Tools to support the self assessment of the performance of Food Safety Management Systems

Changes in food supply chains, health and demographic situations, lifestyle and social situations, environmental conditions, and increased legislative requirements have led to significant efforts in the development of quality and safety management systems in agribusiness and food industry worldwide (Ropkins and Beck, 2000; Efstratiadis, Karirti, and Arvanitoyannis, 2000; Jacxsens, et al, 2009a, Luning and Marcelis, 2009a). Nowadays, companies have implemented various quality assurance (QA) guidelines and standards, such as GMP and HACCP guidelines (like General Principles of food hygiene (Codex Alimentarius 2003), GFSI guidance document (GFSI (2007), and quality assurance standards (like ISO 9001:2008 (2008), ISO22000:2005 (2005), BRC (2008), and IFS (2007) into their company own food safety management system. The performance of such systems in practice is, however, still variable. Moreover, the continuous pressure on food safety management system (FSMS) performance and the dynamic environment wherein the systems operate (such as emerging pathogens, changing consumer demands, developments in preservation techniques) require that they can be systematically analysed to determine opportunities for improvement (Wallace, et al, 2005; Manning et al, 2006; Van der Spiegel et al, 2006; Cornier et al, 2007; Luning et al, 2009a). Within the European project entitled ‘PathogenCombat- EU FOOD-CT-2005-007081’ various tools have been developed to support food companies and establishments in systematically analysing and judging their food safety management system and its microbiological performance as basis for strategic choices on interventions to improve the FSMS performance. This chapter describes briefly principles of the major tools that have been developed and some others, which are still under still under construction

Cerebral Infarcts and Vasculopathy in Tanzanian Children With Sickle Cell Anemia

BACKGROUND: Cerebral infarcts and vasculopathy in neurologically asymptomatic children with sickle cell anemia (SCA) have received little attention in African settings. This study aimed to establish the prevalence of silent cerebral infarcts (SCI) and vasculopathy and determine associations with exposure to chronic hemolysis, anemia, and hypoxia. METHODS: We prospectively studied 224 children with SCA with transcranial Doppler (TCD), and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and magnetic resonance angiography (MRA). Regressions were undertaken with contemporaneous hemoglobin, reticulocyte count, mean prior hemoglobin, oxygen content, reticulocyte count, and indirect bilirubin. RESULTS: Prevalence of SCI was 27% (61 of 224); cerebral blood flow velocity was abnormal (>200 cm/s) in three and conditional (>170<200 cm/s) in one. Vasculopathy grades 2 (stenosis) and 3 (occlusion) occurred in 16 (7%) and two (1%), respectively; none had grade 4 (moyamoya). SCI was associated with vasculopathy on MRA (odds ratio 2.68; 95% confidence intervals [95% CI] 1.32 to 5.46; P = 0.007) and mean prior indirect bilirubin (odds ratio 1.02, 95% CI 1.00 to 1.03, P = 0.024; n = 83) but not age, sex, non-normal TCD, or contemporaneous hemoglobin. Vasculopathy was associated with mean prior values for hemoglobin (odds ratio 0.33, 95% CI 0.16 to 0.69, P = 0.003; n = 87), oxygen content (odds ratio 0.43, 95% CI 0.25 to 0.74, P = 0.003), reticulocytes (odds ratio 1.20, 95% CI 1.01-1.42, P = 0.041; n = 77), and indirect bilirubin (odds ratio 1.02, 95% CI 1.01 to 1.04, P = 0.009). CONCLUSIONS: SCI and vasculopathy on MRA are common in neurologically asymptomatic children with SCA living in Africa, even when TCD is normal. Children with vasculopathy on MRA are at increased risk of SCI. Longitudinal exposure to anemia, hypoxia, and hemolysis appear to be risk factors for vasculopathy

Evaluation of traceability systems in fish supply chains: A case study of Tanzania

