English/French
• Common name (e.g. wine/vin)
• Net quantity (e.g. 750 mL)
• Alcohol declaration (e.g. 13%

alc./vol.)

• Country of origin (wines and

brandies)

• Dealer name and address (Eng or Fr)
• Ingredient list (non-standardized)
• Allergens and Claims

Label Review Mandatory Federal Requirements

Steve’s 2013 Merlot 750 mL 13.5% alc./vol. Product of Canada/Produit du Canada contains sulphites/contient des sulfites Steve’s Winery, Toronto, ON

Wine/vin

• NISS: electronic
• Shipments: reviewed at

warehouse and on lab bottle

• Specialty Services:

reviewed on lab bottle

Labelling Process

NISS: Supplier can correct prior to shipment Shipment: QA will resticker and charge back the supplier

Labelling Failures

• Bilingual
• Sulphite
• Alcohol deviation
• Organic
• Net qty
• Boxes

Labelling Issues

Laboratory Testing

• All products offered for

sale/imported by LCBO require testing.

• LCBO: NISS, GP, Vintages
• Specialty Services
• Products of World- boutique,

e-com

• Grocery
• E-Commerce

What do we test?

Alcohol level is tested on all products Actual alcohol must be within required tolerance

Alcohol Testing

Product Tolerance Spirit ± 0.3% Beer ± 0.5% Fortified Wine ± 0.5% Wine ± 1%

• Heavy metals- arsenic,

lead, cadmium, cobalt, copper

• Pesticide residues
• Methanol
• Ethyl carbamate (EC)
• Illegal additives, e.g.

isopropanol

Contaminants Testing

• Sulphites- free

and total SO2

• Sorbic acid
• Synthetic dyes

Preservatives & Additives

• Volatile Acidity
• Total Reducing

Sugars

• Total Acidity
• Sweetness

Descriptor Wine Properties Testing

• Caffeine in beverage alcohol

gives consumers false sense of physical and mental competence and decreased awareness of impairment

• LCBO Limit: 30mg/serving
• Several products have been

reformulated to meet LCBO limits

Caffeine

Lab Failures

2 4 6 8 10 12 14 10-11 11-12 12-13 13-14 14-15 15-16

% Lab Rejected

Breakdown of 2014-2015 Rejected Tests

Tamper, 1.9% Sediment, 2.3% Bar Code, 2.6% Other, 3.0% Organic, 8.8% Chemical, 12.4% Alc Dev, 16.0% Allergen, 23.4% Label, 29.6%

• New listings that fail chemical issue-

not ordered

• New products that fail chemical

issue- not sold

• Chemical failures of existing

products may:

• Recall of the product
• Return to vendor
• Destroy

Failed Products

• Ethyl Carbamate

(fortified wines, bourbon)

• Heavy metals (Copper,

Arsenic, Lead)

• Sulphites
• Volatile acidity
• Synthetic dyes

Chemical Issues with Products

Organic Update

• Must meet Canadian

Organic Standard for 2009 and later

• CFIA accepted

equivalents

• Must indicate

“organic” along with certifying agency

Organic

Steve’s 2013 Merlot 750 mL 13.5% alc./vol. Product of Canada/Produit du Canada contains sulphites/contient des sulfites Steve’s Winery, Toronto, ON Certified Organic/Biologique by Len’s Organics.

Wine/vin

Organic

EU Organic Wine Standard- accepted by CFIA in April, 2016

Packaging Requirements

• Automated warehouses
• Case weight max 18.9 kg
• Carton Requirements
• Material
• Dimensions
• Burst strength or ECT
• SCCs
• Floor loaded, no slip sheets or

pallets

• Pallets, 48” x 40”, high density wood

Packaging

Imported specialty services loads Some loads from Italy being piloted as palletized loads for non-Durham warehouses

Pilot Program

LCBO pallet specs issued Block and stringer pallets PECO now available as additional pallet source, along with CHEP

Pallets

• Carton specs (vertically

challenged)

• Wooden boxes wrapped in

plastic

• Case weight (18.9 kg max)
• Lightweight glass (96%

compliance rate)

• Pallets (continental North

America)

• Anti-skid (continental North

America)

Issues with Products? Packaging

Concern with compliance

• n many SKUs

Letter to all agents issued Auto-debiting of warehoused inventory found leaking, e.g. cans

Shrink Wrapped Trays

Vintages Release Carton Compliance

15% 85%

Compliant Non-compliant

Vintages Release Cartons

10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90

Carton SCC Markings Partitions

% Non-compliant Reasons

• In “Product Packaging Standards and

Guidelines for Chemical Analysis”

• Based on Food and Drug Regulations

and LCBO requirements

• Posted on TRO:

http://www.doingbusinesswithlcbo.co m/tro/Packaging- Quality/ProductPackagingStandards.s html

LCBO Guidelines

stephen.cater@lcbo.com

Questions?

Thank you