Does waiving preventive food control inspections in Finland weaken the prerequisites for safe food handling in restaurants?

Finnish food control authorities waived pre-inspections of food premises in 2011, leaving food business operators to begin operating with no pre-operation food control. This study aims to investigate the effects of this food policy change on the preconditions for Good Hygienic Practices (GHPs) on food premises. Of the 916 food premises that were included in this study, 379 were pre-approved whereas 537 merely notified their operations. The results show that notified food service premises (restaurants) preparing food displayed significantly more non-compliance pertaining to infrastructure than did restaurants pre-approved for food preparation (11.5% and 1.8% of the premises, respectively) (p < 0.05). Significant differences also emerged in the number of premises with non-compliance pertaining to cleaning facilities and equipment, and marked differences in the adequacy of hand and other washing sites. Such instances of non-compliance weaken the preconditions for GHPs. The results suggest that reintroducing pre-inspections of restaurants would strengthen the preconditions for GHPs and possibly provide a model for other countries with similar food control systems.Peer reviewe

Developing official control in slaughterhouses through internal audits

In the European Union, competent authorities are obligated to arrange audits to ensure that the official control (comprising meat and food safety inspections) in slaughterhouses is performed according to legislation. Previous information on the functionality of these audits and on non-conformities observed in the official control of slaughterhouses is limited. In this study, non-conformities of the official control of slaughterhouses and their correction were analysed from the internal audit reports of the Finnish Food Safety Authority Evira. To further assess the benefits and needs for improvement of the audits, we conducted interviews with the chief official veterinarians (OVs) responsible for the controls in slaughterhouses and the auditors of Evira. According to our results, non-conformities, especially in the inspection of intestines of bovines and swine, were common. Regarding food safety inspections, OVs should develop their documentation, perform the follow-up of the correction of non-compliances more systematically, and improve the enforcement, especially in smaller red meat slaughterhouses. Based on our results, internal audits appeared to be beneficial, as non-conformities in the official control were noticed, most non-conformities were corrected or corrective measures had been taken, and the audits were assessed as necessary by both the auditors and auditees. Our results can be utilized in improving the official control and audit procedures in slaughterhouses. In the future, the uniformity of meat inspection could be improved by auditing also differences in the rejections and their reasons between official auxiliaries in post-mortem inspection.Peer reviewe

Consumer perceptions raised by the food safety inspection report: Does the smiley communicate a food safety risk?

The publication of inspection grades at food establishments has been introduced as a way to inform consumers about restaurants' food safety levels. This two-part study explored consumers' perceptions and behavioural intentions raised by the Finnish food safety inspection report Oiva. The first part of the study explored university students' (n = 98) spontaneous perceptions raised by the inspection grade, communicated with a smiley face. Perceptions related to food safety risk and one's own behaviour were most frequent. In the second part, these perceptions were used in testing the full food safety inspection report on a nationally representative sample of the 18–65 years old Finnish population (n = 1513) with a survey-experiment approach. Binary logistic and linear regressions revealed that lower inspection grades were directly associated with increased perceived food safety risk and a behavioural intention not to eat at the restaurant when the effect of perceived food safety risk was taken into account. Information about the risk type moderated the effect of lower inspection grades on perceived risk and behavioural intention. These results underline the importance of providing additional information to consumers about the type of food safety risk.Peer reviewe

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Food business operators' opinions on disclosed food safety inspections and occurrence of disagreements with inspector grading

Disclosure systems for official food safety inspection results have been introduced in many countries including Finland in order to increase compliance of food business operators (FBOs). Although the disclosure systems are intended to affect FBOs, few studies have been published on FBOs' experiences of these systems. To investigate FBOs' opinions of disclosed food safety inspections in Finland, a questionnaire was distributed in 2016. The questionnaire study also aimed to recognize factors affecting compliance and disagreements about gradings with a special focus on FBOs' risk perception. In total 1277 responses from FBOs in retail (n = 523), service (n = 507) and industry (n = 247) sectors revealed that the majority of FBOs perceived the disclosure to promote correction of non-compliance. However, many FBOs disagreed with the grading of inspection findings. Most common topics of disagreements were maintenance of premises, record-keeping of own-check plan and adequacy and suitability of premises for operations. Logistic regression analysis showed that the likelihood of occurrence of disagreements with grading was higher among those retail and service FBOs with a lower risk perception. Similarly, the occurrence of non-compliance was associated with FBOs' risk perception in all sectors. Thus, FBOs need proper guidance on food safety risks. These results can be used to improve the efficacy of disclosed food safety inspections.Peer reviewe

Ultrasonic cleaning of conveyor belt materials using Listeria monocytogenes as a model organism.

