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Selecting a food service system: A review
Abstract
Purpose
The selection of a food service system (cook‐chill, cook‐freeze and cook‐hot‐hold) is a major strategic initiative, which involves a large capital investment. Each system has specific advantages and disadvantages and each is most suited to a particular set of operational conditions. The paper provides an inventory of data on the efficiency of the systems, identifies deficiencies as well as future needs and tools in the research in this field.
Design/methodology/approach
An overview of the studies supporting the decision‐making process – the identification of the need for a system, evaluation of different systems, system selection, implementation and analysis of outcomes.
Findings
The paper demonstrates the lack of up‐to‐date objective data substantiating the benefits of the systems in the commercial and institutional hospitality sectors. It suggests a conceptual framework linking food preparation technologies with the elements of strategic marketing as well as statistical techniques, which can be used in the development of a model describing these relationships. Total productivity can be used as an indicator of the overall performance of a system.
Research limitations/implications
Future studies should address the need for quantitative assessment of the aggregate effect of operational and financial factors including those related to construction, menu design, productivity and food quality.
Originality/value
The analysis of inputs/outputs and the possible research methodologies would be of interest to researches and educators, industry practitioners and other stakeholders in the efficient food provision in the tourism/hospitality/institutional sectors.
... However, Cousins et al. (2011) highlighted that in many healthcare organisations, recruiting skilled and experienced staff and training them has improved food production. Food production is complex (Hwang and Sneed, 2009), several factors influence cooking methods, including: menu; kitchen space; equipment; employee skills and meal delivery (Nettles et al., 1997;Rodgers, 2005). Assaf et al. (2008) confirmed that food production affects patient satisfaction and hospital costs. ...
... Various food production systems (Table I) are used in hospitals and other UK food operations (Payne-Palacio and Theis, 2009). Nettles et al. (1997) and Rodgers (2005) reported that selecting a cooking method is complex, issues include: hospital size; menu operation costs; facility construction; quality and staffing. ...
... Time buffers. Time buffers create time between food production and service, and can reduce labour costs (Creed, 2001;Rodgers, 2005). They offer advantages for foodservice operations (reducing: energy and equipment costs; staff skills and extra work) and customers (variety, food available and quality standards), but affect work flow (Creed, 2001). ...
Purpose
– The purpose of this paper is to apply value stream mapping holistically to hospital food production/service systems focused on high-quality food.
Design/methodology/approach
– Multiple embedded case study of three (two private-sector and one public-sector) hospitals in the UK.
Findings
– The results indicated various issues affecting hospital food production including: the menu and nutritional considerations; food procurement; food production; foodservice; patient perceptions/expectations.
Research limitations/implications
– Value stream mapping is a new approach for food production systems in UK hospitals whether private or public hospitals.
Practical implications
– The paper identifies opportunities for enhancing hospital food production systems.
Originality/value
– The paper provides a theoretical basis for process enhancement of hospital food production and the provision of high-quality hospital food.
... With regard to the main production processes, meal production environments can be classified into conventional (cook-hot-hold), cook-chill, and cook-freeze production systems (Rodgers, 2005). In cook-chill and cook-freeze environments, the time between production and consumption of meals is extended, leading to a situation where meals are produced, stored, transported, and possibly stored again before they are consumed. ...
... This ensures that the time-interval between the start of production activities and the delivery time is less than the shelf life for each meal. (19) ensures that the number of staff that can be assigned to production activities in each period is smaller than the number of hired staff during that week. However, since we have to consider two days off for each employee, we restrict the number of periods that each staff can be called in a week from 14 to 10 through expression (20). ...
... • Introduce new decision variables to decide on the number of necessary temporary workers • Revise constraints (19) and (20) • Revise the objective function (17) to account for the newly employed temporary staff as following: ...
The foodservice sector is associated with a limited possibility of storing foods due to shelf life restrictions, a labour-intensive production environment with various skill requirements, low profit margins, and an extensive set of regulations and expectations regarding the quality of meal provision. Inspired by a municipal foodservice case in Denmark, we discuss the main challenges in the design and operations planning for the foodservice sector explaining the necessity of taking an integrative approach. Accordingly, a hierarchical planning methodology is developed focusing on integrating planning of the required multi-skilled workforce with the planning of production and distribution. Decisions are classified as design and operational depending on their aggregation level and formulated as generic mathematical models, which are applicable to similar cases. The developed models are subsequently solved in a case-tailored solution procedure. The numerical results presented in the paper show that our integrative approach results in lower total costs as well as a significant reduction in the number of necessary temporary staff. Further, it is shown that better results can be obtained when the integrative approach is combined with an extension of shelf life, a penalization of transhipments and a recruitment of staff with different types of skills.
... When processes are planned from the perspective of operational efficiency, there is a tendency for the sensory quality of food to be impaired (Creed, 2001). To be able to streamline the process and avoid an increase in labor costs, more preprocessed components are used (Rodgers, 2005;Rodgers & Assaf, 2006). Preprocessed food components require less work during preparation and produce less or no waste; thus, the total cost can be cheaper compared to fresh product (Puckett 2012a(Puckett , 2012b. ...
... Machín, Giménez, Vidal, and Ares (2014) found that freshness is one of the main determinants of consumer choice in the purchasing context. The downside is that using fresh ingredients will possibly add to the cost of the production processes (Rodgers, 2005). ...
The foodservice industry is a highly competitive branch where customer satisfaction and loyalty is dependent on the price and the quality of the food. To improve cost competitiveness, instead of fresh ingredients, more preprocessed items are used as components in dishes. This may impair the perceived product quality, and thus potentially decrease customer satisfaction. The effects of the component quality on a single dish were tested by serving fish soup in a consumer study (n = 205), and by serving the dish to an in‐house panel (n = 17) using a modified check‐all‐that‐apply method. The variable used for the quality of the fish and vegetable components was a previously unprocessed/fresh component being compared to a processed. This study showed that in a modular dish, each component had an effect on the perceived quality of the dish. When replacing a preprocessed component with a fresh one, the perceived pleasantness increased to a higher level. The fish as the main dish component had the largest effect on the quality. Fresh fish has the ability to enhance the taste of soup, even with frozen vegetables. The results from this study indicate that the effect of freshness can also be perceived in the cooked product.
