FOOD SAFETY IN THE SUPPLY CHAIN FOR FRESH FRUITS AND VEGETABLES. ANALYSIS OF EU IMPORTS THROUGH WHOLESALE TRADE.

Tesis doctoral en período de exposición públicaDoctorado en Ciencias Económicas, Empresariales y Jurídicas (RD99/11) (8906

Determinants of Food Safety Level in Fruit and Vegetable Wholesalers’ Supply Chain: Evidence from Spain and France

Food safety management in short supply chains of fruit and vegetables, controlled by large retailers, has been widely studied in the literature. However, when it comes to traditional long supply chains, which include a greater number of intermediaries and wholesalers who, in some cases, play a dual role as resellers and producers, the mechanisms which promote the use of safety certifications have yet to be clearly defined. The present study intended to fill this gap in the literature and shed light on the food safety level that exists in this channel. In addition, this work attempted to identify the existence of differences between both sales systems. For this purpose, the empirical research studied the most important variables that influence the food safety level of some of the main European fruit and vegetable wholesalers. A survey was thus designed and later applied to Spanish and French intermediaries working in key wholesale markets and in the southeast of Spain, which is the leading commercialization area of these products in Europe. The results revealed the positive influence of specific customers (big retailers) on establishing stricter safety controls within wholesale companies. It was also observed that specific wholesalers also play an important role in the system, namely those dedicated to importing, but which are also responsible for quality and safety inspection of agri-food products exported from third countries into the European Union

Un estudio unificado de la convergencia semilocal de métodos tipo Newton de dos puntos en espacios de Banach

En este trabajo consideramos procesos iterativos tipo Newton de dos puntos para aproximar una solución de una ecuación no lineal en espacios de Banach. A partir de una expresión general que caracteriza estos procesos iterativos, obtenemos resultados de convergencia semilocal, estableciendo una teoría unificada para el an´alisis de este tipo de procesos.Ministerio de Educación y Cienci

FACTORES DE ÉXITO O FRACASO EN LA IMPLEMENTACIÓN DE POLÍTICAS PÚBLICAS: EL CASO DEL PROGRAMA ESCUELAS AL CIEN EN NUEVO LEÓN, MÉXICO

This article analyzes the factors that conditioned the success or failure of the Escuelas al CIEN program in the state of Nuevo León, Mexico. This initiative, implemented in all states of the Mexican Republic, was designed after the publication of a national census that identified a series of deficiencies in terms of physical educational infrastructure at the national level. The article provides a model for analyzing factors of success and failure in the implementation of public policies. This model is applied in the case of the program’s implementation in Nueva León. Based on research study that combined documentary analysis of the regulations of Escuelas al CIEN with semi-structured interviews with the main actors in charge of the project in Nueva León, the article analyzes how factors such as communication and coordination among actors, the definition of objectives, and the allocation of resources affected the implementation of the program.Este artículo analiza los factores que condicionaron el éxito o fracaso del programa Escuelas al CIEN en el estado de Nuevo León, México. Esta iniciativa, implementada en todos los estados de la República Mexicana, fue diseñada tras la publicación de un censo nacional que identificó una serie de carencias en términos de infraestructura física educativa a nivel nacional. El artículo provee un modelo para analizar factores de éxito y fracaso en la implementación de políticas públicas. Este modelo es aplicado para el caso de la implementación del programa en Nueva León. A partir de un trabajo de investigación que combinó el análisis documental de las normativas de Escuelas al CIEN con entrevistas semiestructuradas a los principales actores a cargo del mismo en Nueva León, el artículo analiza cómo incidieron en la implementación del programa factores como la comunicación y coordinación entre actores, la definición de objetivos y la asignación de recursos

Production and marketing characteristics of pig production in the south of the State of Mexico