Reprinted with permission from Journal of Food Protection. Copyright held by the International Association for Food Protection, Des Moines, U.S.A.Persistent Listeria monocytogenes contamination of food industry equipment is a difficult problem to solve. Ultrasonic cleaning offers new possibilities for cleaning conveyors and other equipment that are not easy to clean. Ultrasonic cleaning was tested on three conveyor belt materials: polypropylene, acetal, and stainless steel (cold-rolled, AISI 304). Cleaning efficiency was tested at two temperatures (30 and 45 degrees C) and two cleaning times (30 and 60 s) with two cleaning detergents (KOH, and NaOH combined with KOH). Conveyor belt materials were soiled with milk-based soil and L. monocytogenes strains V1, V3, and B9, and then incubated for 72 h to attach bacteria to surfaces. Ultrasonic cleaning treatments reduced L. monocytogenes counts on stainless steel 4.61 to 5.90 log units; on acetal, 3.37 to 5.55 log units; and on polypropylene, 2.31 to 4.40 log units. The logarithmic reduction differences were statistically analyzed by analysis of variance using Statistical Package for the Social Sciences software. The logarithmic reduction was significantly greater in stainless steel than in plastic materials (P<0.001 for polypropylene, P=0.023 for acetal). Higher temperatures enhanced the cleaning efficiency in tested materials. No significant difference occurred between cleaning times. The logarithmic reduction was significantly higher (P=0.013) in cleaning treatments with potassium hydroxide detergent. In this study, ultrasonic cleaning was efficient for cleaning conveyor belt materials

Factors associated with Listeria monocytogenes contamination of cold-smoked pork products produced in Latvia and Lithuania.

A total of 312 samples of sliced, vacuum packaged, cold-smoked pork from 15 meat processing plants in Latvia and Lithuania, obtained over a 15-month period from 2003 until 2004, were analyzed for the presence of Listeria monocytogenes at the end of their shelf-life. Overall, 120 samples (38%) tested positive for L. monocytogenes. Despite the long storing period, the levels of L. monocytogenes in cold-smoked pork products were low. Manufacturing processes were studied at seven meat processing plants. A new approach with a logistic multivariable regression model was applied to identify the main factors associated with L. monocytogenes contamination during the manufacturing of cold-smoked pork products. Brining by injection was a significant factor (odds ratio 10.66; P=12 h) had a significant predictive value (odds ratio 24.38; P<0.014) for a sample to test positive for L. monocytogenes. Pulsed-field gel electrophoresis results indicated that various sources of L. monocytogenes contamination existed over periods of time in several meat processing plants. In two meat processing plants, persistent L. monocytogenes strains belonging to serotypes 1/2a and 1/2c were found

Effects of grade, smiley, and text on Danish and Finnish consumers’ perceptions of food safety inspection reports

Publicly accessible food safety inspection reports are a standard procedure to inform consumers on restaurants' food safety levels in many countries. This study examined how different formats of food safety inspection report are associated with consumer perceptions related to food safety, as well as other perceptions about the restaurant. The study was conducted in Denmark and Finland with similar inspection grade systems but differences in the distribution of awarded grades. We conducted a population-based survey experiment with a between-subjects design on nationally representative samples of the 18-70 years old Danish (n = 978) and Finnish (n = 907) populations. Respondents received one of six food safety inspection reports with different combinations of inspection grade with a smiley and/or text. According to the results, both Danish and Finnish consumers' food safety perceptions of the same grade were more positive when the report included a smiley, and more negative when the report included a text. Finnish respondents perceived a good food safety inspection grade more positively than Danish respondents but there were no country differences when the grade was poor. In addition, food safety inspection results elicited perceptions that were not related to food safety in both countries. The results suggest that if the grade is poor, the inclusion of text is effective in eliciting perceptions of increased food safety risk. If the grade is good, a standalone smiley may be most effective in eliciting positive perceptions of a high food safety level. Moreover, these results indicate the importance of carefully evaluating how to develop public accessible inspection grades to ensure they are correctly interpreted by consumers in different countries.Peer reviewe