From monitoring raw milk quality, to the cleanliness of the processing plant, care is taken to preserve nature's goodness and produce a safe, flavorful ingredient. The butter industry has rigorous quality assurance systems based on a Total Quality System (TQS) which includes Hazard Analysis Critical Control Points (HACCP). Employing TQS and HACCP systems emphasizes the prevention of defects, rather than their detection. HACCP addresses three key steps: 1) identification of all potential hazards; 2) assessment of the severity of each hazard to health, safety or spoilage; 3) estimation of the risk that a hazard will occur. HACCP analysis occurs at every step in the butter production system, including raw milk quality, processing, distribution, marketing, preparation and use of butter as a food product.