For the preface of this book the authors felt that the following article, written by a food technologist from an African country - who is clearly frustrated at the lack of quality assurance, would highlight the real situation in some food manufacturing enterprises and demonstrate the need for more attention to quality assurance. It is hoped that this small book will provide readers with the basic knowledge to start applying total quality assurance to their processes and so avoid the pitfalls described below. "In this article I would like to look at some of the companies I have visited in which basic hygiene rules are so flagrantly flouted. The employee is a prime determinant of final product quality; hence rules about washing hands before contacting foods, use of utensils to handle products, disposable gloves, clean clothes, and protected hair need to be applied regardless of the size of the operation. In practice what can be seen? An employee happily picking his nose while waiting for the next can on the line to fill. Meanwhile a colleague is sweeping up a cloud of dust right in the middle of the production line. At the change of shift a casual worker rushes in and quickly changes into soiled overalls and goes to the production line. He shakes his (unwashed) hands with those around. Washed hands and gloves do not feature. Late in the shift the worker goes to a dark corner for a sleep while colleagues cover for him. Rules are being ignored whilst management complain about the cost of providing clean protective clothing daily.