... Food service businesses in particular face the additional challenges of spoilage, customer demands for higher quality products, standardization, narrow profit margins, and regulatory requirements pertaining to the storage, shelf life, and handling of food and beverages. In larger operations, centralized food production facilitates address many of these concerns through best practices well established in the institutional food sector (Rodgers, 2005). Small food service providers are therefore at a competitive disadvantage as they lack many of the prerequisites for developing a competitive supply chain policy. ...
... This is noteworthy given that the model (6) imposes order quantities that would vary from those that obtain from utilizing the standard EOQ model for each product independently, to the extent that order quantities must be set so as to ensure equal cycle times. Result (7) provides the optimal order quantity for each product per the bundling strategy. As noted earlier, this is especially noteworthy for small business owners who may actually attend to their own inventory replenishment by driving to local warehouses or bulk-discount outlets, where the lost time results in opportunity cost of labor (which may be modeled as a part of the ordering cost). ...
The purpose of this paper is to develop and test a model for managing the inventory for a small, student managed food service business. The Hazell Nut Café offers six coffees, six flavors of ice cream, four teas, hot chocolate, assorted pastries, bottled water, vitamin water, and four other types of cold beverages. The purveyors for the all supplies, with the exception of dairy products, have on-call deliveries, but pre-set minimums for order quantities. The dairy company requires a minimum weekly delivery. After nearly one year of operation, the café's student-managers are still developing an inventory management system. The model developed here seeks to provide an easy to understand solution to the supply chain problems encountered by a small business such as the Hazell Nut Café.
... More recently; the 'Steamplicity' concept has been developed which has sought, through the use of a static, extended choice menu, revised patient ordering procedures, new cooking processes and individual patient food cooked at ward level, to address some of the current hospital foodservice concerns. Various systems have been applied to increase profitability through bulk buying power, higher productivity, better equipment utilisation and process control (Rogers, 2005). However, selection is dependent on the environment and consumer profile, all physical, financial, technological and operational issues need to be considered. ...
... Notwithstanding, there is no agreement as to which system provides the best food quality as in most cases, the effect is product specific (Rogers, 2005). It is suggested that chilling is less damaging to texture and juiciness than freezing (Tansey et al, 2003) while sous vide is superior in terms of vitamin retention but detrimental to sensory quality (Church and Parsons, 2000;Pontin, 2005). ...
Patient meals are an integral part of treatment hence the provision and consumption of a balanced diet, essential to aid recovery. A number of food service systems are used to provide meals and the Steamplicity concept has recently been introduced. This seeks, through the application of a static, extended choice menu, revised patient ordering procedures, new cooking processes and individual patient food heated/cooked at ward level, to address some of the current hospital food service concerns. The aim of this small-scale study, therefore, was to compare a cook-chill food service operation against Steamplicity. Specifically, the goals were to measure food intake and wastage at ward level; 'stakeholders' (i.e. patients, staff, etc.) satisfaction with both systems; and patients' acceptability of the food provided.
The study used both quantitative (self-completed patient questionnaires, n = 52) and qualitative methods (semi-structured interviews, n = 16) with appropriate stakeholders including medical and food service staff, patients and their visitors.
Patients preferred the Steamplicity system overall and in particular in terms of food choice, ordering, delivery and food quality. Wastage was considerably less with the Steamplicity system, although care must be taken to ensure that poor operating procedures do not negate this advantage. When the total weight of food consumed in the ward at each meal is divided by the number of main courses served, at lunch, the mean intake with the cook-chill system was 202 g whilst that for the Steamplicity system was 282 g and for the evening meal, 226 g compared with 310 g.
The results of this small study suggest that Steamplicity is more acceptable to patients and encourages the consumption of larger portions. Further evaluation of the Steamplicity system is warranted.
... Nevertheless, the back of the house operation focuses on food and food-related innovation. Back-of-house activities influenced by natural science, sciences such as engineering (physics and mathematics), food science (biology, microbiology, and chemistry), and operations management, on the other hand, are often ignored (Rodgers, 2005). ...
This study has two main objectives. First, to investigate the various attributes influencing food innovation. Second, to analyze the relationships of different factors and their implication on food innovation in India’s restaurants (fine dining &multi-cuisine). A quantitative methodology with exploratory and confirmatory analysis was conducted. Data collection was conducted by questionnaire (n356) survey. Both descriptive and inferential statistics were used to analyze the data. Descriptive statistics were used to identify factors influencing food innovation among the chefs, and inferential statistics were used to analyze the significant relationship among the factors influencing food innovation. Results show that food innovation is influenced by recipe development, menu merchandising, customer satisfaction, and advertising. This study also underlines the significant relationships that exist among different factors which impact food innovation.
... Nonetheless further information and clarity around cost measures will assist foodservice directors and managers to make informed decisions within budgetary constraints and be able to clearly demonstrate the financial impact of system and process changes. 28 Interventions that utilise technology to provide improved communication regarding the meal order may assist in reducing overall waste and therefore costs. ...
Aim:
Hospital foodservices provide an important opportunity to deliver valuable dietary support to patients, address hospital-acquired malnutrition risk and enhance patient satisfaction. Modifying the meal ordering process through the adoption of technology may actively engage patients in the process and provide an opportunity to influence patient and organisational outcomes. This systematic review was undertaken to evaluate the impact of electronic bedside meal ordering systems in hospitals on patient dietary intake, patient satisfaction, plate waste and costs.
Methods:
A systematic search following PRISMA guidelines was conducted across MEDLINE, CINAHL, EMBASE and Web of Science for randomised controlled trials and observational studies comparing the effect of electronic bedside meal ordering systems with traditional menus on dietary intake, patient satisfaction, plate waste and cost. The quality of included studies was assessed using the Quality Criteria Checklist for Primary Research tool.
Results:
Five studies involving 720 patients were included. Given the heterogeneity of the included studies, the results were narratively synthesised. Electronic bedside meal ordering systems positively impacted patient dietary intake, patient satisfaction, plate waste and costs compared with traditional menus.
Conclusions:
Despite the increase in healthcare foodservices adopting digital health solutions, there is limited research specifically measuring the impact of electronic bedside meal ordering systems on patient and organisational outcomes. This study highlights potential benefits of electronic bedside meal ordering systems for hospitals using traditional paper menu systems, while also identifying the need for continued research to generate evidence to understand the impact of this change and inform future successful innovations.
