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Factors affecting the status of food safety management systems in the global fresh produce chain
Abstract
Increase in global trade raised questions regarding status of food safety management systems in fresh produce companies, especially from developing and emerging countries. The aim of this study was to investigate the status of food safety management systems (FSMSs) implemented at primary production companies of fresh produce, to examine the potential differences between companies operating in European Union (EU) and non-EU (developing and emerging) countries, and to explore the underlying factors. Primary production companies (n=118), located in the EU and in international cooperation partner countries exporting to the EU, were assessed by using a diagnostic tool. The results from the study indicated that several factors have a dominating effect on the status of FSMSs in the global fresh produce chain. International export supply chains promote capacity building within companies in the chain, to answer the stringent requirements of private brand standards. This was shown to be an important factor in emerging and developing countries, where local institutional environments often fail to support companies in setting and implementing their FSMSs. Moreover, the legislative framework in these countries still requires improvements in the establishment and enforcement. All this has negative consequences for the FSMSs in companies supplying the local markets. In companies located in the EU, sector and other produce organisations facilitate the sampling for pesticide residues and collaboration in the sector. Overall, farmers showed less knowledge and overall awareness regarding microbiological hazards, which is related to the less attention paid to these in the current legislation and standards. Furthermore, standards are an important tool to trigger the maturation of the systems as companies that were lacking any pressure to comply to standards operated at a very basic level - with only few activities implemented. The insights from this study indicate the need of stratified measures and policies to support companies in the fresh produce chain in designing and operating their FSMSs according to the institutional environment in which they operate.
... Critical success factors (CSFs) are management areas that drive a firm's success [1]. More research recognizes the CSF theory relevance to the food-safety control level [2][3][4]. Besides, a few studies detected CSFs in making decision, managing levels, and levelling the function of the food safety management system (FSMS). Kirezieva et al. [5] revealed the organisational level, the market or the supply chain structure, the macro environment. ...
... Employee traits represent attitudes, knowledge, and beliefs about food safety [21]. Human resource is reflected by employee involvement [2,3,16,22], knowledge [2], actions [18][19][20], and training [2,23,24]. Moreover, facilities are vital in global chains and Western regulations. ...
... Moreover, facilities are vital in global chains and Western regulations. [2,3,5,[15][16][17] also considered infrastructure and environment essential. Thus, the hypotheses are proposed: ...
This study focuses on identifying critical success factors (CSFs) and their impact on food safety management system (FSMS). The study aims to examine whether and how specific multi-level CSFs (organisational, market, and governance) influence FSMS. It then empirically investigates the extent FSMS influences firms through financial and operational performance. We adopted a quantitative approach by surveying 324 food firms in China and Vietnam. Web-administered questionnaires collected the data, processed by exploratory factor analysis and structural equation modelling. Our findings offer practical solutions for firms to strengthen management responsibility, develop practices of food safety governance, and collaborate with stakeholders in global supply chains.KeywordsCritical success factorsFood safety managementFSMSBusiness performanceChinaVietnam
... For example, the EU, has developed extensive legislation (EC., 2004) to assure food safety when compared to countries in sub-Saharan Africa, where legislation is usually still outdated and poorly enforced (Kussaga, Jacxsens, Tiisekwa, & Luning, 2014a;Morse, Masuku, Rippon, & Kubwalo, 2018;Nguz, 2007). However, within the EU, member states also have different enforcement practices, leaving room for industrial self-regulation (Caduff & Bernauer, 2006;Jacxsens et al., 2015;Kirezieva et al., 2015b). Companies, therefore, adopt and implement different public and private standards, to which they need to conform to remain competitive and gain market access (Fulponi, 2006;Jacxsens et al., 2011;Luning et al., 2009). ...
... Companies, therefore, adopt and implement different public and private standards, to which they need to conform to remain competitive and gain market access (Fulponi, 2006;Jacxsens et al., 2011;Luning et al., 2009). These public legislation, private standards, and public and private enforcement practices, typically describe food safety governance (Kirezieva et al., 2015b). Food safety governance issues such as legal frameworks, enforcement philosophies, strategies, and practices can mould FSMS design and operation (Kirezieva et al., 2015b;Sampers, Toyofuku, Luning, Uyttendaele, & Jacxsens, 2012) and therefore need to be studied in FS-culture assessments as they could also influence the prevailing FS-culture of organisations. ...
... These public legislation, private standards, and public and private enforcement practices, typically describe food safety governance (Kirezieva et al., 2015b). Food safety governance issues such as legal frameworks, enforcement philosophies, strategies, and practices can mould FSMS design and operation (Kirezieva et al., 2015b;Sampers, Toyofuku, Luning, Uyttendaele, & Jacxsens, 2012) and therefore need to be studied in FS-culture assessments as they could also influence the prevailing FS-culture of organisations. ...
Taking food safety culture into account is a promising way to improve food safety performance in the food industry. Food safety culture (FS-culture) research is expanding from an organisational perspective to include characteristics of the internal and external company environment. In this study, the prevailing food safety culture in 17 food companies from four countries on three continents (Africa, Asia and Europe) was assessed in view of food safety governance and national values. The internal environment characteristics, i.e. food safety vision, food safety program and food production system vulnerability, were also assessed. Statistical analysis revealed little variation in FS-culture scores between the companies within the same country. Overall the FS-culture for Greek and Zambian companies was scored proactive, while for Chinese and Tanzanian companies an active score was achieved. Both the internal and external company environment seemed to influence the prevailing FS-culture. Cluster analysis showed that Tanzanian and Zambian companies exhibited similarities in the implementation of food safety programs, and in their national values and food safety governance as compared to Greece and China. Food safety governance was reflected in the food safety programs and supportiveness of the organisation to food safety and hygiene. All cultural dimensions were correlated with risk perceptions, with masculinity and long-term orientation also significantly correlated with the enabling conditions and attitude. Understanding how national values and food safety governance approaches differently influence food safety culture is expected to enable formulation of best approaches tailored for companies operating in countries with different company environments, to improve food safety performance
... Therefore, food business operators (FBO) translate these stakeholder requirements into their specific food safety programs and adapt the requirements of given system standards to their particular food business context (Kirezieva et al., 2013;Luning et al., , 2011a. This strategy then frames, shapes, and affects the actual FSMS that is adopted and its ongoing performance (Herath, Hassan, & Henson, 2007;Kirezieva et al., 2015a;Luning et al., 2011b;Luning et al., 2015). Since the 1990s, the number of private third party standards has increased substantially (Table 2). ...
... Private standards, such as the BRC Standard, IFS-Food, GLOB-ALG.A.P, SQF, and the Foundation for Food Safety Certification, (FSCC2000), have been widely adopted by the European food industry (Herzfeld, Drescher, & Grebitus, 2011;Schulze et al., 2008;Spadoni et al., 2014), and beyond at a global scale (Herzfeld et al., 2011). Particularly in emerging countries with poor institutions and legal frameworks (Henson & Humprey, 2010), private standards can support design and operation of FSMS and create access to global markets (for example, Kirezieva et al., 2015aKirezieva et al., , 2015bKussaga, Luning, Tiisekwa, & Jacxsens, 2015;Nanyunja et al., 2016) or address the governance void for organizations seeking to extend their operation to those countries. The interplay between regulation and private food standards with regulation evolving from a "one size fits all" to risk-based regulation is leading to a hybridization of food governance between public and private instruments (Verbruggen & Havinga, 2017a), which impacts FSMS design and operation (Kirezieva & Luning, 2017). ...
... It is important to recognize that FSMS are not operating in isolation, instead they are an element within wider organizational and supply chain sociotechnical systems, and the influence of internal and external triggers means that they operate in a situational business/environment context that can set boundaries on the design, application, and implementation of the FSMS, that is, the sociotechnical system can be multilevel. Further, effective FSMS require the embedding of systems thinking and a clear acknowledgement and understanding of the complexity of the sociotechnical systems that provide the context in which they operate (Kirezieva et al., 2015a(Kirezieva et al., , 2015b. Nayak and Waterson (2016) analyzed the causes of two foodborne outbreaks rooted in six system levels, which together shape the sociotechnical system in which an organization and its FSMS operate: ...
The aim of this paper is to review the development of food safety management systems (FSMS) from their origins in the 1950s to the present. The food safety challenges in modern food supply systems are explored and it is argued that there is a need for a more holistic thinking approach to food safety management. The narrative review highlights that while the transactional elements of how FSMS are developed, validated, implemented, monitored, and verified remains largely unchanged, how organizational culture frames the operation and efficacy of FSMS is becoming more important. The evolution of a wider academic and industry understanding of both the influence of food safety culture (FS‐culture) and also how such culture frames and enables, or conversely restricts the efficacy of the FSMS is crucial for consumer well‐being. Potential research gaps worthy of further study are identified as well as recommendations given for the application of the research findings within the food industry.
... Among them, food business operators (FBOs) are responsible for controlling and assuring the safety of their food products through the development of food safety management systems (FSMSs). They construct their FSMSs based on legal requirements and private standards regarding food safety Kirezieva et al., 2015). The food safety output of such an FSMS not only depends on the FSMS status, which encompasses its level of control and assurance activities, but also on the riskiness of the business context (Kirezieva et al., 2013;. ...
... These private standards guided the design, implementation, and verification of FSMSs to ensure their effectiveness (Manning, Luning, & Wallace, 2019). Likewise, a study by Kirezieva et al. (2015), which investigated the status of FSMSs in 118 companies worldwide, found that companies certified for multiple private standards scored higher for most assurance activities. As an essential part of the process of obtaining and maintaining a certificate, an audit involved the detailed inspection of the entire manufacturing process from the raw material through preparation to dispatch/service to enable transparency and certify that proper food safety practices are followed (Jakubowska-Gawlik, Kolanowski, & Trafialek, 2021;Kotsanopoulos & Arvanitoyannis, 2017). ...
China is one of the largest food suppliers in the world, but still continues to face challenges in ensuring food safety. This study aims to gain insights into the performance of food safety management systems (FSMSs) of Chinese food business operators (FBOs) given their typical context characteristics. This study assessed 121 Chinese FBOs in one of the four municipalities, varying in company size and food sector, using a FSMS-Diagnostic Instrument (FSMS-DI) to evaluate their levels of core control and assurance activities, context riskiness, and food system outputs. The results indicated that most participating FBOs have implemented FSMSs adequate to their context riskiness. Chinese FBOs mostly have advanced control activities, rather than assurance activities (i.e. verification and validation), which could be attributed to the current food law's unbalanced emphasis on control activities over assurance activities. We found that most FBOs obtained an average score for organisational characteristics including technical staff, variability of the workforce, operator competencies, and employee involvement; this suggests room for improvement in organisational-related context characteristics affecting FSMSs.
... However, despite the positive policy and regulatory reforms, many developing countries, including those in the MENA region, lack credible institutional mechanisms, meaning the enforcement institutions and water governance are weak, and advocacy is fragmented [80][81][82][83][84][85]. Thus, the agriculture sector is fraught with poor policies for the effective planning of resources, a lack of incentives and training, insufficient knowledge of standards for food safety and quality, and the development of agricultural economies away from efficient resource management [86]. ...
... The manure's treatment to eliminate another source of bacterial hazards was dependent on producers' experience rather than on technical guidelines or experts' assistance. This is often the case in many non-EU countries, where these operators rely on their own experience, while those in the EU follow standards and guidelines, and have ready access to resources [83]. ...
