System Dynamics Simulation to Test Operational Policies in the Milk-Cheese Supply Chain Case study: Piar Municipality, Bolivar State, Venezuela.

With the purpose of detecting the impact that variations of demand cause in the milk-cheese supply chain, and determining how the operational policies of capacity, inventories or labor force can mitigate this impact, a system dynamics simulation model has been designed based on a survey conducted on a sample of cheese manufacturers and their links with milk farms, transportation companies and cheese distributors. This supply chain will be consolidated when a milk center that will collect the raw milk is completed. From this center, and after adequate treatment, milk will be distributed to the different cheese manufacturers in the supply chain. Managing adequately the milk-cheese supply chain represents an important challenge due to the short life of these products. Although this study was done in a region in Latin America, its results can be applicable to food supply chains by introducing some modifications. The milk-cheese supply chain in this case study contemplates three milk producers, one milk center, five cheese producers and several distributing agents. These companies operate individually under normal conditions, but they have understood that their integration in a supply chain improves the competitiveness of all its members. That is to say, the sum is greater than the parts. For its initial design a simulation software model is used in which the resources of the supply chain are optimized. Later the product of this optimization facilitates some initial values to be used in the system dynamics model in which causeeffect or influence relationships have been previously established considering the most representative variables. Finally, changes in operational policies that can reduce the level of pending orders in the supply chain are tested using other simulation software. The main contribution of this research is that it can serve as support or contribute to reduce the uncertainty in the decision making process of the supply chain management due to the speed with which individual or combined policies can be analyzed. In response to a variation of demand the most adequate policy may be selected and that can be done before the policy is implemented

Food Safety Management in a Global Environment: The Role of Risk Assessment Models

Quantitative risk assessment models are playing a minor role in the development of the new EU legal framework for food safety. There is a tendency of the EU institutions to apply the precautionary principle versus the predisposition of the USA institutions to rely on risk analysis. This paper provides a comparison of the role played by quantitative risk assessment models in the development of new policies on food safety in the EU and in the USA, focusing on a study case: the supply chain of shell eggs. We suggest that EU regulatory bodies should reconsider the role that quantitative risk assessment models have to play in order to design more effective food safety management systems.Food safety policy, food safety assurance, risk analysis, risk assessment, precautionary principle, Food Consumption/Nutrition/Food Safety,

Modeling Ovoproduct Spoilage with Red Led Light

Heat-treatment of ovoproducts is often required to ensure microbial safety. However, it has been shown that in most microbial species slow heating, or heat shocks may induce a higher heat resistance, that means that it is not possible to remove the microbial flora completely. These microorganisms produce on ovoproducts spoilage especially when the cold chain is broken along the transportation and/or storage. As a result, the life span for the product is shortened. The microbial activity inside the product causes changes in several physical properties, which can be supervised using optical methods. The aim of this work is to monitor the sigmoid behaviour underlying the ovoproduct evolution and spoilage by means of red LED light. For two commercial types of liquid and pasteurized egg white, storage at 9°C, an average correlation of r=0.94 has been found between microorganism growth and mean grey level of LED light passing though the sample. The results show that it is possible to develop very simple predictive models taking into account only one optical parameter corre¬sponding to a single LED

A Computer Simulation Model of Knowledge Management in Small and Medium Agri-Food Enterprises

 System dynamics is an appropriate tool to build management models due to its ease of application in solving unstructured problems. In the twenty-first century the sustainability of organizations is influenced by the way it manages its knowledge. In this sense, knowledge management (KM) represents a strategy that contributes to improving the production supply chain (SC) of the agri-food industry (AFI). The objective of this research is to develop a computer model to simulate the effect of KM on the production of AFI. The methodology applied was that of the system dynamics by using the Vensim PLE ® v. 5.10 software, whose determining indicators were selected through an empirical study of KM in the SC of precooked corn flour industry in Venezuela. The study concluded that the balanced implementation of KM practices in the strategic dimension and in the functional dimension achieved an increase in production through the stabilization of the system. Further evaluation of the methodology developed in other agro-industrial environments is recommended

Improved energy efficiency in wineries using data from audits

The wine production process has a high energy demand of about 1,750 million kWh per year in the EU. Saving energy, responsible consumption and efficient use of energy sources are key aspects to consider for the competitiveness and viability of the sector. Therefore, the TESLA project (Transfering Energy Save Laid on Agroindustry), funded by the European Commission, has conducted 39 energy audits in wineries from four countries (Spain, France, Portugal and Italy). The information collected has allowed them to carry out a comparative analysis of energy efficiency measures through a technical-economic study, calculating the period of return on investment and performing a sensitivity analysis to determine the break-even point for each of the investments analysed. The results show that the replacement of chillers by more efficient ones, the installation of variable speed drives on pumps, the introduction of management and control measures such as the implementation of a Building Management System (BMS) and the installation of energy analysers for identification of consumption by use are the measures that have the greatest quantitative impact

Knowledge Management in Food Supply Chains

The object of the present article is to discuss Knowledge Management (KM) in the Agrifood Supply Chain (ASC). In the 21st century, the ASC is under strong tensions. This is evident in the drastic changes in the global scene. For example, in the year 2008, food prices were high and unstable. In the last years, the importance of knowledge as a source of competitive advantage for organizations has increased considerably, so it is necessary its management in the ASC in order to surpass the challenges of the 21st century. KM is a direction tool that focuses in determining, organizing, directing, providing and supervising the practices and activities related with the knowledge (intangible active) required to achieve the strategies and objectives of the business or industry, generating a value for the organization at the moment to reach capabilities and competences. In inter-organizational environments, KM is centered on horizontal alliances between two or more partners. However, there are few authors who have analyzed the vertical alliances between suppliers and customers (the supply chain). The existing KM models are applicable for the ASC, as long as a series of conditions are present in the same one. Among these conditions there is one which prevails: The different enterprises that integrate the ASC must coordinate themselves in order to constitute a dynamic network, in which learning barriers are eliminated, so knowledge can flow freely through them. In conclusion, the development of KM models in the ASC, in the framework of untimely, temporary and structural changes in the globalised world, represents a necessary tool to offer safety and quality food to the world-wide population in the 21st century. In this way, food markets will tend to become stabilized in the long term and adequate answers can be provided to the more vulnerable communities and region

