From trust to trustworthiness: why information is not enough in the food sector

ABSTRACT. The many well-publicized food scandals in recent years have resulted in a general state of vulnerable trust. As a result, building consumer trust has become an important goal in agri-food policy. In their efforts to protect trust in the agricultural and food sector, governments and industries have tended to consider the problem of trust as merely a matter of informing consumers on risks. In this article, we argue that the food sector better addresses the problem of trust from the perspective of the trustworthiness of the food sector itself. This broad idea for changing the focus of trust is the assumption that if you want to be trusted, you should be trustworthy. To provide a clear understanding of what being trustworthy means within the food sector, we elaborate on both the concept of trust and of responsibility. In this way we show that policy focused on enhancing transparency and providing information to consumers is crucial, but not sufficient for dealing with the problem of consumer trust in the current agri-food context

Persistent left superior vena cava: a case report and review of literature

Persistent left superior vena cava is rare but important congenital vascular anomaly. It results when the left superior cardinal vein caudal to the innominate vein fails to regress. It is most commonly observed in isolation but can be associated with other cardiovascular abnormalities including atrial septal defect, bicuspid aortic valve, coarctation of aorta, coronary sinus ostial atresia, and cor triatriatum. The presence of PLSVC can render access to the right side of heart challenging via the left subclavian approach, which is a common site of access utilized when placing pacemakers and Swan-Ganz catheters. Incidental notation of a dilated coronary sinus on echocardiography should raise the suspicion of PLSVC. The diagnosis should be confirmed by saline contrast echocardiography

The aortic root in repaired tetralogy of Fallot:Serial measurements and impact of losartan treatment

Background: Aortic root dilatation is common in adults with repaired tetralogy of Fallot (rTOF) and might lead to aortic dissection. However, little is known on progression of aortic dilatation and the effect of pharmaceutical treatment. This study aims to determine factors associated with aortic growth and investigate effects of losartan. Methods and results: We performed a prespecified analysis from the 1:1 randomized, double-blind REDEFINE trial. Aortic root diameters were measured at baseline and after 2.0 ± 0.3 years of follow-up using cardiovascular magnetic resonance (CMR) imaging. A total of 66 patients were included (68% men, age 40 ± 12 years, baseline aortic root 37 ± 6 mm, 32% aortic dilatation (>40 mm)). There was a trend towards slow aortic root growth (+0.6 ± 2.3 mm after two years, p = 0.06) (n = 60). LV stroke volume was the only factor associated with both a larger baseline aortic root (β: 0.09 mm/ml (95% C.I.:0.02, 0.15), p = 0.010) and with aortic growth during follow-up (β: 0.04 mm/ml (95% C.I.:0.005, 0.066), p = 0.024), after correction for age, sex, and body surface area using linear regression analysis. No treatment effect of losartan was found (p = 0.17). Conclusions: Aortic root dilatation was present in about one-third of rTOF patients. A larger LV stroke volume was associated with both a larger baseline aortic root and ongoing growth. Our findings provide no arguments for lower aortic diameter thresholds for prophylactic surgery compared to the general population

Experiences and recommendations of veterinarians for the Dutch disciplinary system-a survey-based study

INTRODUCTION: In the Netherlands, the veterinary disciplinary system is governmentally executed and was originally designed to provide an educational effect on veterinarians as part of maintaining quality standards. METHODS: Over 900 veterinarians were questioned (20% of the total number of veterinarians working in veterinary medicine in the Netherlands). It was ascertained whether or not they were aware of the disciplinary system, if it affected their way of working and what impact it had on their way of working after having faced a disciplinary case. Respondents were given the opportunity to express their opinions about the system and possible improvements. RESULTS: The risk of complaints was found to be significantly greater when a veterinarian owned a practice compared to veterinarians who were employees. Veterinarians with their own practice were generally older (male) veterinarians. Whether this was a direct effect or just the effect of having a longer career could not be answered. Multiple disciplinary procedures appeared to have no influence. In 13%, veterinarians indicated that the disciplinary system had led to a more defensive way of practicing medicine to avoid complaints. DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS: Most veterinarians supported a disciplinary system as a tool for maintaining and improving the integrity and reputation of the profession as a whole. Recommendations to improve were (1) shortening the length of the procedure, (2) screening for validity, (3) using online systems for communication with the disciplinary council, (4) the option of mediation before getting involved in a full procedure and (5) instituting a complaint fee

15 years of facts and figures on veterinary disciplinary measures in the Netherlands

In most countries, a veterinary disciplinary system is in force to ensure the quality of the veterinary profession and to offer an objective platform for complaints. We present an analysis of 15 years of veterinary disciplinary verdicts (2001-2016) to compare facts and figures and identify which factors are of major influence on the outcome of the verdicts. Rulings were collected from both paper files and the digital database of the veterinary disciplinary council (VDC), categorized, and used to create a database that enabled a statistical analysis. The results showed that complaints pertaining to companion animals are filed predominantly by owners, whereas complaints about livestock are mostly filed by the governmental civil servant (CS). CS complaints mostly address compliance issues. For the complaints made by owners (client complaints, CCs), reporting, communication, and veterinary mistakes appeared to be of statistical significance. Further studies are needed to investigate the impact of the complaints on veterinarians in general and how we can improve the veterinary disciplinary system