Food safety standards are a necessity to protect consumers' health in today's growing global food trade. A number of studies have suggested safety standards can interrupt trade, bringing financial and technical burdens on small as well as large agri-food producers in developing countries. Other examples have shown that economical extension, key intermediaries, and funded initiatives have substantially enhanced the capacities of growers in some countries of the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region to meet the food safety and quality requirements, and improve their access to international markets. These endeavors often compensate for the weak regulatory framework, but do not offer a sustainable solution. There is a big gap in the food safety level and control systems between countries in the MENA region and those in the developed nations. This certainly has implications for the safety of fresh produce and agricultural practices, which hinders any progress in their international food trade. To overcome the barriers of legal and private standards, food safety should be a national priority for sustainable agricultural development in the MENA countries. Local governments have a primary role in adopting the vision for developing and facilitating the implementation of their national Good Agricultural Practices (GAP) standards that are consistent with the international requirements and adapted to local policies and environment. Together, the public and private sector's support are instrumental to deliver the skills and infrastructure needed for leveraging the safety and quality level of the agri-food chain.
... Most postharvest tropical fruits deteriorate rapidly as there are no uniform food safety standards for their production and postharvest practices, thus the safety of these products remains a concern. Often the consumers are not verifying those products before consuming, therefore is of importance to improve the existing food safety management procedures (Kirezieva et al., 2015). In particular, the number of disease outbreaks related to agricultural products has increased in recent years (Mantziari et al., 2020). ...
Food security is threatened by numerous pathogens that cause a variety of foodborne illnesses. The promotion of healthier lifestyles increases the consumption of fresh products such as tropical fruits. Their consumption can expose the consumer to a higher risk of diseases since the fruits do not undergo processing steps to ensure the effective elimination or inactivation of pathogenic microorganisms. Therefore, postharvest treatments are essential for the preservation of the fruit, by reducing the microbial load and lengthening the perch life. Unlike traditional means of postharvest protection, biopreservation of fruits offers the benefits of the natural ecosystems of the microbiome in fruits. The principle of biopreservation is the use of beneficial microorganisms, with the ability to control the growth of other microorganisms, through the production of metabolites known as bacteriocins, postbiotics, metabiotics, paraprobiotics, proteobiotics. These active molecules produced by probiotic bacteria may constitute a safe alternative capable to protect the fruits from deterioration or postharvest damage. The present review described the sources of contamination and deterioration of tropical fruits along with the use of bioactive compounds such as postbiotics as an alternative for fruit protection.
... Food safety is critical for consumers' health and well-being [18,19]. While leafy greens are estimated to be the most common cause of foodborne illness in the US [20], they are also essential for human nutrition. ...
Hydroponic vegetable production is increasing globally, but there is a lack of science-based recommendations to ensure their food safety. Specifically, there is limited evidence for establishing water management strategies. The purpose of this study was to determine the survival of Salmonella Typhimurium and Listeria monocytogenes in commercial nutrient flow technology (NFT) systems during the lifecycle of lettuce exposed to sporadic or extreme contamination. NFT systems were inoculated with Salmonella Typhimurium or Listeria monocytogenes, and nutrient solution, rockwool, roots, and lettuce leaves were collected over the lettuce production cycle for pathogen enumeration and detection. Both human pathogens persisted in the lettuce NFT growing system throughout the growth cycle of lettuce. Salmonella Typhimurium and L. monocytogenes accumulated in rockwool medium and on lettuce roots and were transferred to the leaves at quantifiable levels from the contaminated nutrient solution. In the nutrient solution, Salmonella concentration under sporadic and extreme conditions declined significantly 24 h after inoculation and again 7 days post-inoculation (p < 0.0001). Under extreme conditions, the concentration did not change significantly after 7 days, while under sporadic conditions, the concentration declined again 14 days post-inoculation in the nutrient solution collected from the reservoirs. L. monocytogenes populations in the nutrient solution fluctuated significantly over the 28-day growth cycle (p < 0.0001). Under extreme conditions, L. monocytogenes concentrations in the nutrient solution declined, while under sporadic conditions, the populations increased. The findings of this study, for the first time, describe human pathogen survival in commerical NFT systems and highlight the urgent need for novel approaches to mitigating the risks from nutrient solution contaminaiton in hydroponics.
... Among the main external drivers are the obligation to comply with the legislation (Mensah and Julien, 2011;Kirezieva et al., 2015;Mattevi et al., 2016;Corallo et al., 2020), the pressure from the rules and the social issues that are specific to the . /frsus. . ...
In the context of the agri-food industry, innovative start-ups have come into the spotlight as key drivers of innovation, sustainability and food safety orientation. Prior studies have produced significant knowledge on these topics but have mainly addressed established enterprises, while little is known about agri-food start-uppers and their contribution to social and eco-innovation. To fill this gap, this paper explores new entrepreneurial initiatives in the agri-food industry to understand how and why food safety, as well as environmental and social sustainability issues, are incorporated into their business models. The empirical analysis—based on four Italian start-ups—points out start-uppers' awareness of the importance of protecting the environment and promoting sustainability and health. In this vein, innovation is driven by the start-upper desire to actively contribute to educate the consumer on healthier and more sustainable food and trigger more sustainable lifestyles. Accordingly, their businesses, given their agility and flexible models, are by nature among the first to propose innovative solutions that incorporate the principles of circular economy and sustainability.
... Pesticides include fungicides, herbicides, and insecticides. To detect pesticides residues, gas chromatography, high-performance liquid chromatography, capillary electrophoresis and mass spectrometry methods have been developed [36]. These methods are effective and precise, but they are also time-consuming and complex, and they require expensive instruments and highly skilled personnel [37]. ...
In the last decade, vegetable safety issues have received growing attention from both consumers and public authorities in China, as vegetable safety hazards pose a serious threat to public health. In 2017, the Industry & Trade Bureau in China implemented a “Market Renovation Program”. This program includes the renovation of wholesale and wet markets, the formal registration of all stallholders in these markets and the introduction of a rapid test for pesticides residues. We apply the co-regulation framework to assess the implementation and results of the renovation program on the safety of vegetables. A mixed methods approach is used to investigate the effects of the renovation program. The qualitative study elaborates on the implementation of the renovation program and the behavioural changes of stakeholders in handling vegetables through interviews and field observations. The quantitative results confirm that the renovation program has a positive impact on vegetable safety. In conclusion, this study shows that the key factor for the success of the renovation program is the transition of authority from the local, public authority to the market management.
... Currently, consumption of fruits and vegetables continues to increase worldwide (Kirezieva et al., 2015). In Mexico, for example, consumption of fruits and vegetables increased from 110 to 235 g per day from 2006 to 2012 (Olaiz-Fernández et al., 2006;Gutiérrez et al., 2012). ...
Caborca is one of the most productive asparagus-growing regions in the state of Sonora in northwest Mexico, an area where some fresh fruits and vegetables are sold at unregulated open-air street markets. This is a cross-sectional study in which fifty bundles of asparagus for exportation, 50 bundles of sub-standard asparagus, and 50 bundles of asparagus from open-air markets were selected randomly and then subjected to Faust, Kinyoun and ELISA testing to detect intestinal parasites. Pearson's chi-square (χ2) and Student-NewmanKeuls tests were used to estimate differences among the sampling site groups (P < 0.05). The pathogens Cryptosporidium spp. (29%) G. intestinalis (5%) and Cyclospora spp. (3%) were found in the asparagus sold in the region. The prevalence of Cryptosporidium spp. was higher in both the sub-standard asparagus and the product sampled from the open-air markets than in the samples for exportation (P < 0.05). This is the first study to demonstrate contamination by intestinal parasites in asparagus sold in different markets in northwest Mexico.
... Consumers, industries, and governments worldwide are increasingly expressing their concerns about the ability of national food safety governance and food control systems to guarantee the safety, quality, and authenticity of domestic and traded foods (Al Kandari & Jukes,2012;WHO,2007).Accordingly,many countries have implemented reforms on their food safety governance to ensure more effective ways to protect consumers (Jia & Jukes, 2013;Kirezieva et al., 2015;Unnevehr, 2015). A country's food safety governance is composed of national regulatory control norms and societal efforts to improve food safety, which shape food producers' motivations and actions (Kang, 2019). ...
The operating environment for food safety interventions in nations such as Saudi Arabia, with limited local agricultural productivity, high reliance on foreign food imports and observance of Islamic laws, is remarkably challenging for the national control and regulatory institutions, since compliance to the mandatory food safety regulations and the local religious Halal standards must be ensured. This review offers a comprehensive analysis of the recently restructured food safety governance in Saudi Arabia from the perspective of its food imports control. Specifically, the nature of the food imports, the organization of the food safety governance and the current control practices of imported food, in consideration of food safety and Halal requirements, are analyzed through a triangulation of data and information from secondary sources (academic literature review and gray literature search) and primary sources (direct consultation of field experts). Statistical trade data on imported food were also performed. Results revealed that the process of centralizing all the control and regulatory activities under a single agency, which the government started to strengthen the national food safety governance, has not been completed yet. The resulting overlap of legislative and monitoring tasks by multiple entities augments the challenge of ensuring the safety, quality, and authenticity of imported food and their compliance to Halal standards. The vulnerabilities and challenges still to be addressed by the local food industry and the public sector are discussed, with implications for national and international field practitioners and policymakers of countries facing similar challenges.
... For example, Mangla et al. (2018) examined the various key enablers that assist agri-food organisations to reduce food wastage and improve sustainability in their value chain context. Kirezieva et al. (2015) investigated the potential differences of underlying factors of food safety management systems (FSMSs) implemented at fresh produce companies in both European Union and non-European Union countries. Their research indicates that the legislative framework still requires the improvements in setup and enforcement for chemical and microbiological risks, while the local institution legitimacy often fail to support companies in setting and implementing their FSMSs, and that is broadly reflected in emerging countries. ...
The worldwide demand for safe food is increased due to the population growth and the improvement of living standards. Different global standards are relevant in the food value chain including education and training of human resources, government regulations and surveillance. Different factors related to food safety risks in production can be taken into consideration in developing economies. Achieving food safety needs a highly integrated system in food supply and operations management. To meet demand for safe and higher quality food, food organisations especially in developing nations like Chile face numerous problematic issues. In terms of dynamic capabilities, this study takes account of supply chain re-conceptualisation, co-evolving and reflexive supply chain control. In this paper, we identify and prioritise key institutional and operational factors for improving the food safety in Chile. The factors were analysed using a Fuzzy analytic hierarchy process for illustrating the significance of key criteria to food safety concepts under uncertain environment. We provides a detailed and prioritised criteria for improving food safety practices, helping managers to understand the operational and institutional environment and makes a contribution to inform food organisations and government policy-making to reduce food losses and improve sustainability of food chains under fuzzy situations.
... There has been interest in enforcing internationally compatible food safety standards to ensure continued global food trade (Brown et al. 2002;Kirezieva et al. 2015;Nguyen-Viet et al. 2017). At the local level, private sellers determine compliance with standards (Hammoudi et al. 2009;Henson and Humphrey 2010;Henson and Reardon 2005). ...
Recent large-scale pandemics such as the covid19, H1N1, Swine flu, Ebola and the Nipah virus, which impacted human health and livelihoods, have come about due to inadequate food systems safeguards to detect, trace and eliminate threats arising from zoonotic diseases. Such diseases are transmitted to humans through their interaction with animals in the food value chain including through the consumption of bush meat. Climate change has also facilitated the emergence of new zoonotic diseases. The lack of adequately enforced food-safety standards in managed agricultural production systems creates the necessary conditions for diseases to mutate into highly contagious strains. The lack of food safety measures in handling, packaging and sales of food increases risks of cross-species contamination. Finally, increasing anti-microbial resistance, combined with rapid urbanization and global interconnectedness allows diseases to spread rapidly among humans. Thus, part of the reconstruction efforts, post covid19, should include prioritizing proactive investments in food safety. The key to stave off another such pandemic lies in integrating one-health knowledge on zoonotic diseases along with food safety measures along the food value chain. Refocusing policy priorities from disease control to prevention will improve international coordination efforts in pandemic prevention. Implementing such proactive actions will cost a very small fraction of the reconstruction budgets. However, the expected benefits of the food-safety approach will include preventing global economic losses due to pandemics.