Identifying Strategies for Energy Consumption Reduction and Energy Efficiency Improvement in Fruit and Vegetable Producing Cooperatives: A Case Study in the Frame of TESLA Project☆

Abstract TESLA (Transfering Energy Save Laid on Agroindustry) is a EU project pointing to the reduction of energy consumption and the improvement of energy efficiency in key agro-food sectors' cooperatives, as those processing fruit and vegetables. After a general analysis of energy consumptions during the first phase of the project, the processes responsible for the higher energy consumptions in these fruit and vegetable industries, as cold storage, have been identified. In the second phase of the project, a few case studies aimed at proposing customized solutions for reducing energy wastage and for improving energy efficiency in specific selected cooperatives have been performed. In this manuscript we report preliminary results of a case study carried out in an Italian horticulture cooperative having several production lines for fresh (1 st range) and minimally processed (4 th range) fruit and vegetable products. In this cooperative, an in-depth energy audit has been performed, and additionally a process simulation software has been applied to model, evaluate and improve the operations in this processing centre and in the supply chain from the primary production sites. Such case study may be used as an example for similar cooperatives of the fruit and vegetables sector, thus contributing in making this sector more economically and energetically sustainable

Cycle of Knowledge in the Management of the Supply Chain of Corn for Human Consumption

The objective of this study is to characterize the cycle of knowledge in the supply chain of the industry of corn for human consumption. White corn is cultivated almost exclusively for human consumption and it has a significant value in the food supply in countries whose diet has a high proportion of this variety of corn, such as: Venezuela, México and Colombia in America, and the Republic of South Africa and Sahel countries in Africa. Corn is produced in Venezuela, under rainfed conditions and in a highly mechanized production system. The cycle of knowledge is defined as a progressive spiral in which knowledge is created, stored, transferred, applied and preserved, in order to increase the competitiveness and  sustainability of organizations and companies in the food supply chain. This non experimental and crosssectional research is of a descriptive type. It was conducted in Venezuela during the second semester of 2009 in the supply chain of white corn, specifically, at the level of first tier producers (primary sector). The population is constituted by 1,754 producers of corn in the most important producing regions of the country. The representative sample was selected by the stratified sampling technique with proportional allocation: by association of corn producers and according to the grain yield. A questionnaire was designed and conducted according to the structured survey method. Its validity was verified by discriminant tests of items and its reliability through Bartlett's test, variance factorial analysis, Kaiser/Meyer/Olkin and Cronbach Alpha, achieving the last one a value of 0.9276.The production units have an average area of 67.17 ha, with 1.97 permanent workers and 4.06 temporary workers. They obtained a physical productivity of 4,210.45 kg/ha. The Knowledge Index (KI) achieved a value of 69.78% and the Perception Index of the results (PI) was 76.06%. The Pearson correlation among these indices was positive and significant with a value of 0.51. The factorial analysis for principal components with rotated factors allows obtaining four factors from the five dimensions originally considered. These factors are: (1) knowledge creation, (2) knowledge storage, (3) knowledge transfer and application, and (4) preservation of knowledge.The results allow us to conclude that the cycle of knowledge is managed in four stages in an intuitive and predominantly tacit manner which is the reason why those practices related to explicit knowledge become the agents of differentiation. Moreover, the existence of a positive correlation between the Knowledge Index and the Perception Index of the positive results by the producer was also proven

Gestion del conocimiento en el sector agroalimentario

The objective of the article is to discourse about the management of the knowledge in the food chain. In the 21st century the food chain is being submitted to forts tense that can affect negatively its capacity to give the alimentary products to the whole world population. In this sense, the public opinion is increasingly sensible and the technical and legal procedures that govern the theme are more exigent in function to reach a food supply: sufficient, opportune, continuous and of quality to accessible costs, without prejudice of the health of the consumers and of the maintenance of the environment. This purpose could be reached if the knowledge is managed adequately, because this one has become into a source of competitive advantage for the organizations. The management of the knowledge is a tool of strategic direction of the practices and activities related to the knowledge (intangible actives) required to reach the objectives of the business or industry. Its application in the food industry will improve its levels of competitiveness and sustainability. Key words: food chain, management of the knowledg

Supervision of ovoproducts spoilage with red led light

Heat-treatment of ovoproducts is often required to ensure microbial safety. However, it has been shown that in most microbial species slow heating, or heat shocks may induce a higher heat resistance, that means that it is not possible to remove the microbial flora completely. These microorganisms produce on ovoproducts spoilage especially when the cold chain is broken along the transportation and/or storage. As a result, the life span for the product is shortened. The microbial activity inside the product causes changes in several physical properties, which can be supervised using optical methods. The aim of this work is to monitor the sigmoid behaviour underlying the ovoproduct evolution and spoilage by means of red LED light. For two commercial types of liquid and pasteurized egg white, storage at 9ºC, an average correlation of r=0.94 has been found between microorganism growth and images mean grey level of LED light passing though the sample. The results show that it is possible to develop very simple predictive models taking into account only one optical parameter corresponding to a single LED