An intercontinental analysis of food safety culture in view of food safety governance and national values

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.</p

Contribution of edible insects to improved food and nutrition security:a review

The consumption of insects “entomophagy” or insect-based foods is increasingly being recognised as an emerging solution to promote diet diversification and address the multiple burden of malnutrition. Although several studies suggest edible insects as valuable nutrient sources, few have evaluated the effects of processing on nutrient bioavailability and bioaccessibility and provided actual evidence on human nutrition. Moreover, there is limited evidence of their actual contribution to improved food and nutrition security. Therefore, the review evaluated existing evidence on human interventions and the effects of processing methods on bioavailability and bioaccessibility of key nutrients since these directly influence food and nutrition security outcomes. Seven human efficacy studies have been conducted to date and these show limited observable effects on nutrition status therefore more research is required. Findings also suggest that the processing method, insect matrix, composition of the food matrix and interaction with other food components can influence nutrient bioavailability and bioaccessibility. Hence, these should be considered during formulation and upscaling for entomophagy and insect-based foods to be viable intervention strategies against malnutrition.</p

An intercontinental analysis of food safety culture in view of food safety governance and national values

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 pre- vailing 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

Prevailing food safety culture in companies operating in a transition economy - Does product riskiness matter?

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

Food safety culture assessment using a comprehensive mixed-methods approach : A comparative study in dairy processing organisations in an emerging economy

Food safety challenges are a global concern especially in emerging economies, which are in the midst of developmental changes. The challenges are directly or indirectly related to the behaviour and decision-making of personnel, and to an organisation's food safety culture. This study evaluated the prevailing food safety culture in three Zimbabwean dairy companies of different size (multinational, large and medium) using a comprehensive mixed-methods approach. Four key elements were assessed, namely enabling conditions, employee characteristics, actual behaviour and microbial safety performance. Card-aided interviews provided data on enabling conditions, and questionnaires and storytelling on employee characteristics. Observations and microbial analysis assessed actual behaviour and microbial safety performance, respectively. The multinational company demonstrated a more proactive food safety culture compared to the other companies, which operated at an active level as exhibited by multiple inconsistencies in the enabling conditions and compliance behaviour. The large company had a moderate microbial safety performance even though it operated in a potentially risky situation, which could have been mitigated by the food safety management system. The medium-sized company had a poor microbial safety performance likely related to noncompliance with sanitation requirements, negative attitudes towards personal hygiene and an ambivalent attitude towards sanitation. Our study demonstrated the ability of the mixed-methods approach to assess and distinguish an organisation's prevailing food safety culture into identified classification levels (reactive, active, proactive). Specifically, storytelling elicited respondents to share stories, which reflected the food safety and hygiene control attitudes

Determinants for conducting food safety culture research

Background Foodborne outbreaks continue to occur regardless of existing food safety measures indicating the shortcomings of these measures to assure food safety. This has led to the recognition of food safety culture as a key contributory factor to the food safety performance of food establishments. Scope and approach The aim of this paper is to identify determinants for conducting food safety culture research, using the systems approach as the underlying philosophy to guide the structured reconsideration of national, organisational and safety culture literature, in view of food safety. Key findings and conclusions Food safety culture is complex and many interlinking factors are at play. The analysis of ‘culture’ literature showed that food safety culture research should acknowledge the impact of national culture, specify hierarchical level(s) (strategic, tactical, and operational), establish underlying mechanisms, and consider the company's food risks and context characteristics. Major elements to be considered in food safety culture research include organisational and administrative characteristics (i.e. food safety vision, communication, commitment, leadership, training), technical facilities/resources (i.e. food hygiene/safety tools, equipment, & facilities), employee characteristics (i.e. attitudes, knowledge, perceptions and risk awareness), group characteristics, crucial FSMS characteristics, and actual food safety performance. Methodological requirements for food safety culture research include use of the systems approach, measurable indicators, classification systems for differentiated assessment, and use of multiple methods to enhance research validity. The identified food safety culture research determinants provide an underpinned and transparent starting point to the common understanding and research of food safety culture

The exotropia food safety cultural conundrum: A case study of a UK fish high-risk processing company

Food safety continues to be a challenge worldwide despite scientific advances, continuous improvement in food safety management systems and increasing academic debate on food safety. This paper aims to validate a new model of food safety cultural compliance to identify the challenges that organisations face in their pursuit of a positive food safety culture. A mixed-method approach was adopted via the quantitative analysis of a stage one ‘Enlighten Questionnaire’ involving 202 respondents using parametric statistics (ANOVA with appropriate Post-Hoc tests and t-tests). Hochberg's GT2 was used for the Post-Hoc tests due to different group sizes and appropriate non-parametric tests were also run to confirm these results. Qualitative analysis of stage two semi-structured interviews totalling 40 participants and stage three focus groups each consisting of 3 groups of 9 employees equating to 27 participants was utilised. Thematic analysis was adopted to synthesise and cluster key themes. Our findings identify the misalignment of management and employees in the pursuit of establishing and embedding a positive food safety culture. Four key themes of the Enlighten Food Safety Culture Model (EFSCM) namely; Control, Co-operation, Communication and Competence were core cultural factors that could be used to realign management and employee behaviours to help stimulate a positive food safety culture