... While the adoption rate of KenyaGAP does not diverge much between small and large exporters, the rate for BRC standard shows a stark difference between the two groups. A more detailed breakdown of the statistics shows that, out of nine exporters that are not certified in any standards, eight are small exporters, demonstrating the discriminating effect of size in certification and export destinations (Kirezieva et al. 2015). Out of 16 small exporters that are certified by neither GlobalGAP nor BRC, eight are certified by KenyaGAP. ...
This paper highlights the role of local institutions and innovation systems in supporting the participation and upgrading of firms in the global value chain through a case study of the export-oriented fresh fruit and vegetable sector in Kenya. The case illustrates how sectoral institutions at the local and global levels create a connection between the global value chain and local innovation systems and facilitate local learning that is necessary for supplying global buyers in advanced markets. KenyaGAP is a formal national institution translating global certification procedures into the local setting, thereby providing learning opportunities for small Kenyan exporters to become acquainted with the quality standards required by foreign buyers. This case demonstrates that the timely establishment of local institutions and public–private interactions in the process of developing local institutions has been critical in supporting interactive learning within local innovation systems.
... Carvalho (2017) points out that the organic food has only few residuals that can be concerned as food safety. It is demonstrated by Kirezieva et al. (2015) that food safety is considered as most important factor that explained the consumer attitude toward the organic food. Most of the consumers consider safety of food before purchasing it as it has a wide effect on the environment, health, and social life of the people. ...
Green marketing is revolutionizing all aspects of business including organic food industry. Few years back, it was hard for consumers to identify themselves with organic food but with a developed consciousness through green marketing, they are consuming such food in a larger quantity. The purpose of this study was to check the impact of green marketing on organic food identity and also to see the mediating roles of environmental, health, and social consciousness in this respective relationship. Thailand is emerging as one of the largest consumers of organic food and this study has collected data from its 308 residents through questionnaire‐based survey. The results of structural equation modeling have shown that green marketing enhances organic food identity while social and health consciousness significantly mediate the relationship between them. However, the mediating role of environmental consciousness was observed insignificant in the relationship between green marketing and organic food identity. Originality of this study is in the mediating roles of consciousness dimensions which were not observed previously. Implications of this study are for food consumers, organic food manufacturers and the government of Thailand.
... Consumers often do not subject these foodstuffs to any processing step prior to consumption to ensure the effective removal or inactivation of contaminants such as chemical residues or pathogenic microorganisms. Their increased consumption, allied with the globalization and large scale of production of RTE foodstuffs (Olaimat & Holley, 2012), has resulted in longer distribution times and greater distribution distances, which increases the complexity and importance of food safety management (Kirezieva et al., 2015). Notably, the number of produce related disease outbreaks has risen in recent years (Critzer & Doyle, 2010;Hoelzer, Pouillot, Egan, & Dennis, 2012;Olaimat & Holley, 2012). ...
Promotion of healthier lifestyles has led to an increase in consumption of fresh produce. Such foodstuffs may expose consumers to increased risk of foodborne disease, as often they are not subjected to processing steps to ensure effective removal or inactivation of pathogenic microorganisms before consumption. Consequently, reports of ready‐to‐eat fruit and vegetable related disease outbreak occurrences have increased substantially in recent years, and information regarding these events is often not readily available. Identifying the nature and source of microbial contamination of these foodstuffs is critical for developing appropriate mitigation measures to be implemented by food producers. This review aimed to identify the foodstuffs most susceptible to microbial contamination and the microorganisms responsible for disease outbreaks from information available in peer‐reviewed scientific publications. A total of 571 outbreaks were identified from 1980 to 2016, accounting for 72,855 infections and 173 deaths. Contaminated leafy green vegetables were responsible for 51.7% of reported outbreaks. Contaminated soft fruits caused 27.8% of infections. Pathogenic strains of Escherichia coli and Salmonella, norovirus, and hepatitis A accounted for the majority of cases. Large outbreaks resulted in particular biases such as the observation that contaminated sprouted plants caused 31.8% of deaths. Where known, contamination mainly occurred via contaminated seeds, water, and contaminated food handlers. There is a critical need for standardized datasets regarding all aspects of disease outbreaks, including how foodstuffs are contaminated with pathogenic microorganisms. Providing food business operators with this knowledge will allow them to implement better strategies to improve safety and quality of fresh produce.
... Jacxsens et al. (2015) classified food safety and quality standards as European Union legislation, Codex Alimentarius standards, private standards and national legislation. To report food safety, every organization in the global food SC desires to implement a FSMS, and each FSMS is organizational specific since it is a result of the implementation of various legal requirements and quality assurance into a company's unique environment and production (Kirezieva et al., 2015). Luo et al. (2018) identified driving forces and barriers to the supply chain relationship in the SME food sector. ...
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to investigate the significant supply chain issues in the small and medium-sized enterprise (SME) food industry. The objectives are to identify the major themes and the dynamic evolution of SME food supply chain (FSC) issues, the current research trends, the different modelling approaches used in SME FSC, and the most addressed SME food sector.
Design/methodology/approach
In all, 3,733 published articles from 2002 to 2018 in the Clarivate Analytics Web of Science database were collected, from which 1,091 articles were shortlisted for the review. The authors used bibliographic coupling combined with co-word analysis to identify the historical relations of the research themes that emerged during the periods 2002–2014 and 2002–2018.
Findings
This research identified five major research themes such as production and distribution in alternative food networks, relationship, safety and standards in the FSC, greenhouse gas (GHG) emission impact of the farm food system, traceability and product quality in FSC and asymmetric price transmission in the FSC. Among the identified themes, GHG emission impact of the farm food system and traceability and product quality in the FSC have received increasing attention in recent years. The dairy sector is the most addressed sector (36 per cent), followed by fruits and vegetables (27 per cent), meat and poultry (18 per cent), seafood (10 per cent) and grains and oilseed (8 per cent). It is also identified that the dairy sector has received significant attention in the “GHG Emission impact of farm food system” theme. Similarly, meat and poultry sectors have received much attention in the “Traceability and product quality in the food supply chain” theme. Also, the authors identified that the empirical modelling approaches are the most commonly used solution methodology, followed by the conceptual/qualitative methods in the SME FSC.
Originality/value
This study maps and summarizes the existing knowledge base of supply chain issues in the SME food sector. The results of this review provide the major research areas, most commonly used approaches and food sectors addressed. This study also highlights the research gaps and potential future research direction.
... Several authors also hypothesised that food safety governance could shape the FS-culture of an organisation (De Boeck et al., 2017;Taylor, 2011). In many transition economies, food safety legislation and its enforcement are weak and underdeveloped (Kirezieva et al., 2015b;Kussaga et al., 2013Kussaga et al., , 2014Nanyunja et al., 2015), which could constrain the development of FSMS and negatively impact FS-culture. This study therefore aims to investigate whether food companies operating under the same national context but varying in product riskiness differ in their prevailing FSculture. ...
Food safety outbreaks are recurrent events, which regularly cost human lives. Food safety goes beyond food safety management systems; an organisation's prevailing food safety culture, and its internal and external environment must also be considered. This study introduces a research framework to analyse crucial food safety culture elements, and characteristics of the internal (i.e. food safety program, product riskiness, and vulnerability of food production system) and the external company environment (i.e. national values and food safety governance characteristics). We hypothesised that companies producing high-risk products are more likely to demonstrate a proactive food safety culture. We used the framework to assess nine companies producing low, medium, and high-risk products in Zimbabwe, as a case of a transition economy. Results showed no direct relationship between product riskiness and food safety culture, which negated our hypothesis. Other variables explored in this study could have moderated the relationship. We found that the vulnerability (i.e. susceptibility to microbial contamination) of the food production system could be associated with an organisation's food safety culture. Moreover, the external environment could have shaped the prevailing food safety culture. In particular, food safety governance and national values seem to be reflected in the way food safety was prioritised, food safety programs were designed and implemented, the prevailing food safety culture, and the observed food safety behaviour. Further research could investigate the role of the external environment in an organisation's food safety culture by evaluating companies in countries operating with different food safety governance approaches and national values.
... A rise in population has led to an increase in the demand for food (Hueston & McLeod, 2012;Kirezieva et al., 2015;Reiher, 2012;WWF, 2016). Chickens that were once raised as pin money by American farm women are now bred everywhere with thousands of birds squeezed into small cages. ...
Background
Over the last few decades the food production, distribution and consumption chains have become complex as a result of globalisation and food travelling over large distances. The food supply chain is a multi-layered structure with multiple interactions across and within the hierarchical levels across the entire food system. As unwanted factors and food safety behaviours could lead to global food poisoning catastrophes, it is important to adopt a systems approach to gain a whole-system perspective of the global food system.
Scope and Approach
In this review the importance of adopting a complex systems approach towards the global food system and a possible systems analysis method that would help capture this perspective are described. This study emphasizes the importance of adopting a proactive approach, starting with identifying the similarities between the characteristics of complex systems and the food system and the importance and benefits of adopting a whole system approach in the global food system.
Key Findings and Conclusions
Adopting a complex systems approach to the global food system is of paramount relevance as this would help further understand the interconnectivity of food systems and how multifaceted factors across systemic levels play a major role in achieving food safety. Using a systems analysis model such as the Systems-Theoretic Accident Models and Processes (STAMP) model provides the ability to tackle the limitations of event chain models and analyse the complex interactions among various components in the complex food system. It is the need of the hour to study food systems at micro and macro-levels and develop a model that would have the ability to identify food safety related issues across the global food system.
... The previous researchers have studied and reported the recent developments regarding food safety and halal food in the supply chain (SC). Among the topics studied, under food safety literature in SC, are food safety management system for fresh products in the SC (Kirezieva, Luning, Jacxsens, Allende, Johannessen, Tondo, et al., 2015), traceability in the food SC (Aung & Chang, 2014) and multi-player interactions in food safety in an integrated SC (Vitalis, Khaizura & Son, 2016). Meanwhile, under halal SC literature, topics such as halal SC for manufacturing industries (Ngah, Zainuddin & Thurasamy, 2014), analysis of halal logistics (Ab Talib, Abdul Hamid & Zulkafar, 2013), and halal principles in the SC (Tieman, van der Vorst & Ghazali, 2012) have recently been published in various journals. ...
Purpose: Researchers have been actively investigating various issues concerning food safety and halal food in the supply chain. The ultimate goal is to provide guarantees for quality and conformance regarding food standards and demanding expectation from the consumers. We review a set of two-decade food safety and halal food in supply chain (SC) literature from 1990 to 2018 (month of February) in order to pinpoint the problems, models, solution approaches and more importantly, the future directions of this field.
Design/methodology/approach: Our method employs the 120 published articles on food safety and halal food in SC research. Various techniques from statistics, bibliometrics, and analytics are systematically deployed to gain insights on how the literature address these two topics.
Findings: The predominant contributing articles, authors, affiliations, and keywords have been reviewed, clustered, and thoroughly analyzed. Through systematic graphical and clustering analyses, four major clusters regarding food safety and two clusters in halal food in SC research have been identified as the most promising and potential future for research opportunities.
Research limitations/implications: This study focuses on articles that discuss food safety and halal.
Practical implications: Our findings provide valuable insights to understand the major clusters of the research endeavour along with the plausible pathways to where they would likely develop in the future. With these insights, researchers and practitioners shall be able to devise initiatives that are of high relevance and significance in the near future.
Social implications: This research provides an understanding to the reader about the relationship between food safety and halal.
