Developing a flexible and efficient dual sampling system for food quality and safety validation

Abstract

Verification of the absence of harmful microorganisms in food plays a significant role in ensuring food quality and safety. A variable acceptance sampling plan (VASP) is a helpful tool for food practitioners because it can provide a clear rule for lot disposition, comprising the sample size required for inspection and the criteria for acceptance and rejection. Recently, the generalised variable quick-switch sampling system (GVQSS), integrating a pair of VASPs, was introduced to improve the sampling efficiency in food products. However, the rule-switch mechanism of the GVQSS is too simple and inflexible. Moreover, the decision rule of the GVQSS begins with the normal VASP. If practitioners want to employ the tightened VASP initially for food products, the GVQSS cannot satisfy this requirement. To overcome the limitations of GVQSS, this study proposed the variable tightened-normal-tightened sampling system (VTSS) with alterable acceptance criteria in this paper. In contrast to GVQSS, the decision rule for the VTSS begins with the tightened VASP. More importantly, it empowers practitioners to adjust the rule-switch conditions; thus, it is a more flexible and adaptable sampling system, thereby exhibiting superior cost-efficiency and discriminating power. Furthermore, a cloud computing app for practitioners to determine the optimum system design without computational burden is created. Finally, this study employed the proposed VTSS to verify the microbial safety in a yoghurt product, demonstrating its practicality and applicability.