Method and approach Mapping for Agri-food Supply Chain Risk Management: A literature review

One of the agri-food characteristics is perishable product which made it has a higher chance damage risk from the farmer to the consumer. While issues around food security and associated risks are extremely important. Some methods or approaches have been used to identify and assess risks that occur in agri-food supply chain. The purpose of this paper was to identify the development of methods or approaches used to identify and assess the risks that occured in the agri-food supply chain. The articles search was undertaken through articles search on selected relevant journals of supply chain risk management for agri-food published from 2004 until 2014. A total of 77 randomly selected journal articles had been analyzed. These mapping were arranged in systematic stages, started from searches related supply chain risk management for agrifood. Furthermore, the articles identified and classified the methods or approaches for each stage of supply chain risk management, and were divided into three main stages: risk identification, risk assessment and risk mitigation. The last, the articles of risk identification are categorized into three groups : qualitative, semi-quantitative and qualitative.The mapping results showed that risk assessment supply chain for agri-food was much related to microbiology risk assessment. It related to the characteristics of agri-food products. Standard models used for risk assessment in supply chain for agri-food were based on integration of statistical analysis and simulation. The other techniques used included intelligent technique, optimization models and multi-criteria decision analysis. The literature on supply chain risk management for agri-food is so vast, complex and difficult to understand that a mapping of method and approach is needed and much value for the research community. Keywords :supply chain risk, risk identification, risk assessment, risk mitigation, agri-foo

The value of food safety culture to the hospitality industry

Purpose This article sought to review existing literature in the discipline of food hospitality with specific emphasis on the interaction between food safety management, food safety management systems (FSMS) and food safety culture. It is the first article in a theme issue of Worldwide Hospitality and Tourism Themes, discussing the importance of measuring food safety and quality culture. Design/methodology/approach This review examines academic literature on FSMS and food safety culture and emerging tools and methods being used to determine their efficacy. Findings FSMS provide a framework for determining the resources required and the procedures and protocols, monitoring and verification necessary to deliver safe food. However, a performance gap has been identified in the literature between intended and actual food safety practice. The factors, rituals and behaviours that mediate this divide have been termed by many as "food safety culture". It has been shown that food safety knowledge does not necessarily lead to behaviour that promotes food safety. Thus the knowledge-experience-attitude-behaviour (KEAB) dynamic of food safety culture is of crucial importance and worthy of further empirical study in the hospitality industry

Application of Cost of Quality and Quality Loss Function in Food Supply Chain System

Food industry is one of the most important industries for human society. It has also contributes in the economical development of local economic. The optimization of interests of parties in the industry, or the food supply chain system, is critical. In this thesis, the scenario of one producer, one retailer and on customer has been studied, with the consideration of all tangible and intangible costs occurs within the supply chain system. In this thesis, three models have been developed to evaluate the performance of the food supply chain system under different organization functions: producer with retailer functions, producer with no retailer functions, and retailer with no production functions. Their performance is evaluated with the respect to the food quality of nutrition value, physical sense quality, and the opportunity cost of food product risks. Cost of quality and quality loss function has been applied in this model to identify and quantify some of the costs in the system. Based on the results from the thesis, the proposed models are feasible representation of costs within the food supply chain system. With the changes of different variables in the model, characteristics of different food product and the needs of different parties and business model could be presented. By compare the result from proposed models with other existing models, this thesis proposed a model that could save between 1-97% in overall cost, and 96-99% in overall intangible costs in the food supply chain system

Uncertainty In Qualitative Risk Analysis And Rating Systems : Modeling Decision Making Determinants

As workplace risk assessment is pivotal to ensure the safety and health of workers, adopting a reliable technique in performing this assessment cannot be overemphasized. The qualitative risk analysis is considered the most common technique of performing risk assessment, yet has received strong criticism as being influenced by subjectivity and lack of systematic process. The utility of risk matrices in scoring and obtaining risk rating has further complicated this technique and made it quite challenging for management to establish confidence in decision-making based on qualitative analysis. This study identified those subjective factors impairing the credibility of qualitative techniques and actually measured their impacts. By means of a simulated worksite scenario with identified hazards, Certified Safety Professionals, Engineers and Students were made to analyze, rate and make an overall decision on the scenario with a view to understanding the influence of those subjective predictors in the decision outcome. The goal was to determine what factors influence the decision making process and if Certified Safety professionals would be most influenced by these factors to produce a distinct outcome from the other groups. A comprehensive decision model was also used as a holistic approach to model the decision outcome of these predictors. The predictor factors were statistically significant though, but the results presented further systematic characteristics in the risk analysis and ratings among the three groups.M.S

Assessing Food Safety Risk in Global Supply Chain

Despite many attempts in the food safety risk assessment, there are a few studies and methods to cover the entire food supply chain. This study introduce a new model to perform the food risk assessment considering human factor along the entire food supply chain. The multi-discipline methodology of risk assessment tool, in combination of Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) has been applied in order to assess high safety risk point along the entire supply chain of food products. The method has been validated through the application in a case studies of food production

Food security modelling using two stage hybrid model and fuzzy logic risk assessment