Originality/value: This paper provides the first systematic overview of food safety and halal food for supply chain researchers to see the big picture of the field. Serving as the thread connecting research endeavour in these two research areas, our novel work highlights how the work is connected, which research clusters have been the center-of-attention during the last two decades, and consequently, which areas are still lacking an investigation. We believe that people in both academia and industry who are keen to develop a rigorous solution to ensuring food safety and food halal-ness to satisfy global market requirement will be benefitting the most from our analysis.
... Lactometer measure ranging from 28 to 32 approves that milk is not adulterated. Safety means that a product does not exceed acceptable levels of risk associated with pathogenic organisms or chemical and physical hazards such as microbiological or chemical contaminants in products, or microorganisms (Kirezieva et al., 2015;Luning et al., 2002). Healthy refers to the quality of the products being healthy and nutritious. ...
Purpose
Measuring chain performance which extends beyond supplier–buyer interface is of paramount importance in tracking and tracing the ineffectiveness and inefficiency of the entire chain. In response to chain inefficiencies, key performance indicators need to be assessed at different chain levels. Knowledge amongst chain members and evident research on the chain members’ assessment of the chain partners’ contribution to their individual chain performance is equivocal. The purpose of this study is to investigate perceived performance contribution of bilateral relationships of each chain member to its chain partners’ performance across the dairy sector.
Design/methodology/approach
The research was conducted in a dairy agri-food sector in Uganda. A total of 115 triad chains (three matching chain members) were obtained during the period of January to April 2016. Using simple random sampling, the dairy farmers (first suppliers), the cooperative supply managers (second suppliers) and the processors (buyers) were surveyed. Means and standard deviations presented descriptive findings. Furthermore, Kruskal–Wallis and Mann–Whitney U tests were used to assess the differences and similarities of the perceived performance contribution of the individual chain partners.
Findings
The results revealed that each chain members’ perception of chain performance contribution toward the individual chain performance is relatively high. Further, it was found that there were significant differences between the chain members about the perceived chain performance contributions. However, within the internal chain analysis, no significant differences were observed.
Research limitations/implications
Although limited to a single agri-food sector within the Ugandan dairy sector, the findings support evidence from similar agri-food chains worldwide.
Originality/value
Literature shows shortcomings in measuring chain performance at three chain levels. Therefore, this shift from single or dyad to triad chain analysis provides new insights into the field of agri-food chains and supply chain performance in particular. It also provides important empirical results on how each chain member contributes to the chain partners’ performance.
... Lactometer measure ranging from 28 to 32 approves that milk is not adulterated. Safety means that a product does not exceed acceptable levels of risk associated with pathogenic organisms or chemical and physical hazards such as microbiological or chemical contaminants in products, or microorganisms (Kirezieva et al., 2015, Luning et al., 2002. Healthy refers to the quality of the products being healthy and nutritious. ...
... Perubahan tersebut menunjukkan bahwa terdapat risiko keamanan pangan di sepanjang rantai pasok. Beberapa risiko ditimbukan oleh kurangnya implementasi sistem keamanan pangan pada proses pembuatan pangan (Herzman et al, 2007), dan kurangnya pengetahuan serta kesadaran petani tentang mikrobiologi secara menyeluruh, sebagai sumber dalam proses rantai pasok ( Kirezieva et al, 2015). ...
Abstrak
Terjadinya berbagai macam penyakit yang bersumber dari makanan menyebabkan masyarakat semakin sadar akan pentingnya mengkonsumsi makanan yang aman. Pengelolaan keamanan pangan harus dilakukan secara terintegrasi di sepanjang rantai pasok, agar tidak terjadi perubahan status pangan dari aman menjadi tidak aman. Oleh karena itu, untuk mengantisipasi perubahan tersebut, maka perlu dilakukan analisa risiko keamanan pangan pada rantai pasok agar dapat dirumuskan langkah- langkah strategis untuk meminimalisir risiko yang terjadi. Penelitian ini bertujuan untuk (1) melakukan identifikasi kegiatan-kegiatan pada rantai pasok yang mengandung risiko terhadap keamanan pangan, (2) melakukan pengukuran risiko keamanan pangan yang terjadi pada rantai pasok pangan, (3) mengetahui kegiatan pada rantai pasok yang paling berisiko terhadap keamanan pangan. Obyek penelitian yang digunakan adalah rantai pasok ikan segar di wilayah Kab Sidoarjo. Pengolahan data dilakukan dengan menggunakan metode risk FMEA (Failure Mode Effect Analysis). Hasil penelitian menunjukkan bahwa terdapat 11 kegiatan yang berisiko pada sistem keamanan pangan, yaitu: (1) pemberian makanan pada ikan; (2) pengelolan sistem kebersihan kolam/ tambak; (3) proses memanen ikan; (4) cara pemilahan ikan; (5) cara penyimpanan ikan; (6) cara pemasaran ikan; (7) jenis kendaran yng digunakan untuk pengiriman ikan; (8) cara penyimpanan saat pengiriman ikan; (9) cara memindahkan ikan; (10) cara penangganan ikan yang tidak terjual; (11) cara penangganan ikan tidak layak jual. Dari 11 kegiatan berisiko tersebut, skor resiko tertinggi terdapat pada cara penyimpanan ikan, cara pemasaran ikan, jenis kendaraan yang digunakan untuk pengiriman ikan dan cara pengemasan ikan pada saat distribusi.
Abstract
The occurrence of various diseases that are sourced from food cause the public increasingly aware of the importance of consuming safe foods. Food safety management must be integrated throughout the supply chain, in order to avoid the change of food status from safe to unsafe. Therefore, to anticipate the change, it is necessary to analyze food security risk in supply chain in order to formulate strategic steps to minimize the risk that happened. This research aims to (1) identify activities in supply chains that contain risks to food security, (2) measuring food safety risks that occur in the food supply chain, (3) to know the activities in the supply chain that are most at risk to food security. The research object used is fresh fish supply chain in Sidoarjo regency. Data processing is done by using risk method FMEA (Failure Mode Effect Analysis). The results show that there are 11 activities that are at risk to food safety system, namely: (1) feeding on fish; (2) management of pond cleanliness system; (3) the process of harvesting fish; (4) how to sort fish; (5) how to store fish; (6) how to fish marketing; (7) type of vehicle used for fish delivery; (8) how to store when shipping fish; (9) how to move fish; (10) unsubscriptions of unsold fish; (11) the way a fish subscription is not worth selling. Of the 11 risk activities, the highest risk score is in the way of fish storage, the way of fish marketing, the type of vehicle used for fish delivery and the way of fish packaging at the time of distribution.
Keyword: Shain Supply; Safety Food; FMEA; Fish; Risk
... In the context of the supply chain of food products, the possible risks are the contamination of the food from the chemical, biological and physical aspects of the food security indicator or the risk that occurs due to the behavior that causes the food not to be consumed.This condition is driven by several factors that influence, among others, lack of institutional support (government policy) in terms of law enforcement on food safety, lack of knowledge and awareness of farmers, as a source in the supply chain process of microbiology as a whole [10] and less optimal implementation of food safety in the process of making food [11] resulted in growth rate, improvement of quality and increase of product competitiveness of food industry product experiencing obstacles [12] .The objective of risk management in the supply chain is to increase the capability so as to reduce the probability of occurrence of risk [13]. Quantitatively, the risk can be measured so that it can be estimated its severity [1]. ...
The aim of this paper is to identify risk issues in Indonesian fresh meat supply chain from the farm until to the "plate". The critical points for food safety in physical fresh meat product flow are also identified. The paper employed one case study in the Indonesian fresh meat company by conducting observations and in-depth three stages of interviews. At the first interview, the players, process, and activities in the fresh meat industry were identified. In the second interview, critical points for food safety were recognized. The risk events in each player and process were identified in the last interview. The research will be conducted in three stages, but this article focuses on risk identification process (first stage) only. The second stage is measuring risk and the third stage focuses on determining the value of risk priority. The results showed that there were four players in the fresh meat supply chain: livestock (source), slaughter (make), distributor and retail (deliver). Each player has different activities and identified 16 risk events in the fresh meat supply chain. Some of the strategies that can be used to reduce the occurrence of such risks include improving the ability of laborers on food safety systems, improving cutting equipment and distribution processes
... The supplier operates on open field where contamination can easily be transmitted through contact with soil, from people or environment (e.g. wild life), and thus assessed as high risk (Kirezieva, Jacxsens, Hagelaar, van Boekel, Uyettendaele and Luning, 2015;Kirezieva, Luning, Jacxsens, Allende and Johannessen, 2015). Though competitive market mechanism provides incentives for safe and fresh food supply as food safety incidents can adversely impact on longer term sales, nevertheless, it does not guarantee zero fresh food safety failure. ...
Purpose
Frequent food safety incidents caused widespread consumer concerns. Even food safety is one of the weakest links in the fresh food supply chain and influences consumer food choice in ways different from the quality dimension, this factor is hardly proposed as one of the key traditional supplier selection criteria (e.g. quality, delivery, and price) in the literature. This study develops a business process decision model to assess the non-compensating food safety sub-criteria in order to disqualify fresh food suppliers that cannot reach the minimum threshold for low probable food safety failure. The preferred fresh food suppliers can minimize the risk of food safety failure and the associated huge food safety failure costs spanning from private consumer anguish to social distress that cause unbearable costs of sales loss and damage to brand image in business.
Design/methodology/approach
This study proposes a novel approach that combines several well-established multi-criteria decision making (MCDM) techniques, including Fuzzy AHP, TOPSIS, and ELECTRE, and innovatively apply to analyze supplier performance and prioritize potential fresh food suppliers. This hybrid business process model can enforce compliance to all the five non-compensatory sub-criteria of food safety. Since ELECTRE is a non-compensatory MCDM method, it is therefore particularly applicable for disqualifying high risk fresh food suppliers from further full scale supplier performance evaluation by FAHP and TOPSIS. This hybrid business process decision model is able to capitalize on the strengths of these MCDM methods and offset their deficiencies.
Findings
This study uses data of an international supermarket chain to validate feasibility of the proposed model. Results indicate that this model is able to assess the non-compensating food safety sub-criteria via the ELECTRE method in order to disqualify fresh food suppliers that cannot reach the minimum threshold for low probable food safety failure. Only the preferred suppliers with the required food safety capability can proceed to the second stage of the supplier selection process. Assessment via the TOPSIS method reveals the ranking order of those top performing suppliers according to their relative scores along all the supplier selection criteria. The TOPSIS ranking results with the selection of the suppliers C, E, A, and F are robust and consistent across all the different scenarios.
Practical implications
Application to the fresh food industry is possible with the aid of the MCDM methods. The contribution to the body of knowledge in this teaching and research field demonstrates the importance of first identifying the order qualifier for disqualifying those suppliers that do not satisfy the food safety requirements via the ELECTRE method. The proposed assessment procedure complies with the regulatory policy on food safety, and would influence public policy in applying the best practice of food safety regulation. Without first qualifying the potential suppliers on the basis of food safety, wrong decision can be made to select those high food risk suppliers that have relatively higher overall scores in other supplier selection criteria. Using the assessment results has positive economic and commercial impact on the purchasing managers to formulate appropriate purchasing and supplier development strategy to enhance supplier’s food safety performance, whilst maximizing the overall supplier portfolio performance. The improved supplier’s food safety performance will certainly benefit the society’s quality of life as well.
Originality/value
Based on the analytical MCDM methods of fuzzy AHP, TOPSIS, and ELECTRE, purchasing managers can operationalize the Hill’s framework of order qualifier and winner that has primarily been used in the literature and manufacturing industry. This study represents the first move to innovatively apply the fuzzy AHP, TOPSIS, and ELECTRE methods to operationalize the Hill’s framework of order qualifier and winner that has primarily been used in the literature and manufacturing industry. Application to the fresh food industry to validate the feasibility of the proposed model has been conceived and implemented in this study. Analysis of the data inputs of a supermarket chain via the three MCDM methods generate the results that fulfill the purpose of achieving the research objective of identifying and managing the supplier base that can deliver the best supplier performance, conditional on first passing the fresh food safety test.
