Principles of Quality

The DeerQA programme is based on the following core principles of quality:

Assurance
Reliability
Independence
Customer-driven
Continuous improvement

Assurance

Quality assurance focuses on preventing defects from occurring, instead of fixing them afterwards (which is the ‘quality control’ approach). Analysing every step in each process, the causes of defects are identified and ways to fix the system to make sure the problem doesn’t happen again are agreed.

Reliability

The underlying principles of quality are consistency and reliability. Each link in the quality chain must deliver to the next link on time, in the quantity ordered, to the right specification and at the agreed price, time after time after time.

Independence

In a world seeking certainty and reassurance about the food it eats, quality systems must be based on independent assessment or audit, and be internationally recognised. This applies to everyone, exporters and farmers.

Customer-driven

While quality means many things to many people, in the end it is the customer’s opinion that counts. The customer’s quality ideals must be met every step of the way from the farm to the marketplace.

Continuous improvement

This is an essential part of any good quality system. The market environment for deer products is always changing and highly competitive, so the DeerQA programme must constantly evolve to ensure the industry stays ahead of the competition.

Back to Top