... However, the patient expectation of hospital food service is reported to be of a bad quality (Hartwell et al., 2006). Ahmed et al., (2015) highlighted that food production in hospitals is complicated, there are many issues affect cooking method, such as; menu, equipment, staff, and kitchen space (Rodgers, 2005). Puckett (2004) counted four types of food production systems used in hospitals such as: cook-serve; cook-chill; cook-freeze; sous-vide; ready meal. ...
This research examined food production/service quality mediating effect in the relationship between the innovative human resource management practices (IHRMPs) and patient satisfaction in
Egyptian healthcare. Case study strategy applied in two Egyptian hospitals. Structural equation modelling (SEM) was used.
A convenient sample included 252 hospital patients and 108 kitchen
staff was selected. Findings indicated a strong positive IHRMP effects on patient satisfaction. According to SEM analysis, food service quality factor was fully mediated the direct relationship between IHRMPs and the patient satisfaction. While food production quality factor was not mediated the relationship between IHRMPs and patient satisfaction. The article identifies opportunities to use comprehensive IHRMPs effectively and to develop other food quality
indicators that may affect patient satisfaction. This article is among the few studies offering a framework to identify service quality mediation effect in the relationship between IHRMPs and patient satisfaction in Egyptian healthcare. This framework is based on social exchange theory in which quality knowledge perceptions in hospitals could come from IHRMPs, which consequently
promotes patient satisfaction.
Keywords Quality, Patient satisfaction, Social exchange theory, Healthcare, Egypt
... However, the patient expectation of hospital food service is reported to be of a bad quality (Hartwell et al., 2006). Ahmed et al., (2015) highlighted that food production in hospitals is complicated, there are many issues affect cooking method, such as; menu, equipment, staff, and kitchen space (Rodgers, 2005). Puckett (2004) counted four types of food production systems used in hospitals such as: cook-serve; cook-chill; cook-freeze; sous-vide; ready meal. ...
This research examined food production/service quality mediating effect in the relationship between the innovative human resource management practices (IHRMPs) and patient satisfaction in Egyptian healthcare. Case study strategy applied in two Egyptian hospitals. Structural equation modelling (SEM) was used. A convenient sample included 252 hospital patients and 108 kitchen staff was selected. Findings indicated a strong positive IHRMP effects on patient satisfaction. According to SEM analysis, food service quality factor was fully mediated the direct relationship between IHRMPs and the patient satisfaction. While food production quality factor was not mediated the relationship between IHRMPs and patient satisfaction. The article identifies opportunities to use comprehensive IHRMPs effectively and to develop other food quality indicators that may affect patient satisfaction. This article is among the few studies offering a framework to identify service quality mediation effect in the relationship between IHRMPs and patient satisfaction in Egyptian healthcare. This framework is based on social exchange theory in which quality knowledge perceptions in hospitals could come from IHRMPs, which consequently promotes patient satisfaction.
... However, the different is due to the lack of knowledge among the school foodservice personnel in maintaining the quality and safety of the products. Nevertheless, there is no agreement as to which system provides the best food quality as in most cases, the effect is product specific (Rogers, 2005). It is suggested that chilling is less damaging to texture and juiciness than freezing (Tansey et al, 2003) while cook-chilled is superior in terms of vitamin retention but detrimental to sensory quality (Church and Parsons, 2000). ...
The implementation of a cook-chilled food production system has been considered as an effective and viable means for school foodservice operations in decreasing the costs and increasing the productivity. This is obviously occurred in many developed countries. However, to date there is still lack of study specifically looking at the knowledge, awareness, level of acceptance and factors that inhibit the implementation of the cook-chilled food production in Malaysian Primary school meal system. Through interview sessions with the primary school headmasters in Petaling District, Selangor, Malaysia, some useful insights on issues investigated were revealed. Although still not comprehensive, the understanding, acceptance and goodness on the implementation of cook-chilled food in the primary school are gradually appeared among the school headmasters. However, less capital investment among the canteen operators and lack of knowledge in the food safety among its personnel still stalled the process. These indicators have undoubtedly drawn several practical implications not only for the canteen operators, headmasters but also the responsible authority.
Keywords: Cook-chilled, Food, Primary School, Headmasters And Canteen Operators
... Food service is related to human resources (Rodgers, 2005aRodgers, , 2005b). Previous research has claimed that the human element is the most critical and fragile component of an effective service delivery system (Murphy et al., 2011; Wildes, 2005). ...
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to propose a food supply chain (SC) integrity framework in the context of halal food.
Design/methodology/approach
This paper provides a discussion on the development of food SC integrity framework using triangulation of interviews’ insights with literature.
Findings
Current industry practices such as standards have not been sufficient in embracing the concept of food SC integrity. As the food SC is complex, food SC integrity framework is proposed as a solution. This paper proposes food SC integrity framework for halal food. It consists of four dimensions, namely: raw material, production, service, and information integrity. In addition, key elements for each dimension are derived from the interviews’ insights.
Research limitations/implications
The framework provides the evidence that the safeguarding of halal food integrity does not rely solely on certification; but it requires an extensive effort beyond certification.
Practical implications
Safeguarding of food integrity should involve all stages and actors of the SC. Religious standards should incorporate SC integrity profiling through a controlling mechanism to promote higher food product integrity.
Originality/value
Food SC integrity framework is important to religious food as it plays a significant role to the population. This study contributes to a newly developed SC integrity framework in the context of halal food.
... The majority of studies focus on the economic aspects of productivity measurement ( Reynolds, 2003 ). There is consensus among researchers that productivity is defi ned as a ratio measurement between effi ciency and effectiveness, with some arguing for emphasis on one or another side of the equation ( Kilic and Okumus, 2005 ;Rodgers, 2005 ;. Other studies identify narrow areas of infl uence on production processes and productivity, such as quality, innovation and human capital aspects ( Messenger and Atkins, 1994 ;Peters and Sparrow, 1994 ;Avkiran, 2002 ;Ottenbacher and Harrington, 2007 ). ...