... Prodromos et al., (2015), in a study proposes a multidimensional conceptual framework, including "customers' demand", "ISO adoption", "operation efficiency", "market efficiency" and "overall financial performance" for quality management. Need of stratified measures and policies to support companies in the fresh produce chain in designing and operating their FSMSs (Kirezieva et al., 2015). Supply Chain Management (SCM) of perishable food produce is complex as compared to other SCMs due to the perishable nature of the produce, high fluctuations in demand and prices, increasing consumer concerns for food safety and quality (Vorst and Beulens, 2002), and dependence on climate conditions (Salin, 1998). ...
So far little and most likely no previous study had tried to investigate the relationship between Total Quality Management (TQM) practices and organizational performance particularly in post harvest processing of Indian citrus industry. Implementation of quality management in post harvest processing of citrus may take longer time to implement, and requires major changes in cultural aspects as well as stake holder mindset in citrus industry. Leadership, management, finance, organizational culture, skills and expertise are considered as the generic factors critical for the successful implementation within SMEs environment like citrus industry. Judgmental process of grouping similar requirements led to the classification of all these requirements into ten separate categories. Items identified for the purpose of measuring the performance of post harvest processing aspect and the items were clubbed in four categories. In this review paper several new critical factors pertinent to citrus industry have been identified and basic explanation has been provided, which may help in successful implementation of Quality management and contribute to the success of the citrus processing entity.
... Both developed and developing countries are concerned about food safety as it is the important link between food and health (Unnevehr, 2003). Concerns about food safety have increased as a result of increased international trade (Kirezieva et al., 2015), urbanization (Chen et al. 2016), increased vulnerability to food borne diseases (Lund and O'Brien 2011;and Lund 2015), issues in food handling and consumption (Yapp and Fairman, 2006;and Omari and Frempong, 2015), and emergence of resistant pathogens (Koutsoumanis et al., 2014). ...
This study investigated the differences in people’s preferences about food safety vs ground realities in peri-urban areas of Rawalpindi, Pakistan. For this purpose, primary data were collected from 103 residents. Perceptions regarding various aspects of water and food safety were recorded using a well developed questionnaire that incorporated both open and closed ended questions. Samples of drinking water and vegetables from the study areas were collected. A mixed-method research approach was applied to permit qualitative and quantitative investigation. Results showed that the majority of the households perceived that they consume safe drinking water (74%) and food (83%). However, at the same time they contradicted with their perception while reporting the incidence of waterborne diseases. 72% of the respondents reported that one of more household members suffered from water borne diseases during last month (from interview). Chemical tests of water and vegetables confirmed that drinking water and vegetables available in the study area were not suitable for human consumption. It is recommended that the awareness level of households must be improved. © 2018, Pakistan Agricultural Scientists Forum. All rights reserved.
... Finally, there is a growing interest in studies regarding food quality and safety standards in developing countries (Kirezieva et al., 2015;Sonntag, Theuvsen, Kersting, & Otter, 2016;Wongprawmas & Canavari, 2017). In the Vietnamese food market, there are different types of food quality certification and labels such as: Vietnamese Good Agricultural Practices (VietGAP), Global Good Agricultural Practices (GLOBALG.A.P.), organic, Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Points (HACCP) (Appendix A). ...
This study investigates consumers’ attitudes towards, and familiarity with, food quality certification in selected urban areas in the South of Vietnam. Cross-sectional data were collected by means of a survey of n=500 consumers. Consumers’ awareness of food quality-related terms was relatively low. Less than half the participants claimed to understand the meaning of Good Agricultural Practices (GAP), organic food and sustainability. Consumers’ familiarity with food quality certification (Vietnamese Good Agricultural Practices (VietGAP), Global Good Agricultural Practices (GLOBALG.A.P.), organic, and Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Points (HACCP)) was also low. Familiarity with food quality certification was positively associated with general attitude and food choice motives, namely food safety concern, perceived importance of healthy eating, and perceived importance of environmental consequences relating to food purchase. Food safety concern and perceived importance of environmental consequences were positively associated with consumers’ attitudes towards safe vegetables, as well as high quality rice. Perceived importance of healthy eating was positively related to attitude towards high quality rice. Findings suggest that food safety aspects of safe vegetables and high quality rice should be emphasized during policy and marketing activities for food quality certification. Additionally, an increase in the perceived importance of environmental consequences relating to quality food purchase should be encouraged to enhance positive consumer attitudes towards quality food. Efforts to improve public awareness and knowledge of food quality certification and sustainable agricultural practices in developing countries such as Vietnam are highly recommended.
... Partial intervention is used to reduce pathogen load on fresh produce, and this includes washing, disinfection, removal of outer layers, etc. On the other side full intervention processes include heat treatment such as blanching, pasteurization, sterilization and drying (Kirezieva et al., 2015). Nevertheless, neither full nor partial intervention was applied for raspberries, due to their fragile nature. ...
The Food Safety Management System – Diagnostic Instrument (FSMS-DI) was used to determine context factors, core control and assurance activities, as well as food safety outputs for three Global G.A.P. certified and six Non Global G.A.P. certified orchard raspberries farms, and eight cold stores (all of them having certified FSMS systems, often in combination with BRC, IFS and/or FSSC 22000 standards). Examined orchard farms operate at moderate to high-risk context. High risk is mainly related to the microbiological and pesticides contamination of raspberries and open cultivation system, which can provoke additional contaminations (e.g. bird droppings). However they differed in chain and organisational characteristics. Non Global G.A.P. certified orchard farms were mainly characterised by low to basic performance of the FSMS combined with low food safety outputs, while in Global G.A.P. orchard farms moderate performance of FSMS resulted in moderate to advanced food safety outputs. Cold store companies represent the subsequent link in the raspberries chain, with the raw material food safety risks directly connected with the orchard farms final product. This is related to the production process of frozen raspberries without any physical or chemical intervention step which might reduce the level of potentially present microorganisms or chemicals in raspberries. The core control and assurance activities in the FSMS present in the cold stores are mainly at medium to high level, resulting in medium to advance food safety outputs.
Purpose
This study aims to investigate the supplier selection criteria, relationship quality and level of collaboration in Asian food businesses, while also examining the link between these practices and business performance. The research focusses on food manufacturing and exporting companies in two emerging economies, China and Vietnam.
Design/methodology/approach
Food manufacturing and exporting companies in two emerging economies – China and Vietnam were surveyed and analysed to extract factors that reflect supplier management and business performance along with their relationship by factor analysis and hierarchical regression. Then, a two-step cluster analysis was applied to identify clusters based on supplier management and explore how different business performance groups manage their suppliers.
Findings
Four clusters that are distinct sets of food firms with detailed references about their typical characteristics revealing their business performance and supplier management practices. Also, the study confirms that certificates, reliability and inspection results constitute the factor of quality-related criteria for food firms. It is an interesting insight into what firms prioritise in selecting and maintaining collaboration and relationships with suppliers that reflect actual demanding specifications for supplier conformity.
Research limitations/implications
The study reveals the business status of the studied companies and each group's specific references, such as the criteria they prefer to select suppliers, the relationship quality and the level of collaboration.
Originality/value
The study is a useful reference for both researchers and practitioners to have a comprehensive view of supplier management in the food industry based on the viewpoint of Asian food manufacturers.
Critical success factors (CSF) and its impact on implementation of the food safety management system (FSMS) and busi- ness performance are pivotal for firms to sustain and upgrade their current practices. In this study, structural equation model and bootstrapping are used in the analysis of 324 food manufacturing and exporting firms in China and Vietnam to examine CSFs and their impacts on both FSMS and business performance. Twenty-two indicators of six CSFs from the organization, market, and governance levels were identified confirming a more noticeable contribution of the external factors than the organizational factors to FSMS implementation. Interestingly, organizational CSFs could lead to operational performance improvement only, while external CSFs could impact two dimensions of business performance: operational and financial aspects, through the mediating effect of FSMS. The study is the first to emphasize the vital role of external efforts in FSMS implementations by conceptualising the vital role of the collaboration level between food firms with other supply chain players and sources of support. The findings disclose that strengthening CSFs from the multi-level environments to improve FSMS will lead to better operational and financial performances within food businesses. Companies looking to achieve excellence in the food industry can benefit greatly from understanding the role of CSFs and taking steps to improve their FSMS implementation.
Despite the expected positive performance, findings have often been mixed with debate on green certification adoptions under various pressures. A better understanding of these pressures and associated organizational environmental and process management systems can help firms deploy resources appropriately and effectively. Many of these pressures have been referred to as symbolic adoption rather than actual implementation. Using diffusion of innovation and signaling theories, this study argues that process innovation can take an important role in facilitating sustainable performance improvement in both actual and symbolic environmental adoptions. The empirical study from 680 manufacturers in ten different countries showed that pressures on green certification triggered process innovation and eventually enhance firms’ positioning and sustainable measures. However, pursuing green certification did not automatically guarantee all sustainable measures, especially in terms of business performance. This study found that process innovation can mediate this relationship to enhance business and environmental performances. Manufacturers may first see unfavorable benefits from direct implementation of green certification; however, accumulative efforts with process innovation could be paid off. Besides, the environmental symbolic drivers also facilitated the process of innovation and environmental improvement but not business measures. These results enhance the development of organizational processes to accommodate resources for sustainable green supply chain strategies.KeywordsEnvironmental managementProcess innovationManufacturing
Food manufacturers must monitor food safety along the supply chain until it reaches the final customers, necessitating a successful food safety management system (FSMS). Underpinned by critical success factors (CSFs) theory, the context of Asian fishery supply chains is employed in this study to investigate manufacturers’ in-depth knowledge of CSFs for FSMS implementation. Various CSFs from three levels, including organization, market, and
food-safety governance, are qualitatively identified and explained how they contribute to FSMS implementation through semi-structured interviews, numerous field trips and cross-national case analyses. Among 18 identified CSFs, human resource is the most concerning component among the organizational-
level CSFs, especially, employees’ commitment, awareness, knowledge, and involvement. Supplier management and external market support from stakeholders play essential roles in ensuring high-quality and safer inputs for food businesses. Interestingly, food-safety governance affects FSMS as evidence to authorities that enterprises comply with requirements and offer competitive advantages for firms in international trading. The study findings broaden the understanding of CSF theory in food safety management and explain their impacts in the natural setting. Multiple study directions are suggested for a more proactive approach enabling food managers to identify improvement opportunities, as highlighted and exhibited by field
study insights from practitioners
Current strategies for ensuring food is safe for the consumer involve a number of programs for food safety management including policies to safeguard against terrorist food threats. The aims of this chapter is to introduce the main elements of food safety management. The chapter is divided into six sections. (1) Good management practices (GMP); general principles, basic provisions for GMP, building and facilities for GMP, GMP and equipment, GMP and production – process control. (2) Good Agricultural Practices (GAP); water use and GAP, manure and biosolids, GAP and personal hygiene. (3) Sanitation performance standards; revised sanitation standards, construction sanitation performance standards, lighting and ventilation sanitations standards. (4) Other hygiene codes, the food code – United States, Codex Alimentarious food hygiene code, food hygiene in European Union, (5) Hazard analysis critical control point, HACCP in the United States, reasons for HACCP non-compliance, HACCP in developing countries, seven stages of HACCP, (6). Future food safety management, integrated food safety, FDA Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA), Threat analysis critical control point (TACCP) and vulnerability analysis critical control points (VACCP) for food threats. With 45 references.
