Integrated Quality Control 4.0 Model for Ready Meals and Canned Meat Production

Abstract

The objective of this study was to develop an integrated Quality Control 4.0 model for ready meals and canned meat production. The research was conducted as an industrial case study based on a 2024 supplier quality dataset, an inventory of control devices used in the production system, and a structured literature review on Food Quality 4.0 and ready-meal safety. The dataset included an aggregated total of 3,939 deliveries, 209 non-conforming raw materials and 209 complaints. Visible supplier-level records included 58 coded suppliers, 3,572 deliveries and 188 non-conforming raw materials. Descriptive statistics, Pareto analysis, supplier non-conformity rates and technology-function mapping were used. The results showed that the overall non-conformity rate in the aggregated dataset was 5.31%. The dominant defect descriptors were appearance non-conformity (110 cases), fat within the +2% tolerance zone (41 cases), exceeded fat content (38 cases), and odour/colour non-conformity (31 cases). Supplier risk was concentrated: the five suppliers with the highest number of non-conforming materials accounted for 59.0% of visible supplier-level non-conformities. The proposed model integrates raw material inspection, composition standardisation, thermal-process validation, hygiene control, packaging inspection and KPI-based decision support. The model provides a practical framework for moving from reactive quality control towards data-driven quality assurance and improvement in meat-based convenience food manufacturing.