Statistical quality control charts on attributes in fish processing technology

Apart from the use of statistical quality control chart for variables or attributes of food products in a food processing industry, the application of these charts for attributes of fishery products is explained. Statistical quality control chart for fraction defectives is explained by noting defective fish sausages per shift from a sausage industry while control chart for number of defectives is illustrated for number of defective fish cans in each hour of its production of a canning industry. C-chart is another type of control chart which is explained here for number of defects per single fish fillet sampled a1l random for every five minutes in a processing industry. These statistical quality control charts help in the more economic use of resource, time and labour than control charts for variables of products. Also control charts for attributes exhibit the quality history of finished products at different times of production thereby minimizing the risk of consumer rejection.

Control charts: an application in shrimp canning

Control chart is a statistical tool which can be employed with advantage to learn the situation in the process (whether it is under control or not). There are different kinds of control charts but one which is most commonly used is the control chart for variables, known as X-R chart. This chart can be used for measurable characteristics in food industry like appearance, colour, sizes and dimensions for chemical properties such as moisture, fat and many other analytical counts and measurements. Since construction and maintenance of such charts involve a recognizable amount of time and effort, they should not be used indiscriminately but only where it can be definitely shown that their use improves the overall operation. Since one control chart can be used for only one quality attribute, those for which the charts are used should be selected with care (Kramer and Twigg, 1962). In this article, the procedure of setting up a variable control chart is described with observations taken on filling operation of cans in a shrimp canning factory.

Guide to best practices for ocean CO2 measurements

CHAP 1 - Introduction to the Guide CHAP 2 - Solution chemistry of carbon dioxide in sea water CHAP 3 - Quality assurance CHAP 4 - Recommended standard operating procedures (SOPs) SOP 1 - Water sampling for the parameters of the oceanic carbon dioxide system SOP 2 - Determination of total dissolved inorganic carbon in sea water SOP 3a - Determination of total alkalinity in sea water using a closed-cell titration SOP 3b - Determination of total alkalinity in sea water using an open-cell titration SOP 4 - Determination of p(CO2) in air that is in equilibrium with a discrete sample of sea water SOP 5 - Determination of p(CO2) in air that is in equilibrium with a continuous stream of sea water SOP 6a - Determination of the pH of sea water using a glass/reference electrode cell SOP 6b - Determination of the pH of sea water using the indicator dye m-cresol purple SOP 7 - Determination of dissolved organic carbon and total dissolved nitrogen in sea water SOP 7 en Español - Determinacion de carbono organico disuelto y nitrogeno total disuelto en agua de mar SOP 11 - Gravimetric calibration of the volume of a gas loop using water SOP 12 - Gravimetric calibration of volume delivered using water SOP 13 - Gravimetric calibration of volume contained using water SOP 14 - Procedure for preparing sodium carbonate solutions for the calibration of coulometric CT measurements SOP 21 - Applying air buoyancy corrections SOP 22 - Preparation of control charts SOP 23 - Statistical techniques used in quality assessment SOP 24 - Calculation of the fugacity of carbon dioxide in the pure gas or in air CHAP 5 - Physical and thermodynamic data Errata - to the hard copy of the Guide to best practices for ocean CO2 measurements