The research objective of this chapter is to conduct a comparative analysis among the studied firms to identify Best Practice based on FSMS performance from Chapter 3. Then, the differences among them in terms of CSFs, supplier selectionsupplier selection criteria, and supply chain relationshipssupply chain relationships are explored to inform and suggest potential improvement areas where the studied firms could pay more attention to improving their current practices. This study adopts a two-step cluster analysis, which includes two steps allowing the advantages of the hierarchical method is complemented by the ability of the non-hierarchical method. In addition, multivariate analysis of variancemultivariate analysis of variance (MANCOVA) (MANCOVA) technique is used to compare the identified groups from the findings of cluster analysis regarding their CSFs, the practices of supplier selection, and SC relationships.
This chapter presents the systematic literature review to investigate and summarise the latest findings on CSFscritical success factors (CSF) for FSMS implementation. It provides the theoretical background for the book and identifies the gaps of the literature that need to be filled in order to enhance the understanding of FSMSFood safety management system (FSMS) in the context of the global food supply chains. In detail, a comprehensive representation of current knowledge is generated and critically evaluated as well as analysed based on the review questions. Moreover, the review is explicitly focused on CSFs for FSMS implementation and sufficiently broad to capture their interactions from the organisation to the broader environment in which food firms operate.
The first chapter statesglobal supply chains a general overview of the book such as the background, objectives, and structure. It briefly outlines the incentives for the book. The chapter describes the main value of the book in reducing the complexities of decision-making and managing FSMS. Compared to other studies of CSFs for FSMS, this book not only applies CSFcritical success factors (CSF) approach proactively to identify the enabling mechanism for continuous improvement of the FSMS implementationFSMS implementation but also provides dynamic roadmaps based on the status of each firm’s key FSMSFood safety management system (FSMS) characteristics. The enhanced understanding of the best practice of FSMS implementation would help to mitigate failure risk and lead to safer food supply chains. The approaches presented in the book can be an easy-to-use and practical method for food managers in their routine operation management.
This chapter summarises the knowledge presented in the book about the implications of the findings and future challenges in food safety management. The book presents critical insights into key roles and impacts of the identified critical success factorscritical success factors (CSF) and informs good practice for successful implementation of FSMSFood safety management system (FSMS) towards safer food supply chains. Challenges and future research needs are presented for both academics and practitioners.
To meet both market demands and regulations, stakeholders in global food supply chains are progressively increasing food safety management within their organisations and throughout the chains to demonstrate their abilities in controlling food safety hazards to ensure that food is safe at the time of human consumption (Mensah & Julien, 2011). Based on the main gaps addressed in Chapter 2 related to CSFs for FSMS, a set of CSFs related to the organisations, market, and environment affecting the success of FSMSFood safety management system (FSMS) is identified. In detail, the degree to which CSFs from multi-level environments interacting with FSMS are explored to quantify the impact and their relationship in the context of global supply chainsglobal supply chains.
Purpose
The study sets to summarise managerial requirements, analyse practices and tools to measure food safety management system (FSMS) implementation. Also, underpinned by critical success factors (CSFs) theory, the authors explore when food firms manage FSMS and which factors are critical to their implementation to identify promising research directions for researchers and suggestions for practitioners through a comprehensive analytical lens.
Design/methodology/approach
It is difficult to ensure food safety from farm to fork worldwide. The paper addresses this challenge from the angle of how firms measure and improve the implementation of the FSMS in global food supply chains by a systematic review combined with biological mapping analysis (VOS viewer) on 81 peer-reviewed papers published from 2005 to 2020.
Findings
Mandatory and voluntary regulations and standards are the most critical part of international requirements to assure integrated, proactive, risk-based approaches as well as continuous improvement in the FSMS in global food chains. To measure the FSMS, only a limited number of measurement tools for the FSMS have been identified. External and internal factors, and technology adoption that significantly impact the management of the FSMS implementation still require more future works.
Research limitations/implications
Several FSMS research gaps observed during the content analysis of selected papers within 15 years are presented along with ten future research questions.
Practical implications
A systematised list of published papers that have been studied and reported in this research could be a useful reference point for practitioners in the food industry.
Originality/value
This study set out to summarise managerial requirements for the FSMS from the existing research, analyse practices and tools to measure FSMS implementation, explore when food firms manage the FSMS, which factors are critical to their implementation, and identify promising research directions for researchers and useful suggestions for practitioners.
The paper explores the interrelationships among firms’ food safety management system (FSMS) performance with (1) criteria of supplier selection, (2) quality of supply relationships, (3) level of collaboration, (4) level of external supports. Then, hierarchical cluster analysis is performed to classify firms based on the scores of each group of FSMS activities and compare these aspects of supply relationship between groups of firms that perform “best practice” FSMS and the rest. The results suggest that the higher scores of these aspects could lead to the higher scores of FSMS activities of food firms and highlight the differences between firms.
As is known that, one of the challenges in ensuring the quality and safety of agricultural products in China is how to organize plenty of scattered small farmers and integrate them into the modern agricultural products supply chain system. In this paper, in order to promote the tight integration of agricultural products supply chain, based on multi-agent system, a computer simulation model of agricultural products supply chain is proposed. Through a series of simulation experiments, the evolution of the organizational structure of the agricultural products supply chain, its impact on the quality and safety of agricultural products under different government regulations are explored and discussed in detail. It follows from these simulation results that the more long-term-contract farmers and sellers, the more conducive to the improvement of the quality and safety of agricultural products, and the corresponding countermeasures and suggestions are also provided.
Firms in emerging markets are becoming leading global players despite operating in challenging home country environments, but little is known about how they build their capabilities. By analyzing multiple companies operating across over a dozen emerging markets in Asia, Latin America, Africa and Europe, the authors identify the specific challenges faced by emerging market firms to become internationally competitive. Furthermore, they provide actionable solutions to upgrading capabilities, sustaining competitive advantage, and achieving multinational status, all whilst operating in emerging economies. Featuring contributions from eminent business scholars from across the globe, this timely volume provides a valuable tool for academics and practitioners, managers and consultants, especially those involved with emerging market firms working to grow and succeed globally.
The microbiological safety of food has always been essential to ensuring the public's well‐being; however, over the past decade, many issues have emerged or continue to be of concern. Four of these topics are addressed in this chapter. The application of whole‐genome sequencing to enhance the identification and investigation of outbreaks of foodborne illness through its use as a standard tool for “fingerprinting‐ pathogens has revolutionized surveillance of foodborne‐illness outbreaks and source tracking. Implementation of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration's recently adopted rules of the Food Safety Modernization Act is another factor that should contribute to the enhanced safety of foods, and a brief discussion of the intricacies of this law is provided, highlighting features that are likely to have the greatest impact. Although the food industry generally has a remarkable record of producing safe foods, it is increasingly challenged by consumers' demand for “natural‐ foods that are free of synthetic antimicrobials. In addition, an ever‐increasing percentage of foods consumed in the United States and in many developed countries are imported, of which a major portion originate from developing countries whose sanitary practices in production and processing are often inferior to those employed in developed countries. The food safety landscape is not likely to remain static; however, improvements will need to be balanced against competing nutritional, cost, and sustainability priorities.
Over the past two decades, the issues of quality and safety of agricultural products have attracted widespread attention in the People's Republic of China. The purpose of this study was to understand factors that influence farmers' willingness to participate in agricultural product safety cogovernance and self-governance based on a survey of farmers in Jiangsu Province, China. The results show that farmers' willingness to participate in the cogovernance and self-governance of agricultural product safety must be further improved. Among the sampled farmers, 28.93% consider that other farmers' improper agricultural product safety practices have nothing to do with them, and 17.25% claim that they would not want to take part in agricultural product safety trainings. Farmers with a weak appreciation for agricultural product safety hazards, a lack of food safety knowledge, and improper agricultural product safety practices are less willing to participate in cogovernance and self-governance of agricultural product safety. Female farmers are more willing to engage in agricultural product safety training than male farmers; however, their willingness to participate in agricultural product safety cogovernance is lower. The results of this study will be useful in improving food safety policy in China.
HIGHLIGHTS
A novel method was developed to estimate the fault probability of basic events in fault tree analysis (FTA) for microbial contamination. A simple food preparation process was used for the analysis. The process consisted of mixing and cutting. The fault probability (PF) was for the occasion at excess level of E. coli compared to a threshold level. The basic events were identified as faults in sanitary handling of the hands, mixing bowl, knife, and cutting board. The top event was the ultimate fault, i.e. contamination of a model food (cotton cloth). PF of the basic events was estimated, using normal distribution functions established on the basis of contamination levels, which were determined by microbiological analysis. The area under the normal distribution function to the right of a threshold level, which was the contamination level required to cause a hazard, was regarded as PF. Finally, the PF of the top event could be estimated from PF of the basic events by FTA quantitative analysis. The estimated PF of the model food proved to agree with that measured experimentally.
Based on the background that fresh-chain e-commerce logistics is rapidly developed recently in China, this paper attempts to reveal factors that may affect the consumers’ willingness to purchase fresh products online and further obtain the corresponding data combining consumer behavior theory and cold-chain service elements. Logistic regression model was used to quantitatively analyze the influence of different cold chain service elements on consumers’ willingness to purchase fresh products online. Combining the empirical results, the corresponding improvement suggestions for fresh product cold chain logistics service quality were proposed.
This paper is the output of several years of scientific research coordinated by Laboratory of Food Preservation and Food Microbiology at UGent, within the EU FP7 Research project Veg-i-trade (www.vegitrade.org), in collaboration with among other partners, Wageningen University and Cebas-CSIC. Fresh produce and derived products are globally traded and subjected to an inherent sensitive towards enteric pathogens as Salmonella and pathogenic E. coli due to their cultivation practices. As fruits and vegetables are increasingly being consumed raw, a potential health risk towards consumers is present. In the Veg-i-Trade project the extend of presence of pathogens in leafy greens and strawberry fruit and their cultivation environment (as water, soil, manured soil, etc.) was analysed. Insight in the food safety management system enlighted the need for further fostering and guidance towards farmers in good practices in order to reduce the potential pressure of the presence of the pathogens both in EU and non EU countries. Exposure assessment calculations demonstrated the usefulness of mathematic modelling to gain more insight in fragmented microbiological analysis and information of cultivation practices, as such the impact of contamination of irrigation water and the impact of a flooding event. Veg-i-Trade was a challenging project both in scientific and management perspective as 23 partners collaborated.
This study provides insight for food safety (FS) performance in light of the current performance of core FS management system (FSMS) activities and context riskiness of these systems to identify the opportunities for improvement of the FSMS. A FSMS diagnostic instrument was applied to assess the performance levels of FSMS activities regarding context riskiness and FS performance in 14 fish processing companies in Tanzania. Two clusters (cluster I and II) with average FSMS (level 2) operating under moderate-risk context (score 2) were identified. Overall, cluster I had better (score 3) FS performance than cluster II (score 2 to 3). However, a majority of the fish companies need further improvement of their FSMS and reduction of context riskiness to assure good FS performance. The FSMS activity levels could be improved through hygienic design of equipment and facilities, strict raw material control, proper follow-up of critical control point analysis, developing specific sanitation procedures and company-specific sampling design and measuring plans, independent validation of preventive measures, and establishing comprehensive documentation and record-keeping systems. The risk level of the context could be reduced through automation of production processes (such as filleting, packaging, and sanitation) to restrict people's interference, recruitment of permanent high-skilled technological staff, and setting requirements on product use (storage and distribution conditions) on customers. However, such intervention measures for improvement could be taken in phases, starting with less expensive ones (such as sanitation procedures) that can be implemented in the short term to more expensive interventions (setting up assurance activities) to be adopted in the long term. These measures are essential for fish processing companies to move toward FSMS that are more effective.
