Workshop on ‘Quality Control in Ayurveda Industry’ highlights importance of QC & QA in Ayurveda drug manufacturing

The workshop on ‘Quality Control in Ayurveda Industry’ organized by the Association of Ayurveda Drug Manufacturing Industries (ADMI) in Andhra Pradesh last week highlighted the importance of quality control (QC) and quality assurance (QA) which are needed in the Ayurveda drug manufacturing industry and it evoked good response from all the stakeholders.   The workshop was attended by 250 herbal and Ayurveda drug manufacturers from across the state and 50 researchers and scholars from academic community and traditional health sector. The programme was inaugurated by Dr. JLN Shastri, former CEO of the National Medicinal Plant Board (NMPB). Dr. Vemula Bhanuprakash Reddy, president of the ADMI said the workshop was aimed at sharing knowledge and technical know-how with industry leaders and QA and QC managers. This was the second time he organized a technology oriented seminar for the Ayurveda drug manufacturers.   Talking to Pharmabiz, Dr. Vemula said the QC is needed in a manufacturing unit to ensure several key factors concerning the production and the products. It is the QC department that makes sure whether the raw materials used are authentic and of the prescribed quality. It is the concerned division to decide whether the manufacturing has been done as per standards and whether any mistake or error happened in the process of production. There can be subtraction or addition of ingredients, or original ingredients can be substituted with less quality material. Similarly, it is the duty of the QC division to eliminate all kinds of cross-contamination and decide the shelf-life of the products.        According to him, the quality control refers to the sum of all procedures undertaken to ensure the identity, purity and safety of a medicinal product.  The QC of a company ensures the results of what the company is producing.   Dr.Vemula, who owns a herbal drug industry in Vijayawada, said in the absence of a QC division so many anomalies can occur in the manufacturing process and it may affect the quality of the product. Variations in product quality can be happened due to the use of low standard raw-materials, variation in the in-process methods, in the use of low quality packing materials etc.   However, there are some factors that influence the quality of a product in routine production. They include the physical plant design, space, ventilation, cleanliness and sanitation. There are a set of principles the manufacturing unit has to follow under the guidelines of GMP which is part of the QC norms and ensures that the products are consistently manufactured and controlled to the quality standards for their intended use   About the differences in quality assurance and the quality control, he said QA is process-oriented and the QC is product oriented.  As regards testing, he said since it is product oriented, it comes under the QC domain. Quality testing does not mean assurance of the quality, but it is only controlling it. QA checks whether the right things are done in the right way, QC ensures the results of what the manufacturer has expected.

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