This paper presents a process used to develop visual representations of production systems that were developed through an informal qualitative study at eight large golf clubs in North America. It argues that the actual mapping of specific production systems is underreported in the hospitality literature. The qualitative methodology and findings of the study are discussed. The paper concludes with relevant implications for educators, trainers and hospitality management practitioners.Journal of Retail and Leisure Property (2009) 8, 67–76; doi:10.1057/rlp.2008.28; published online 14 January 2009
... From an economic perspective, the school food sector has not hardly been analyzed, but there is a body of literature dealing with the economic perspective of the whole food-service sector. Especially, costs and process structures of different catering systems are analyzed in hospitals, staff canteens, and restaurants, and, in this context, also the customer-oriented dimension is discussed (e.g., Capra, Wright, Sardie, Bauer, & Askew, 2005;Gilbert, Veloutsou, Goode, & Mouthino, 2004;Hiemstra, 2000;Kim & Shanklin, 1999;Rodgers, 2005). In addition to being an aspect of preferences sciences, it is also an aspect of customer dimension. ...
A study was carried out in Germany in order to assess consumers' acceptance of genetically modified (GM) foods with health benefits (bread, yohurt and eggs). Acceptability of GM foods increases when its source does not involve animal products such as eggs. Three factors have been identified as direct antecedents of the acceptance of GM foods: respondents' attitude towards biotechnology, health consciousness, and time pressure, being the first one the most salient one. Price consciousness has an indirect positive impact (mediated by health consciousness) upon acceptance of GM products. Males were more likely to accept GM foods with health benefits.
... Internal production processes must change to reflect the demands for increased output, especially when the number of employees is simultaneously reduced. Hence, the rethinking of procedures and management of operations are becoming increasingly necessary to maintain the control of product quality when changing production systems (Rodgers 2005b). ...
This paper discusses how the production principles of Lean Manufacturing (Lean) can be applied in a large-scale meal production. Lean principles are briefly presented, followed by a field study of how a kitchen at a Danish hospital has implemented Lean in the daily production. In the kitchen, the main purposes of implementing Lean were to rationalise internal procedures and to increase production efficiency following a change from cook-serve production to cook-chill, and a reduction in the number of employees. It was also important that product quality and working environment should not be negatively affected by the rationalisation of production procedures. The field study shows that Lean principles can be applied in meal production and can result in increased production efficiency and systematic improvement of product quality without negative effects on the working environment. The results show that Lean can be applied and used to manage the production of meals in the kitchen.
... The school food sector in Germany has hardly been analysed from an economic perspective, although a customer-oriented dimension is discussed (e.g. Kim & Shanklin 1999;Hiemstra 2000;Gilbert et al. 2004;Capra et al. 2005;Rodgers 2005). The preferences of pupils have been thoroughly analysed (Story & Resnick 1986;Chapman & Maclean 1993;Watt & Sheiham 1997;Hamdan et al. 2005), but only sparse literature can be found on the topic of customer satisfaction with school meals (Booth et al. 1990;Meyer et al. 1997). ...
School-meal programmes in Germany are of growing public interest and are gaining in importance, not least because of their ability to influence pupils' eating habits and thereby establish sustainable nutrition patterns. It is in this context that it is important to understand adolescents' perceptions of school food in order to enable policymakers, schools and school-meal providers to fulfil their nutritional requirements. Therefore, the aim of this study is to create a theoretical model to measure students' satisfaction and to identify the underlying dimensions. The results show that the main predictors of customer satisfaction are service, quality of food and atmosphere, which underlines and reinforces the importance of service quality. Other factors, such as canteen organisation and the foods' nutritional value, influence satisfaction indirectly. Finally, a higher satisfaction level leads to a higher willingness to participate in school-meal programmes.
Innovation of Food Products in the Halal Supply Chain Worldwide covers the fundamentals and food guidelines of halal food production. Unlike other texts on the halal food market and halal certification, this book promotes halal product innovation by presenting exciting newly developed ingredients that are substitutions of non-halal ingredients with halal alternatives, such as lard substituted with modified vegetable fats, pig with halal goat/beef/camel/fish gelatin/collagen, alternative meat substitute or even additives. Innovations in halal processing technologies cover the latest techniques in halal production and authentication, halal tracking/traceability in halal transport and logistics, a vast area at the end of a supply chain. All chapters are written by acknowledged experts in their field, thus the book brings together the top researchers in this essential topic of importance to a huge percentage of the world’s population.
Food and nutrition services, along with the health care organizations they serve, are becoming increasingly complex. These complexities are driven by sometimes conflicting (if not polarizing) human, department, organization, and environment factors and will require that managers shift how they think about and approach productivity in the context of the greater good of the organization and, perhaps, even society. Traditional, single-factor approaches to productivity measurements, while still valuable in the context of departmental trend analysis, are of limited value when assessing departmental performance in the context of an organization's goals and values. As health care continues to change and new models of care are introduced, food and nutrition services managers will need to consider innovative approaches to improve productivity that are consistent with their individual health care organization's vision and mission. Use of process improvement tools such as Lean and Six Sigma as strategies for evaluating and improving food and nutrition services efficiency should be considered.
Copyright © 2015 Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
Mount M. and Cabras I. Community cohesion and village pubs in Northern England: an econometric study, Regional Studies. Pubs in England represent an important locus for regional development and rejuvenation, particularly in rural areas where they act as hubs for social aggregation and economic activity. Generally, village pubs are regarded as complementarities to other local services and amenities that exist within the area, such as sporting events, volunteering and charity initiatives, as well as business activities. This paper provides empirical support for this proposition by estimating the impact of pubs on an index measure of community cohesion. Using data from 715 rural parishes located across Northern England, the paper demonstrates the importance of pubs for maintaining rural areas in these regions.
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to describe the service process of municipal home care catering with respect to both sub‐processes and their development needs. One case is introduced.
Design/methodology/approach
Existing research on Meals‐On‐Wheels is illustrated. The theoretical concepts include service design, a service process, and a foodservice production process. Empirical data were collected from the two representatives of the case organisation by using a theme interview form.
Findings
The service process of home care catering comprises an information system and four sub‐processes: customer registration and ordering; food production; meal delivery; and invoicing. The main development needs focus on the electronic information system. Other development needs concern menu design, utilizing a cook‐chill method, delivering chilled meals, offering a service voucher, and implementing invoicing with other municipalities.
Practical implications
Due to an aging population, demand on the municipal home care catering services is increasing. The efficiency of the sub‐processes has to be improved by an electronic information system. Alternative models in home care catering service have to be offered.