From 20 September through 5 October 2012, the largest recorded food-borne outbreak in Germany occurred. Norovirus was identified as the causative agent. We conducted four analytical epidemiological studies, two case–control studies and two surveys (in total 150 cases) in secondary schools in three different federal states. Overall, 390 institutions in five federal states reported nearly 11,000 cases of gastroenteritis. They were predominantly schools and childcare facilities and were supplied almost exclusively by one large catering company. The analytical epidemiological studies consistently identified dishes containing strawberries as the most likely vehicle, with estimated odds ratios ranging from 2.6 to 45.4. The dishes had been prepared in different regional kitchens of the catering company and were served in the schools two days before the peaks of the respective outbreaks. All affected institutions had received strawberries of one lot, imported frozen from China. The outbreak vehicle was identified within a week, which led to a timely recall and prevented more than half of the lot from reaching the consumer. This outbreak exemplifies the risk of large outbreaks in the era of global food trade. It underlines the importance of timely surveillance and epidemiological outbreak investigations for food safety.
The purpose of this paper was to analyse the implemented quality management systems (QMSs) based on International Organization for Standardization (ISO) 9001 in the production/service sector, operating only with food of animal origin. The research covered the analysis of the rationale for the implementation of QMSs, the quality tools used in interviewed food companies and achieved effects and outputs. The survey comprised 59 Serbian food business operators holding ISO 9001 certificates. The obtained results revealed that the implementation of QMSs resulted in the improvement of food conformity in both of its dimensions ? food quality and food safety. Results indicated improvements towards customer satisfaction and strengthening of their competitiveness, including an increase in the sales and market share. However, none of the surveyed companies recorded any QMS improvement. Companies confirmed efforts made in product improvement but most of them did not improve their processes or confirm higher levels of effectiveness and efficiency of their systems.
Recent foodborne outbreaks and cases of non-compliances to maximum residue limits of pesticides, indicated that food safety management systems (FSMS) in fresh produce chain are not yet performing in a satisfactory manner. However, the system output is not only dependent on the system design and operation but also on the context wherein it operates. The major context factors that create risk to decision-making in FSMS in the fresh produce chain have been defined in this study, and a tool was developed for their systematic analysis. The tool supports a differentiated assessment of context riskiness, enabling actors in fresh produce chains to take measures in their FSMS or reduce riskiness in the context. The tool can be used at primary production, processing, and trade, and can thus provide insights in the changes of context riskiness over the supply chain. It enables systematic analysis of the context in a product group, sector, or country.
This study explored the experiences of quality professionals with the Hazard Analysis Critical Control Point (HACCP) system in the food industry in Canada. Similarities and differences between HACCP and ISO 9000 quality management systems were also highlighted. In this study, qualitative research was undertaken with selected medium to large-sized food manufacturing companies. In-depth telephone interviews were performed with quality professionals to allow the researcher the opportunity to elicit expertise and experience that are unique to the respondent. While the study was designed to be exploratory in nature and to form the basis for future research, several themes were identified. First, all companies used HACCP in conjunction with other internal programs such as product testing and supplier qualification to ensure product quality. Second, all companies perceived internal auditing as a way to ensure the quality programs. Finally, companies that had implemented both HACCP and ISO 9000 mentioned two main obstacles, i.e. resistance to change and fear of documentation.
A multistate listeriosis outbreak associated with cantaloupe consumption was reported in the United States in September, 2011. The outbreak investigation recorded a total of 146 invasive illnesses, 30 deaths and one miscarriage. Subtyping of the outbreak associated clinical, food and environmental isolates revealed two serotypes (1/2a and 1/2b) and four pulsed-field gel electrophoresis two-enzyme pattern combinations I, II, III, and IV, including one rarely seen before this outbreak. A DNA-microarray, Listeria GeneChip®, developed by FDA from 24 Listeria monocytogenes genome sequences, was used to further characterize a representative sample of the outbreak isolates. The microarray data (in the form of present or absent calls of specific DNA sequences) separated the isolates into two distinct groups as per their serotypes. The gene content of the outbreak-associated isolates was distinct from that of the previously-reported outbreak strains belonging to the same serotypes. Although the 1/2b outbreak associated isolates are closely related to each other, the 1/2a isolates could be further divided into two distinct genomic groups, one represented by pattern combination I strains and the other represented by highly similar pattern combinations III and IV strains. Gene content analysis of these groups revealed unique genomic sequences associated with these two 1/2a genovars. This work underscores the utility of multiple approaches, such as serotyping, PFGE and DNA microarray analysis to characterize the composition of complex polyclonal listeriosis outbreaks.
Retailer initiated food quality standards are important elements to market food and agricultural products. However, farmers' certification proceeds at an unequal speed worldwide with some countries representing a large number of certified producers and others representing very few, if any. This study aims at analysing the adoption of two private food standards, BRC Food Technical Standard and GlobalGAP, at an aggregated cross-country level using data of 2007. Negative binomial models are applied to quantify the determinants of standards' spread at an aggregated level. The results of the econometric analysis reveal some (potential) barriers for farms and firms in developing countries to access this type of organisational innovation. Certificates of both standards seem to be issued more likely in countries with established trade relations with Germany, the Netherlands and the United Kingdom, home countries of the standards. Furthermore, larger countries and countries with better institutional quality host more certified firms. Finally, a country's level of economic development displays a clear non-monotonic relationship to the number of certified enterprises. Although no evidence for a general exclusion of developing countries can be found, the main implication of this paper is that third-party certification for export purposes seems to reinforce already existing trade relations, potentially hampering new entrants.
The paper examines how European retailers are using private standards for food safety and ‘quality’ as risk management and competitive tools and the strategic responses of leading Kenyan and other developing country supplier/exporters to such standards. Despite measures to harmonize a ‘single market’, the European fresh produce market is very diverse in terms of consumer preferences, structural dynamics and attention to and enforcement of food safety and other standards. Leading Kenyan fresh produce suppliers have re-positioned themselves at the high end, including ‘high care’, segments of the market – precisely those that are most demanding in terms of quality assurance and food safety systems. An array of factors have influenced this strategic positioning, including relatively high international freight costs, the emergence of more effective competition in mainstream product lines, relatively low labor costs for produce preparation, and strong market relationships with selected retail chains. To succeed in this demanding market segment, the industry has had to invest substantially in improved production and procurement systems, upgraded pack house facilities, and quality assurance/food safety management systems.
A range of commercially available vegetables (n = 306) that are consumed in the minimally processed state in Malaysia was examined for the presence of Listeria spp. and Listeria monocytogenes to provide information on the occurrence of such organisms in these vegetables. Analysis was carried out using the most probable number–polymerase chain reaction (MPN–PCR) method. It was found that Listeria spp. and L. monocytogenes could be detected in 33.3% and 22.5% of the vegetables respectively. L. monocytogenes was more frequently detected in Vigna unguiculata (Japanese parsley) at 31.3% and Oenanther stolonifera (yardlong bean) at 27.2%.
Raw produce is an increasingly recognized vehicle for salmonellosis. We investigated a nationwide outbreak that occurred in the United States in 2008.
We defined a case as diarrhea in a person with laboratory-confirmed infection with the outbreak strain of Salmonella enterica serotype Saintpaul. Epidemiologic, traceback, and environmental studies were conducted.
Among the 1500 case subjects, 21% were hospitalized, and 2 died. In three case-control studies of cases not linked to restaurant clusters, illness was significantly associated with eating raw tomatoes (matched odds ratio, 5.6; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.6 to 30.3); eating at a Mexican-style restaurant (matched odds ratio, 4.6; 95% CI, 2.1 to ∞) and eating pico de gallo salsa (matched odds ratio, 4.0; 95% CI, 1.5 to 17.8), corn tortillas (matched odds ratio, 2.3; 95% CI, 1.2 to 5.0), or salsa (matched odds ratio, 2.1; 95% CI, 1.1 to 3.9); and having a raw jalapeño pepper in the household (matched odds ratio, 2.9; 95% CI, 1.2 to 7.6). In nine analyses of clusters associated with restaurants or events, jalapeño peppers were implicated in all three clusters with implicated ingredients, and jalapeño or serrano peppers were an ingredient in an implicated item in the other three clusters. Raw tomatoes were an ingredient in an implicated item in three clusters. The outbreak strain was identified in jalapeño peppers collected in Texas and in agricultural water and serrano peppers on a Mexican farm. Tomato tracebacks did not converge on a source.
Although an epidemiologic association with raw tomatoes was identified early in this investigation, subsequent epidemiologic and microbiologic evidence implicated jalapeño and serrano peppers. This outbreak highlights the importance of preventing raw-produce contamination.
The increasing prevalence of private standards governing food safety, food quality and environmental and social impacts of agri-food systems has raised concerns about the effects on developing countries, as well as the governance of agri-food value chains more broadly. It is argued that current debates have been 'clouded' by a failure to recognise the diversity of private standards in terms of their institutional form, who develops and adopts these standards and why. In particular, there is a need to appreciate the close inter-relationships between public regulations and private standards and the continuing ways in which private standards evolve.
Foodborne outbreaks from contaminated fresh produce have been increasingly recognized in many parts of the world. This reflects a convergence of increasing consumption of fresh produce, changes in production and distribution, and a growing awareness of the problem on the part of public health officials. The complex biology of pathogen contamination and survival on plant materials is beginning to be explained. Adhesion of pathogens to surfaces and internalization of pathogens limits the usefulness of conventional processing and chemical sanitizing methods in preventing transmission from contaminated produce. Better methods of preventing contamination on the farm, or during packing or processing, or use of a terminal control such as irradiation could reduce the burden of disease transmission from fresh produce. Outbreak investigations represent important opportunities to evaluate contamination at the farm level and along the farm-to-fork continuum. More complete and timely environmental assessments of these events and more research into the biology and ecology of pathogen-produce interactions are needed to identify better prevention strategies.
The proliferation and increased stringency of food safety and agricultural health standards is a source of concern among many developing countries. These standards are perceived as a barrier to the continued success of their exports of high-value agro-food products (including fish, horticultural, and other products), either because these countries lack the technical and administrative capacities needed for compliance or because these standards can be applied in a discriminatory or protectionist manner. The authors draw on available literature and work in progress to examine the underlying evidence related to the changing standards environment and its impact on existing and potential developing country exporters of high-value agricultural and food products. The evidence the authors present, while only partial, suggests that the picture for developing countries as a whole is not necessarily problematic and certainly less pessimistic than the mainstream"standards-as-barriers"perspective. Indeed, rising standards serve to accentuate underlying supply chain strengths and weaknesses and thus impact differently on the competitive position of individual countries and distinct market participants. Some countries and industries are even using high quality and safety standards to successfully (re-)position themselves in competitive global markets. This emphasizes the importance of considering the effects of food safety and agricultural health measures within the context of wider capacity constraints and underlying supply chain trends and drivers. The key question for developing countries is how to exploit their strengths and overcome their weaknesses such that they are gainers rather than losers in the emerging commercial and regulatory context.
Fresh produce companies operate their food safety management systems (FSMS) in a complex context. On the one hand, during setting and operating their FSMS activities, companies need to consider the riskiness of the ‘FSMS context’ of the company, including the risk of product and production, and the limitations and opportunities of the organisational and chain characteristics. On the other hand, companies with their narrow ‘FSMS context’ and actual FSMS, can be influenced by the ‘broad context’ in a country and sector.
This paper presents an analytical framework with operational tools that enable assessment of the status of FSMS in view of the context riskiness at company level, and exploration of the influence of the ‘broad context’ in a country and sector. The latter was defined to include: food safety governance, agro-climatic, market, and public policy environment. Empirical data from three case studies of leafy greens production, intentionally chosen to represent three European regions with their specific contexts, was used to validate the analytical framework. As a conclusion, we postulate that the FSMS output is a function of the broad context in a country and sector, the ‘FSMS context’ in a company, and implemented food safety management system. The model is a first step towards conceptualisation of the complex systems influencing FSMS implementation and operation in companies.