Food security has become a key issue worldwide in recent years. According to the Department for Environment Food and Rural Affair (DEFRA) UK, the key components of food security are food availability, global resource sustainability, access, food chain resilience, household food security, safety and confidence of public towards food system. Each of these components has its own indicators which need to be monitored. Only a few studies had been made towards analysing food security and most of these studies are based on conventional data analysis methods such as the use of statistical techniques. In handling food security datasets such as crops yield, production, economy growth, household behaviour and others, where most of the data is imprecise, non-linear and uncertain in nature, it is better to handle the data using intelligent system (IS) techniques such as fuzzy logic, neural networks, genetic algorithm and hybrid systems, rather than conventional techniques. Therefore this thesis focuses on the modelling of food security using IS techniques, and a newly developed hybrid intelligent technique called a 2-stage hybrid (TSH) model, which is capable of making accurate predictions. This technique is evaluated by considering three applications of food security research areas which relate to each of the indicators in the DEFRA key food security components. In addition, another food security model was developed, called a food security risk assessment model. This can be used in assessing the level of risk for food security. The TSH model is constructed by using two key techniques; the Genetic Algorithm (GA) module and the Artificial Neural Network (ANN) module, where these modules combine the global and local search, by optimizing the inputs of ANN in the first stage process and optimizing of weight and threshold of ANN, which is then used to remodel the ANN resulting in better prediction. In evaluating the performance of the TSH prediction model, a total of three datasets have been used, which relate to the food security area studied. These datasets involve the prediction of farm household output, prediction of cereal growth per capita as the food availability main indicators in food security component, and grain security assessment prediction. The TSH prediction model is benchmarked against five others techniques. Each of these five techniques uses an ANN as the prediction model. The models used are: Principal Component Analysis (PCA), Multi-layered Perceptron-Artificial Neural Network (MLP-ANN), feature selection (FS) of GA-ANN, Optimized Weight and Threshold (OWTNN) and Sensitive Genetic Neural Optimization (SGNO). Each of the application datasets considered is used to show the capability of the TSH model in making effective predictions, and shows that the general performance of the model is better than the other benchmarked techniques. The research in this thesis can be considered as a stepping-stone towards developing other tools in food security modelling, in order to aid the safety of food security

Listeria monocytogenes and Ready-to-Eat Meats: Tackling a Wicked Problem using Grounded Theory

Background: Listeria monocytogenes and ready-to-eat meats have garnered considerable attention in Canada over the past decade as a result of foodborne outbreaks and product recalls that continue to transpire. A number of factors suggest that ready-to-eat meats and Listeria monocytogenes are a wicked problem. They include (among others) the number of stakeholders involved in the processing, distribution and inspection of ready-to-eat meats in Ontario, the ubiquitous and hardy nature of the organism and the challenges associated with eliminating it from ready-to-eat meat products and processing environments. Since Ontario public health units play an integral part in the inspection of ready-to-eat meats in the province, it is important to determine their current role in the wicked problem in order to identify possible solutions for change. Purpose: The purposes of the study were: (1) to determine how Ontario public health units address the wicked problem of Listeria monocytogenes and ready-to-eat meats in their food safety inspection programs using the provincial regulatory framework in addition to the use of research, knowledge translation and innovation; and (2) to develop a theory that identifies gaps (if any) in public health unit inspection practices, provincial legislation or food safety research that serves to generate recommendations to reduce incidence of listeriosis resulting from consumption of RTE meat products. Methodology: The research design used the principles of grounded theory to lead the interview and survey methodology and subsequent data analyses. The study was completed in three phases. Interviews were conducted in the first 2 phases of the study while a survey was conducted in the last phase. Interviews were conducted with public health unit ‘food safety leads’ that met pre-determined eligibility criteria. Following methods used in previous studies,interview data were analyzed in 4 stages of theory development using a grounded theory approach. Through substantive coding and constant comparative methods, core categories were identified in each of the study phases. As a result, theoretical saturation was reached leading to the process of theoretical coding and the emergence of the study theory. Results: In total, 27 public health units of 36 participated in the study. Eleven public health units participated in the first 2 phases of the interviews while 25 public health units (for a total of 45 participants) participated in the survey. The study core category, 'reactive and regulatory practice' evolved from the results of the interviews and survey. As a result, it was determined that: (1) the Ontario provincial regulatory framework including the Food Premises Regulation is almost exclusively responsible for directing food safety inspection practices in food premises; (2) food safety inspection and investigation activities associated with listeriosis outbreaks are the focus of Listeria monocytogenes and ready-to-eat meat research; and (3) innovation and knowledge translation are not currently influenced by inspection practice as a result of the food safety framework which does not require or encourage it. Using the processes of theoretical integration and theoretical coding, the following theory emerged from the data analyses; Ontario public health units manage ready-to-eat meats and Listeria monocytogenes through general population and reactive regulatory processes that focus on local-level, end-product, hazard reduction strategies for established risks in inspected food premises. Strengths and Limitations: The study had several strengths including being the first of its kind to associate ready-to-eat meats and Listeria monocytogenes as a part of a wicked problem. It was also the first study to use grounded theory to illuminate the function and role of Ontario public health units in managing Listeria monocytogenes and ready-to-eat meats. There are a number of limitations to the study including the study sample size, participant inclusion process through provincial public health unit senior management, the generalizability of study results, and method of interviews conducted with participants. Implications: The results of the study have implications for public health researchers and policy/regulatory makers in the province of Ontario. It stresses improved management of Listeria monocytogenes and ready-to-eat meats in food premises using a proactive approach. Conclusions: Using a grounded theory approach, this study demonstrated that Ontario public health units manage ready-to-eat meats and Listeria monocytogenes through reactive and regulatory food safety inspection practices. Survey and interview results indicate that study participants aspire for evidence-based regulatory and program amendments that will allow for proactive and targeted microbial risk-reduction activities at the local level that focus on vulnerable populations. The study substantiates that amendments to the Ontario Food Safety program and in particular, the Food Premises Regulation are necessary