Originality/value
The findings offer ideas to other home care catering organisations for developing their service processes.
The perishability of food service products can be reduced by refrigeration and packaging technologies. Both the institutional and commercial sectors take advantage from the “time buffer” between food production and consumption in bulk food production. Setting up a central production unit requires the knowledge of technological and operational concepts. It consists of conceptualization, product development and implementation stages. First, the size of the capital investment required, the availability of current food service technologies, reports on operational efficiencies as well as mandated food safety measures are analyzed. Second, menu engineering and product development to minimize mechanical damage during bulk preparation and product deterioration during storage/re-thermalization are conducted. Third, the possibility of extension of the product shelf-life, which is linked to the degree of heating, packaging, and “natural” preservation, is explored. The main technical difficulty here is the balance between the severity of processing, which determines food quality, and the acceptable level of food safety risks. The modification of processing to derive operational advantages requires challenge studies, which are expensive. However a complex product is not easily copied by competitors, as it requires investment and technological “know-how.” doi:10.1300/J385v05n02_10
This study determines the impact service quality on customer satisfaction in the school meal context. The empirical analysis reveals three dimensions of service quality (quality of food, atmosphere, and customer service), which have a high impact on customer satisfaction. A low level of satisfaction was identified but with differences between the various schools. Understanding the antecedents of pupils' satisfaction is important to policy makers, schools, and school meals providers. Due to the increasing importance of school meal programs and their high impact on nutritional status on young people, a high service quality in school meal programs is inevitable.
Almost every country around the world has been focusing on food safety in intense and multifaceted ways. The use of Hazard Analysis Critical Control Points (HACCP) is widely accepted as a food safety management system. This paper investigates the success factors of HACCP practices with reference to the domains of food production, processing and delivery. A literature review of food safety and management articles was conducted. Using the keywords search, the online Emerald Database was used and a total of 102 journal articles were identified between 1994 and 2007. The study examined a list of 20 success factors. Results show that “food regulations”, “role of the industry”, “government policies and interventions”, “training on food safety and hygiene”, and “food contamination and/or poisoning” share the spotlight as being the most critical factors for HACCP practices in organisations. Future research could investigate a holistic paradigm that incorporates the success factors and aligns HACCP measures for attaining safety performance goals.
Purpose
The paper aims to discuss growing public interest in the non‐clinical environment of hospitals and other healthcare facilities which has recently been greatly sharpened by political debate and professional concern.
Design/methodology/approach
The research was based on a survey of members of the Catering Managers Association in order to determine their perceptions of their jobs, their career paths to date and future aspirations and the skills that they require for their work. Usable responses were received from 74 members or 23 per cent of the Association.
Findings
The background and training of catering professionals in healthcare are considered together with their long‐term career aspirations. The key finding is that the healthcare environment constitutes a relatively insular labour market within which inward and outward mobility is rare. Managers in the sector are probably under‐trained for their level of responsibility and are limited in their career aspirations outside of the sector.
Research limitations/implications
This study provides a limited insight into a complex work environment and findings are based on a relatively small response rate. Non‐members of the Catering Managers Association were not surveyed.
Practical implications
The study poses challenges to the healthcare sector in addressing the need for more effective career management and development for managers with a facilities and catering function. The issue of vocational insularity is one that needs to be addressed.
Originality/value
This paper represents the first study of its kind to address career development and training issues with respect to catering managers within healthcare in the UK and raises important questions about the insularity of this relatively large national labour market.
Purpose
The paper aims to provide a better understanding of food service technologies, applied research and technical literacy needs in hospitality.
Design/methodology/approach
Reviews the applied research in food services and the technical literacy needed to interpret and benefit from it.
Findings
The summary of research is provided in the subject areas identified by QAAHE (2000): food safety management, food quality management and product development; equipment and facility layout/design; operational planning and modelling; as well as market and consumer related aspects. Underpinning scientific disciplines and operational/ strategic benefits of the described studies as well as the three tiers in the educational pathways in food production are described.
Practical implications
The research findings can be used as a source of competency‐building by practitioners and educators.
Originality/value
The paper identifies the main types of research and develops conceptual links between the scientific fundamentals of food service operations and industry practices.
Purpose
– This research paper seeks to address the roles that managers within the UK's National Health Service, who are responsible for catering and related facilities management, perform and to consider the responsibilities, in terms of skills, that these roles impose.
Design/methodology/approach
– The paper reports a survey of the membership of the Hospital Caterers Association in the UK. The background and training of catering professionals in healthcare are considered together with their long‐term career aspirations.
Findings
– The findings of the survey point to a management workforce which has skills which do not closely match the demands of the responsibilities that they carry. In addition, the NHS constitutes a relatively insular labour market within which inward and outward mobility is rare.
Originality/value
– This paper is important in understanding the nature of change within the hospital catering management labour market and suggests a need for the NHS, in particular, to address career development in a more structured manner, in view of changing expectations of work in the area.
The growing size and complexity of modern foodservices require sophisticated methods to analyze the efficiency of cook-hotholding, cook-chill (traditional and modified) and cook-freeze foodservice systems. Partial ratios coupled with regression analysis used in the past do not provide a comprehensive measurement of the overall performance. Furthermore, the multiple operational inputs and outputs of foodservices which are difficult to conceptualize as well as complex relationships between technical attributes of the systems and the so-called interfering factors (production volume, the use of information technologies, state or raw materials, age of equipment, etc.) require sophisticated productivity measurement techniques. These include the Data Envelopment, Stochastic Frontier, Thick Frontier, and Distribution Free Analysis. In this paper, the nature of the systems' inputs and outputs as well as the traditional and advanced approaches in measuring productivity are reviewed. It was concluded that Stochastic Frontier Analysis is the preferredmethod as it takes into account measurement error, thus allowing for additional evidence on the true structure of the efficiency frontier.