The European General Food Law, EC 178/2002 requires each stage in the supply chain to have access in its upstream and downstream trading partners. The regulation seeks to ensure that at each stage of food production, processing and movement through the supply chain steps are taken to maintain safety of the products intended for human consumption, at its highest quality. While the literature recognises the importance of food processing companies to have efficient traceability systems, there has been shortage of actual involvement of researchers in assessing the actual execution and performance of traceability systems in food processing companies, especially in developing countries. Using a qualitative approach, this study evaluates the performance of traceability systems in Tanzanian context using a case study of four fish processing companies. It explores how fish processing companies under given contextual situations (e.g. product complexity, production process complexity, supply chain complexity and organisation complexity) design and execute their traceability systems. The findings showed that despite high degree of complexity of contextual situations, all companies used paper based traceability system with minimum computer applications. Paper based traceability system is associated with several limitations, and may lead to poor performance given higher level of complexities of contextual situations

Evaluation of traceability systems in fish supply chains: A case study of Tanzania

The European General Food Law, EC 178/2002 requires each stage in the supply chain to have access in its upstream and downstream trading partners. The regulation seeks to ensure that at each stage of food production, processing and movement through the supply chain steps are taken to maintain safety of the products intended for human consumption, at its highest quality. While the literature recognises the importance of food processing companies to have efficient traceability systems, there has been shortage of actual involvement of researchers in assessing the actual execution and performance of traceability systems in food processing companies, especially in developing countries. Using a qualitative approach, this study evaluates the performance of traceability systems in Tanzanian context using a case study of four fish processing companies. It explores how fish processing companies under given contextual situations (e.g. product complexity, production process complexity, supply chain complexity and organisation complexity) design and execute their traceability systems. The findings showed that despite high degree of complexity of contextual situations, all companies used paper based traceability system with minimum computer applications. Paper based traceability system is associated with several limitations, and may lead to poor performance given higher level of complexities of contextual situations

Comprehensive analysis and differentiated assessment of food safety control systems: a diagnostic instrument

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

Cerebral infarcts and vasculopathy in Tanzanian children with sickle cell anemia

Background: Cerebral infarcts and vasculopathy in neurologically asymptomatic children with sickle cell anemia (SCA) have received little attention in African settings. This study aimed to establish the prevalence of silent cerebral infarcts (SCI) and vasculopathy and determine associations with exposure to chronic hemolysis, anemia, and hypoxia.Methods: We prospectively studied 224 children with SCA with transcranial Doppler (TCD), and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and magnetic resonance angiography (MRA). Regressions were undertaken with contemporaneous hemoglobin, reticulocyte count, mean prior hemoglobin, oxygen content, reticulocyte count, and indirect bilirubin.Results: Prevalence of SCI was 27% (61 of 224); cerebral blood flow velocity was abnormal (&gt;200 cm/s) in three and conditional (&gt;170&lt;200 cm/s) in one. Vasculopathy grades 2 (stenosis) and 3 (occlusion) occurred in 16 (7%) and two (1%), respectively; none had grade 4 (moyamoya). SCI was associated with vasculopathy on MRA (odds ratio 2.68; 95% confidence intervals [95% CI] 1.32 to 5.46; P = 0.007) and mean prior indirect bilirubin (odds ratio 1.02, 95% CI 1.00 to 1.03, P = 0.024; n = 83) but not age, sex, non-normal TCD, or contemporaneous hemoglobin. Vasculopathy was associated with mean prior values for hemoglobin (odds ratio 0.33, 95% CI 0.16 to 0.69, P = 0.003; n = 87), oxygen content (odds ratio 0.43, 95% CI 0.25 to 0.74, P = 0.003), reticulocytes (odds ratio 1.20, 95% CI 1.01-1.42, P = 0.041; n = 77), and indirect bilirubin (odds ratio 1.02, 95% CI 1.01 to 1.04, P = 0.009).Conclusions: SCI and vasculopathy on MRA are common in neurologically asymptomatic children with SCA living in Africa, even when TCD is normal. Children with vasculopathy on MRA are at increased risk of SCI. Longitudinal exposure to anemia, hypoxia, and hemolysis appear to be risk factors for vasculopathy.</p