Hintergrund Während des EHEC-Ausbruchs in Frühling und Sommer 2011, ausgelöst durch enterohämorrhagische Eschericha coli (EHEC) der Serogruppe O104:H4, erkrankten nach abschließendem Bericht des Robert Koch-Instituts in Deutschland 3842 Patienten, von denen 53 verstarben. In der Freien und Hansestadt Hamburg wurden insgesamt 12 Todesfälle während des Ausbruchs registriert. Sechs dieser Patienten wurden im Institut für Rechtsmedizin/Institut für Pathologie des Universitätsklinikums Hamburg-Eppendorf obduziert. Ziel der Arbeit Der Ausbruch einer solchen Epidemie kann nicht verhindert werden. Die Charakterisierung der eingetretenen Todesfälle kann jedoch dazu beitragen, im Rahmen weiterer Vorfälle schnellere und geeignetere Bekämpfungsmaßnahmen zu ergreifen sowie Risikofaktoren des letalen Verlaufs zu reduzieren. Material und Methode Zur Charakterisierung der Todesfälle wurden die klinischen und histopathologischen Daten dieser Patienten erfasst und ausgewertet. Ergebnisse Fünf der untersuchten Patienten waren im Krankenhaus verstorben; ein Patient starb im häuslichen Umfeld. Die 5 im Krankenhaus Verstorbenen wiesen im Vergleich zum Durchschnittsalter aller an EHEC erkrankten Patienten ein höheres Lebensalter auf. Schlussfolgerung Vor allem ältere Patienten sind für den letalen Verlauf einer EHEC-Infektion gefährdet. Todesursächlich ist in den meisten Fällen ein toxisch-septisches Herz-Kreislauf-Versagen. Der tödliche Verlauf kann durch während des Krankenhausaufenthalts entstandene Infektionen begünstigt werden. Für die Dokumentation der Ausbreitung der Erkrankung sowie der morphologischen und klinischen Besonderheiten erweist sich die Kooperation der Rechtsmedizin mit den Pathologen und dem öffentlichen Gesundheitssystem als besonders förderlich.
While much of the focus of the economics literature has been on the role of public food safety and quality standards both as policy instruments and as non-tariff barriers to trade, it is evident that private standards are playing an increasing role in the governance of agricultural and food supply chain. This paper provides an overview of the evolution of private food safety and quality standards, outlining how and why business-to-business and private collective standards have come to play an increasingly dominant role in determining the action of firms in the agricultural and food sectors, and the ways in which such standards influence trade flows. While there has been very little empirical analysis of the trade impacts of food safety and quality standards, the paper contends that they can play a contrasting role in both reducing and enhancing trade in agricultural and food products. At the same time, however, it is evident that private standards fall outside of the governance structures established by the WTO, raising challenges for the future role of the SPS and TBT Agreements.
A fresh-cut product is physically altered from its original state during trimming, peeling, washing, and cutting operations. However, it remains in a fresh state and is thus characterized by living tissues that undergo or are susceptible to enzymatic activity, texture decay, undesirable volatile compound production, and microbial contamination, which reduce shelf life. In the fresh-cut industry, shelf life is the time required by a fresh-cut product to lose quality attributes, such as freshness, firmness, texture, color, aroma, and nutritional value, below a level acceptable to the consumer. The success of the fresh-cut industry depends on quality and maintaining consumer confidence. The indicators of vegetable quality include color, texture, flavor, and other attributes, many of which may be influenced by abiotic and biotic factors. Fresh-cut vegetable safety is related to inherent antinutritional substances, such as nitrate and oxalate, which accumulate during growth and external microbial and chemical contamination during postharvest. These critical factors can be controlled throughout the entire chain by implementing targeted cultural techniques and observing sanitation programs. Produce sanitation should start in the field and should encompass all growing, harvesting, handling, and processing areas. One approach could be that growers should provide documentation (a logbook) of the microbial load, of fertilizer and irrigation water usage, and of the workers' hygienic practices.
The Belgian food safety authority has provided incentives for food business operators to set-up a certified self-checking system (SCS), based upon good practices and HACCP principles. A selection of food processing companies in Belgium was invited to take part in a self-assessment study to evaluate the effect of SCS certification on the performance of an implemented food safety management system (FSMS) and on company's microbiological food safety output according to their sector and company size and to compare the added value of SCS against voluntary standard certification.
Interviews were conducted with the owners of three organic lettuce farms in the state of Rio Grande do Sul in southern Brazil using a standardized self-assessment questionnaire to ascertain the status of implementation of good agricultural practices and management systems in place. In addition, on each farm 132 samples (manure, field soil, water, workers' hands and equipment, lettuce seedlings, and crops) were collected during four visits throughout the lettuce crop production cycle and subjected to analysis for hygiene indicators (Escherichia coli, coliforms) and presence of Salmonella and E. coli O157. E. coli O157 was detected twice (in irrigation water and in rinse water) out of 27 analyzed water samples. Salmonella spp. was detected in one out of nine manure samples applied as organic fertilizer. In addition, generic E. coli was frequently present in numbers exceeding 10 cfu/g in manure, manured soil, and lettuce samples or more than 1 cfu/100 ml in water. No E. coli O157 was detected in any of the lettuce samples (n = 36), but Salmonella spp. was detected once in lettuce taken during the crop cycle 2 weeks before harvest. It was demonstrated that the combination of the self-assessment questionnaire and microbiological sampling and analysis could identify weak points in current organic farming practices in this region of southern Brazil. It was noted that manure composting was not adequately controlled and appropriate waiting times before application as an organic fertilizer to crop were not respected. Also the selection of the water source and the sanitary quality of the water used for irrigation were not under control. The washing step (with sanitizer) of lettuce crops at harvest, generally considered a potential reduction step for microbial contamination, was often not verified for its efficiency. This may detract from the sanitary quality of the produce and are risk factors for the introduction of pathogens in the lettuce sent to market. The study, combining interviews, sampling, and analysis, contributed to increasing the farmers' awareness of enteric pathogens as a food safety issue in leafy greens. Further communication and training on good agricultural practices are recommended to remediate the weak points identified in the current management system.
This study seeks to provide insight into current deficiencies in Food Safety Management Systems (FSMS) in African food processing companies and to identify possible strategies for improvement so as to contribute to African countries' efforts to provide safe food to both local and international markets. This study found that most African food products had high microbiological and chemical contamination levels exceeding the set(legal) limits. Relative to industrialized countries, the study identified various deficiencies at government, sector/branch, retail, and company levels which affect performance of FSMS in Africa. For instance, very few companies (except exporting and large companies) have implemented HACCP and ISO 22000:2005. Various measures were proposed to be taken at government (like construction of risk-based legislative frameworks, strengthening of food safety authorities, recommend use of ISO 22000:2005, and consumers' food safety training), branch/sector (like sector-specific guidelines and third-party certification), retail (develop stringent certification standards and impose product specifications), and company levels (improving hygiene, strict raw material control, production process efficacy, and enhancing monitoring systems, assurance activities, and supportive administrative structures). By working on those 4 levels, FSMS of African food processing companies could be better designed and tailored towards their production processes and specific needs to ensure food safety.
There is increasing evidence that consumption of raw fresh produce is a major factor contributing to human gastrointestinal illness. A wide variety of pathogens contribute to food-borne illnesses, including bacteria (e.g., Salmonella, pathogenic Escherichia coli), protozoa (e.g., Cryptosporidium, Giardia), and viruses (e.g., noroviruses). Large-scale production of produce typically requires some form of irrigation during the growing season. There is a rapidly growing body of research documenting and elucidating the pathways of produce contamination by water-borne pathogens. However, many gaps still exist in our knowledge and understanding. The purpose of this review is to provide a comprehensive approach to the issue, including the most recent research. Topics covered include: temporal and spatial variability, and regional differences, in pathogen and indicator organism concentrations in water; direct and circumstantial evidence for contaminated water as a source of food-borne pathogens; fate and transport of pathogens and indicator organisms in irrigation systems, and the role of environmental microbial reservoirs; and current standards for irrigation water quality, and risk assessment. A concerted effort by researchers and practitioners is needed to maintain food safety of fresh produce in an increasingly intensive food production system and limited and declining irrigation water resources.
Integration into global markets offers the potential for more rapid growth and poverty reduction for poorer countries. However, market barriers within advanced economies to agricultural imports have made it harder for developing countries to take full advantage of this opportunity. This article examines the impact of increasing demands for food safety and quality by European food retailers, and how the fundamental structure and culture of supplier organisations required by European retail chains are a major entry barrier for developing Mediterranean fresh produce exporting countries, and for developing countries in general. The long-term solution for such countries to sustain an international demand for their products lies in structural, strategic and procedural initiatives that build up the trust and confidence of importers/retailers in the quality and safety assurance mechanisms for their produce.
Foodborne outbreaks appear to increase with more incidences linked to fresh produce and derived food products. This indicates inadequacies in Food Safety Management Systems (FSMSs), which are currently implemented in companies along the fresh produce chain. However, the information related to these inadequacies is restricted and little is known about the status of the FSMS. This paper describes the development of a tool for assessment of FSMS implemented in the fresh produce chain. The tool consists of indicators and grids to assess activities that are important for fresh produce, and the system output in terms of microbiological and chemical food safety (that is, pesticide residues and emerging mycotoxins). Three sets of indicators, one for each stage of the production chain (primary production, processing and trade), have been validated by experts and tested in companies. The tool enables an integral and comprehensive assessment of FSMS across the entire supply chain. Users of the tool can identify improvement opportunities and learn how to develop towards more advanced levels of activities. For research purposes differences in FSMS can be identified and linked to type of commodity, production system, country, etc.
Abstract: In this article, an instrument is presented to diagnose microbial safety control activities in a food safety management system. The need of such a tool is derived from the importance of microbial safety control and the need for improvement of existing control systems. Careful diagnosis of these systems provides the basis for their improvement. The diagnostic instrument provides a comprehensive checklist of crucial control activities, addressing major technology-dependent and managerial activities in design and operation of preventive measures, intervention processes, and monitoring systems. Secondly, it provides detailed grids describing three levels of execution for each safety control activity to enable a differentiated assessment of ones food safety control system situation. The basic assumption underlying the diagnostic instrument is that activities on a higher level are more predictable and better able to achieve a desired safety outcome, due to more insight in underlying mechanisms and more accurate information. Finally, we discuss that using the instrument may contribute in finding effective types and levels of control activities within given contextual dependencies.
Stakeholders entail increasing demands on food safety management systems (FSMS) stimulating ongoing efforts of companies to progress to more advanced systems. However, the actual microbiological food safety (FS) output is not only a result of the performance of an FSMS, but it also depends on the system’s context. Based on the assumption that companies in a high-risk context need advanced control and assurance activities, while in a low-risk context lower levels might be sufficient to realise a good FS output, this paper describes a diagnostic tool to assess riskiness of the context of an FSMS. Four major context factors product, process, organisation, and production chain environment have been described with sets of indicators and grids with descriptions of different risk levels. Finally, the paper discusses how advanced FSMS activities can better deal with a high-risk context.
This research assesses whether, and under what conditions, firms are willing to trade off price and delivery reliability for greater supplier security. Specifically, international sourcing and concern over security incidents occurring at the respondent's firm are proposed as conditions that may increase demand for supplier security. This research suggests to managers the trade offs their customers may be willing to accept for increased security. The results are useful for firms evaluating whether they should invest in supply chain security measures. Results provide academic insight into the relative importance of security as a supplier selection criterion.