During 2008–2009 the hotel industry in Hong Kong had to respond to a steady price increase in general food items and in basic food commodities. As most hotels in Hong Kong predict their food cost budgets a year in advance, these sudden and unexpected increases in food commodities came at a time when there was a downturn in the global economy in the wake of the financial crisis and a worldwide influenza A (H1N1) epidemic. There have been articles published in hospitality and tourism journals that have discussed the issue of food cost and control in hotels resulting from poor storage and purchasing, portion control, and preparation and production methods. However, none of the previous studies has examined the sudden and rapid increases in the cost of foods and the impact that this has had on the hotel industry. The measures adopted by Hong Kong hotels of different tiers to control or reduce expected food costs are analyzed in this study. This study employed a cross-sectional exploratory design, encompassing in-depth personal interviews with food and beverage managers and executive chefs in high-, mid- and low-tier hotels in Hong Kong. Empirical findings revealed that mid- and low-tier hotels found the increases in commodity prices challenging and thus employed innovative methods to combat rising food costs. High-tier hotels were more concerned about satisfying customers' needs by maintaining high-quality food products and services. The findings indicate that hotels and restaurants at all points of the market adopted functional strategies to increase their efficiency and profitability. Based on the operating experience of existing hotels, this study demonstrates that enhancing the quality of suppliers' commodities, good staff communication and training practices, and innovative ideas can improve a hotel's financial situation.
In light of recent food safety crises and international trade concerns associated with food or animal associated diseases, traceability has once again become important in the minds of public policymakers, business decision makers, consumers and special interest groups. This study reviews studies on traceability, government regulation and consumer behaviour, provide case studies of current traceability systems and a rough breakdown of various costs and benefits of traceability. This report aims to identify gaps that may currently exist in the literature on traceability in the domestic beef supply chain, as well as provide possible directions for future research into said issue. Three main conclusions can be drawn from this study. First, there is a lack of a common definition of traceability. Hence identifying similarities and differences across studies becomes difficult if not impossible. To this end, this study adopts CFIA’s definition of traceability. This definition has been adopted by numerous other agencies including the EU’s official definition of traceability however it may or may not be acceptable from the perspective of major Canadian beef and cattle trade partners. Second, the studies reviewed in this report address one or more of five key objectives; the impact of changing consumer behaviour on market participants, suppliers incentive to adopt or participate in traceability, impact of regulatory changes, supplier response to crisis and technical description of traceability systems. Drawing from the insights from the consumer studies, it seems as if consumers do not value traceability per se, traceability is a means for consumers to receive validation of another production or process attribute that they are interested in. Moreover, supply chain improvement, food safety control and accessing foreign market segments are strong incentives for primary producers and processors to participate in programs with traceability features. However the objectiv
The growing scale of institutional and commercial food services poses a technological challenge of producing large quantities of high quality meals in terms of their safety, sensory and nutritional attributes. Developments in food service technology and systems (cook-freeze, cook-chill and others) allow the replacement of fast food with the service of cooked meals, which are often nutritionally superior.
Reliance on equipment, packaging and technological ‘know-how’ makes food service operations more complex. Operators have to minimise the impact of the numerous steps in the production process, the fundamental weaknesses of cook-chill food safety design, coupled with the practical limitations of Hazard Analysis Critical Control Points management, the potential unevenness of temperature distribution and product deterioration during storage. The fundamental knowledge of food science and microbiology, engineering and packaging technologies is needed. At present, the ‘high tech’ options, which can improve a product’s nutritional value, such as natural preservation hurdles or functional meals, are not used in practice.
Imagine having to predict the likely bottom-line result of changing several room-revenue factors at once—for example, total number of available rooms, room rates, and market mix. While not impossible, it can be a daunting task. Now imagine using your computer to calculate possible combinations of options to “see” what might happen. A Monte Carlo simulation is a way to perform hundreds or thousands of “what if” analyses that, when looked at together, point to trends that relate specifically to the decisions being considered.
Foodservice (catering) systems developed over recent years have aimed to overcome problems of the shortage of skilled labour and reducing operational costs by industrialising the catering operation. Consumer demand for convenience has led to these prepared meals being adapted for the rapidly growing ‘home meal replacement’ sector. Although food scientists and technologists may be satisfied with the products of these new technologies, the consumer may not have the same enthusiasm. This article discusses the results of a survey on how consumers perceive the acceptability of these prepared meals according to age group, social class, gender and frequency of eating out, and the potential for extending the use of prepared meals to those who could benefit. It concludes that the sous vide system can provide opportunities to satisfy many groups of consumers with regard to nutritional, sensory, convenience and safety aspects and that when the products of newer ‘minimal processing’ technologies become more widely available to foodservice providers, they must be introduced with some care to avoid the consumer's inherent conservatism towards new technology.
Practical issues in developing a HACCP plan for a central production unit, which pioneered the manufacturing of extended shelf-life cook-chill meals in Australia, are presented. Major controls and possible hazardous scenarios are described for different steps of the production process. Theoretical justification for parameters used and practical recommendations are given.
The Hazard Analysis Critical Point (HACCP) concept involves a systematic approach to food safety based on hazard identification and control. The system is based on identifying and evaluating key steps in the food production chain which have the greatest impact on controlling the recognised hazards, but is often applied subjectively; ie HACCP is a quantitatively-based risk management system that currently relies on qualitative risk evaluation. This paper explores ways to resolve this apparent anomaly, including the emerging concept of 'quantitative microbial risk assessment', using an imaginary scenario involving Listeria monocytogenes in a ready-to-eat food.
"Behind the Teak Curtain," the first fieldwork-based study of Burmese rural politics and development, examines the specific circumstances under which one of the most repressive and authoritative governments in the world enjoys popularity in the countryside. The book analyzes four agricultural policies that have been implemented under the Burmese military regime since 1978, and examines their consequential and varying impacts on rice farmers' attitudes toward central and local authorities. "Behind the Teak Curtain" provides first-hand information on Burmese rice farmers' conceptualization of political legitimacy, their political goals and priorities, and their relationships with central government authorities and local officials. © 2003, Nigel Evans, David Campbell and George Stonehouse. All rights reserved.
The health care delivery system has been criticized widely for ineffective cost control, excessive pricing, and poor productivity. It is clear that a segment of the United States economy has continued to be inflationary the past few years.
The health care foodservice system is expected to meet the daily food and nutritional needs of patients, employees, and visitors throughout the year. Some of the difficult‐and potentially costly‐management decisions involve establishing staffing levels and food production rates to meet this changing demand.