The paper examines the structure and the operation of pig production in the south of the state of Mexico, it explores the various stages that make up the commercialization process of the activity and the different actors involved, it means, all the process that is followed since the departure of the animal from the farm until its arrival as a final product for the consumer. It is also calculated the marketing margins resulting during the different stages of the process, which are used as indicators of profitability. The study was held in 2007 when a total of 17 producers of pork, two collectors, 28 retailers and 37 consumers of pig meat were polled. The objective of the survey was to gather information about the production process, actors, marketing costs and prices, and then determine the margins of marketing and characterization of pig production in the South of the state of Mexico. The results showed that at current prices, the producers participation in the final price, paid by the consumer, was 26,22 %, while the intermediaries participation was 73,78 %. The total marketing margin averaged 23,93 $/kg, from which retailers gained 23,52$/kg (98,28 %), while the remaining 0,40 $/kg was for the collectors. The traditional marketing process used in the region is: producer, collector, retailer and final consumer

Reproductive inequalities in the acanthocephalan Corynosoma cetaceum: looking beyond "crowding" effects

Background: At present, much research effort has been devoted to investigate overall (average) responses of parasite populations to specific factors, e.g., density-dependence in fecundity or mortality. However, studies on parasite populations usually pay little attention to individual variation (inequality) in reproductive success. A previous study on the acanthocephalan Corynosoma cetaceum in franciscana dolphins, Pontoporia blainvillei, revealed no overall intensity-dependent, or microhabitat effects, on mass and fecundity of worms. In this study, we investigated whether the same factors could influence mass inequalities for this species of acanthocephalan.Methods: A total of 10,138 specimens of C. cetaceum were collected from 10 franciscana dolphins accidentally caught in Buenos Aires Province between 1988-1990. To investigate mass inequalities, all the specimens were sexed, and females were classified according to their developmental stage and weighted. Additionally, the relationship between biomass and fecundity (estimated as the number of acanthors) was investigated for some females. Inequalities in fecundity and biomass were assessed using standard methods, i.e. the Lorenz curve and the Gini coefficient (G).Results: We found a modest, but highly significant linear relationship between mass and fecundity. The G was very low (0.314) compared with that from other helminth species. G values were significantly lower in gravid females, which presumably exhibit a slow rate of growth. Also, G values significantly increased with total intensity, but only for gravid females, and the effect was more predictable considering only the number of gravid females.Conclusions: Apparently, competition between reproducing females increases inequality without producing crowding effects. Although the mechanism whereby this occurs is unclear, gravid females, at higher intensities, expanded their distribution and occupied gut chambers with contrasting environmental conditions, which might result in greater variability in body size. The observed inequalities are not expected to strongly influence the population genetics of C. cetaceum, but they reveal subtle individual effects beyond an overall population impact.Fil: Aznar Avendaño, Francisco Javier. Universidad de Valencia; EspañaFil: Hernández Orts, Jesús Servando. Universidad Nacional del Comahue. Centro de Investigación Aplicada y Transferencia Tecnológica en Recursos Marinos "Almirante Storni". - Provincia de Río Negro. Ministerio de Agricultura, Ganadería y Pesca. Centro de Investigación Aplicada y Transferencia Tecnológica en Recursos Marinos "Almirante Storni". Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet Centro Nacional Patagónico. Centro de Investigación Aplicada y Transferencia Tecnológica en Recursos Marinos "Almirante Storni"; ArgentinaFil: Vélez Rubio, Gabriela Manuela. Universidad de Valencia; España. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; Argentina. Universidad de la República; UruguayFil: Fernández, Luis M.. Ceiba Foundation for Tropical Conservation; Estados UnidosFil: Muriel, Nadia T.. No especifíca;Fil: Raga, Juan Antonio. Universidad de Valencia; Españ

A proposal for an Internet of Things-based monitoring system composed by low capability, open source and open hardware devices

The Internet of Things makes use of a huge disparity of technologies at very different levels that help one to the other to accomplish goals that were previously regarded as unthinkable in terms of ubiquity or scalability. If the Internet of Things is expected to interconnect every day devices or appliances and enable communications between them, a broad range of new services, applications and products can be foreseen. For example, monitoring is a process where sensors have widespread use for measuring environmental parameters (temperature, light, chemical agents, etc.) but obtaining readings at the exact physical point they want to be obtained from, or about the exact wanted parameter can be a clumsy, time-consuming task that is not easily adaptable to new requirements. In order to tackle this challenge, a proposal on a system used to monitor any conceivable environment, which additionally is able to monitor the status of its own components and heal some of the most usual issues of a Wireless Sensor Network, is presented here in detail, covering all the layers that give it shape in terms of devices, communications or services