Core QA Responsibilities at a Bread Company
Product Quality: Test loaf volume, crumb structure, crust color, taste, weight compliance, and internal baking/cooling temperatures.
Food Safety & Compliance: Monitor CCPs (metal detectors, X-rays), enforce allergen segregation, and ensure compliance with SQF/FDA standards.
Sanitation: Conduct pre-op inspections and ATP surface swabbing on mixers, proofers, slicers, and conveyors.
Lab Testing: Measure moisture, water activity ($a_w$), pH, and run shelf-life retention checks for staling and mold growth.
Traceability & Holds: Track raw ingredient lots to finished packaging and manage hold/release protocols for non-conforming batches.