The purpose of this investigation was to evaluate two heuristic aggregate planning models in three types of health care food production systems to determine if the models were more effective in cost reduction than the management decisions which were made. The Search Decision Rule (SDR) and Management Coefficients Model (MCM) were selected based upon previous testing in industrial applications. In each of three different hospital food systems‐conventional, cook‐chill, and minimal cooking‐the aggregate plan decision rules (from the models) were compared with the hospital's master labor schedule over a one year test period. Cost of implementing the decision rules and the existing master labor schedule was determined using an objective cost function derived from cost records in each foodservice system.
The SDR model performed statistically better than the MCM and the existing master labor schedule provided by management. SDR model performance depended upon the technology in which it was applied, providing the greatest savings in the conventional foodservice technology. Potential annual dollar savings between the hospital's existing master labor schedule and the SDR for each foodservice system varied from 182,487.
Implementation of the SDR model could help the foodservice administrator be more effective in scheduling expensive labor resources by determining in advance decision rules that will simultaneously meet production demand and significantly reduce cost. The major resistances to implementation are expected to be lack of model understanding and the resistance to trusting a computerized model where the potential for some food shortage will still exist, even though it exists now with manual scheduling systems.
On-site food service has evolved into a major segment of the multiunit restaurant industry, with 1998 sales expected to exceed $80 billion. Surprisingly, productivity analysis of on-site food service is still performed using measures that fail to capture the complexity of today's operations. Traditional partial-factor productivity measures do not account for relationships among resources. Labor productivity, in particular, is often used as a surrogate for overall operational performance, without regard to other relevant variables. Aggregate and multiple-factor measures are more robust, meaningful measures than partial-factor measures for analyzing actual operational productivity. Moreover, multiple-factor productivity measurement allows managers to compare diverse operations. Using multiple-factor or aggregate productivity measures, as outlined in the article, allows managers to compare self-operated units with contracted operations, thereby providing a basis for such decisions as whether to outsource. Properly conceived and applied measures enable managers to evaluate the relationships between productivity and management policies. They serve as a barometer for monitoring the effectiveness of operational changes such as new production methods, integration of work teams, and implementation of new technology.
This article identifies three main trends in service operations. It identifies how these have been applied to service industries in general and to the food service sector in particular. The relationship between these and specific industry sectors is identified. The application and implementation of these trends in food service organisations is discussed in relation to the organisational culture, leadership style and systems that such firms adopt.
Objectives To identify foodservice directors' use of performance measures and to determine their current practices of, and attitudes and beliefs about, benchmarking.Design A survey was conducted using a researcher-developed questionnaire that had been validated in a pilot-test. The questionnaire was mailed to 600 randomly selected foodservice directors; 247 (41%) responses were analyzed.Subjects/setting Subjects were foodservice directors in the United States from 4 categories of foodservice operations: college/university, correctional, health care, and school.Statistical analyses Results were analyzed using descriptive statistics and χ2 tests to investigate associations between variables of interest.Results The most common performance measures used by foodservice directors were food cost percentage, cost per unit or area of service, and meals per labor hour. Internal benchmarking had been used by 71% of the respondents, external benchmarking by 60%, and functional/generic by 25%. Seventy-seven percent of the respondents thought benchmarking had some or great importance in their jobs. Category of foodservice operation was associated with type of benchmarking partner and was related to certain performance measures. Sixty-one percent of respondents reported needing knowledge and skills about benchmarking.Applications/conclusions Foodservice directors, regardless of category of foodservice operation, perceive benchmarking as a useful management tool to improve processes, products, and services. Foodservice directors can use benchmarking to compare their financial performance with that of other organizations and learn how to improve their facility by examining best-practice processes of successful organizations. J Am Diet Assoc. 2000;100:175–180.
A range of types and sizes of National Health hospitals were surveyed: responses covered the number of meals produced each day, the number of chefs employed, the range of equipment available, and the amount of use made of cook-chill systems and preprepared vegetables. A definition of productivity based on the number of meals produced per day per chef(m/d/c) was used and the mean productivity of hospital kitchens was calculated using regression analysis. Significant drfferences were found between groups of hospitals. Cluster analysis was used to develop a typography of productivity in hospital kitchens. Three groups emerged: those with a high use of pre-prepared vegetable and no cook-chill systems (38 hospitals 137m/d/c), those with a low use of pre-prepared vegetables and no cook-chill systems (10 hospitals 109 m/d/c) and those with a high use of pre-prepared vegetables using cook-chill (12 hospitals 323 m/d/c).
Bacteriocinogenic Lactococcus lactis CSCC 146 and Pediococcus pentosaceus ATCC 43200 can be used to improve the safety of extend shelf-life cook-chill foods, however, the information on their growth and bacteriocin production rate at refrigeration temperatures was lacking. These cultures were inoculated at 105–108 cfu/mL in TPGY broth and grown at 10°C. Their populations were enumerated and bacteriocin titre was measured using well diffusion assay. The bacteriocins’ identity produced by L. lactis and P. pentosaceus was confirmed as nisin and pediocin A, respectively, by their enzyme sensitivity pattern. Nisin (>100 IU/mL) was detected between the third and fifth day of storage when the populations of L. lactis reached 108 cfu/mL. Pediocin A (35 AU/mL) was detected on the fourth day when the population of P. pentosaceus reached 109 cfu/mL. Freeze-drying of the cultures did not reduce the speed of the production of bacteriocins. Colour, mouth-feel, texture, flavour and the overall acceptability of commercial sous vide meals was not affected by the presence of the cultures.
A survey of the food service departments in 93 hospitals throughout NSW Australia (covering 51% of hospital beds in the state) was conducted using a mailed questionnaire and the results compared with those from similar surveys conducted in 1986 and 1993. Over the past eight years there has been a significant increase in the proportion of hospitals using cook-chill food service production systems, from 18% in 1993 to 42% in 2001 (P < 0.001). Hospitals with cook-chill systems had better staff ratios than those with cook-fresh systems (8.3 vs. 6.4 beds/full time equivalent staff; p < 0.05), but there was no significant difference in the ratio of meals served per FTE. There was no difference between public and private hospitals in terms of ratios of beds or meals to food service staff. Managers using cook-chill systems reported significantly lower levels of satisfaction with the food service system compared to those using cook-fresh. Two aspects of the services have not changed since the last survey: approximately a quarter of food service departments are still managed by staff without formal qualifications and meal times remain the same, with more than 90% of hospitals serving the evening meal before 5.30 p.m. and a median of 14.25 h gap between the evening meal and breakfast.
The labour productivity in 12 conventional hospital food service systems in the U.K. was assessed and related to a number of influencing variables within the system. The productivity measurement was based upon the total meal equivalents (the total number of patient meals together with the number of cafeteria and catering function meals) as a ratio of the total direct and non-direct labour hours required to produce and serve these meals. A number of human resource variables were found to influence significantly the productivity level, specifically the labour cost and supervisory ratio. As each of these decreased, the meals served per human hour worked increased. Hospital system characteristics which were found to correlate significantly with productivity were those related to size and occupancy, such as meal equivalents, bed capacity and the number of patients. As each of these increased, more meals were produced per human hour. Additionally, as the proportion of catering functions increased, so did the productivity. However, a regression analysis suggests that around 77% of the variance in productivity is explained by labour cost per meal, which was the only significant influencing variable.
This study attempts to examine the structural effects of four tourism-impact factors on total impact and on local residents’ support for tourism development. To achieve the above goal, five research hypotheses are proposed. Three hundred and four questionnaires from a mail survey of randomly selected residents from the Norfolk/Virginia Beach/Newport News area were analyzed. A confirmatory factor analysis and structural equation modeling procedure were performed, respectively, by utilizing the LISREL procedure. Four exogenous constructs dealing with economic, social, cultural, and the environmental impacts and two endogenous constructs, including the variable of total impacts and support for tourism development were analyzed with structural equation modeling procedures. In the resulting structural equation model, five hypotheses are supported. The implications for tourism practitioners and academicians are discussed.
Despite the fact that other factors of production have been substituted for labor, and that scanner technology has come into widespread use, the BLS index of labor productivity for retail food stores has been declining for sometime. The purpose of this paper is to study this puzzling decline in measured productivity. The results indicate that the decline in the BLS index is due to changes in services offered by retail food stores that are not incorporated into the index, and that productivity increased if these services are accounted for.
Bibliogr. na konci kapitol
Guía para la aplicación del análisis envolvente de datos (Data Envelopment Analysis, DEA), técnica de programación matemática que sirve para la medición del desempeño de grupos de organizaciones económicas o sociales, tales como empresas de un mismo ramo, escuelas, instituciones financieras, etc. La finalidad es conocer, en un universo de unidades de trabajo similares, las condiciones que le permitan tener una mayor productividad a una en particular.
The objectives of this study were to determine what variables hospital foodservice directors consider when selecting a conventional or cook-chill system, to determine the importance of each variable considered, and to compare decision variables by type of foodservice system.
Survey questionnaire.
Hospital foodservice directors in general, medical-surgical hospitals who had been involved in the decision to select a conventional or cook-chill system (N = 127).
Analysis of variance and chi 2.
The decision process used by foodservice directors who selected a conventional system appears to differ significantly from the process used by directors who selected cook-chill systems. However, directors in this study who selected a cook-chill system were more likely than those who selected conventional systems to consider more issues in the decision process, visit other operations, place more importance on return on investment and projected labor costs, calculate more values, consider both conventional and cook-chill options, and use nonfoodservice personnel such as manufactures' representatives and consultants.
Results of this research suggest that the decision process to select a foodservice system in hospitals is complex and is one that foodservice directors will likely be involved in several times throughout their careers. Directors who have made such decisions appear to consider many issues, both quantitative and qualitative, when selecting either a conventional or cook-chill system. Regardless of the system chosen, directors indicated that numerous issues were important in the decision.
To identify foodservice directors' use of performance measures and to determine their current practices of, and attitudes and beliefs about, benchmarking.
A survey was conducted using a researcher-developed questionnaire that had been validated in a pilot-test. The questionnaire was mailed to 600 randomly selected foodservice directors; 247 (41%) responses were analyzed.
Subjects were foodservice directors in the United States from 4 categories of foodservice operations: college/university, correctional, health care, and school.
Results were analyzed using descriptive statistics and chi 2 tests to investigate associations between variables of interest.
The most common performance measures used by foodservice directors were food cost percentage, cost per unit or area of service, and meals per labor hour. Internal benchmarking had been used by 71% of the respondents, external benchmarking by 60%, and functional/generic by 25%. Seventy-seven percent of the respondents thought benchmarking had some or great importance in their jobs. Category of foodservice operation was associated with type of benchmarking partner and was related to certain performance measures. Sixty-one percent of respondents reported needing knowledge and skills about benchmarking.
Foodservice directors, regardless of category of foodservice operation, perceive benchmarking as a useful management tool to improve processes, products and services. Foodservice directors can use benchmarking to compare their financial performance with that of other organizations and learn how to improve their facility by examining best-practice processes of successful organizations.
Canadian Code of Recommended Manufacturing Practices for Pasteurised/Modified Atmosphere Packaged Foods
- Agriculture Canada
Traditional key ratio analysis versus data envelopment analysis: a comparison of various measurements of productivity and efficiency in restaurants
- T Andersson
Strong sales growth while costs impact
- Anon
Kitchen run by computer, but ‘we're still chefs’”, Open House Foodservice
- Anon
Sensory quality and consumer acceptance of sous vide products during storage
- G A Armstrong
Advances in Catering Technology
- A Glew
Financial and operational parameters affecting selection of food-service system
- K R Greathouse
The lean press shop - a consideration of batch sizing layout, and set-up procedures
- A Hahn
- J Neibmann
Productivity angles on sous vide production
- N Johns
- K Wheeler
- P. Cowe
Vitamin losses in vegetables processed by four different catering techniques
- A Lassen
- H Eriksen
- M Fall
- K Hansen
Computer-integrated manufacture of sous vide products: the ALMA case study
- T Martens
- B Nicolai
Report: Decision-Making Process in Selecting a New Food Service System
- National Food Service Management Institute
Networking of NSW health services
- Nsw Health Department
Productivity analysis”, Cornell Hotel and Restaurant Administration Quarterly
- D Rynolds
Marketing and technological competence: key to the development of the UK sous vide market
- M A Sheard
Texture, quality and safety of sous vide/frozen foods
- F S Tansey
- T R Gormley
- P Bourke
- D O'beirne
- J C Oliveira
Managing Projects in Hospitality Organisation
- N Johns
- K Wheeler
- P Cowe