The advantages and added value of applying method triangulation to gain a more comprehensive evaluation of the prevailing food safety culture in catering establishments is illustrated by means of a ...case study. Three methods are applied assessing the food safety culture in food service operations of a Flemish University spread over different locations in the city of Ghent, but centrally managed. Each method sheds light on one of the aspects of ‘food safety culture’ as defined in the food safety culture conceptual model, in which food safety culture is considered as the interplay between a techno-managerial route/aspect and a human route/aspect. Two system and product related methods, being internal audits and verification of monitoring data of Critical Control Points (CCPs) as part of the HACCP system, both assessing the performance of the food safety management system and as such belonging to the techno-managerial route, are compared with a people related method using the food safety climate self-assessment tool, which is belonging to the human route. By triangulation of these three methods different aspects of the food safety culture at the different locations could be investigated, illustrating how single-method derived results could lead to wrong conclusions. Moreover, by combining the assessment methods case by case, locations in which the hazard of optimistic bias and complacency might exist, can be identified. As such, more tailored and location specific strategies for improvement of food safety management and/or food safety culture can be put in place.
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•Method triangulation was performed to assess different aspects of food safety culture.•A case study was performed in food service operations of a Flemish University.•Internal audits and verification of monitoring data reveal techno-managerial aspects.•Employees' perceptions of the food safety climate provide insights in human aspects.•Combining these methods led to a deeper understanding of a company's food safety culture.
Previous research demonstrated the influence of food safety climate on the food safety output of food companies on an organizational (company) level. At the individual level, the relation between ...food safety climate and employees' food safety behavior still has to be unraveled. Therefore, the conceptual food safety culture model of De Boeck, Jacxsens, Bollaerts, and Vlerick (2015) was expanded by introducing food safety behavior (composed of food safety compliance and participation, which represent obligated food safety related activities and the achievement of additional voluntary food safety related activities), knowledge, motivation, burnout and jobstress of the individual employees in the organization.
In the present study the relationship between food safety climate and food safety behavior was investigated. Food safety knowledge and motivation were proposed as mediators, explaining the relationship between climate and behavior. Additionally, jobstress and burnout were proposed as moderators, influencing the strength of this relationship. This conceptual model was tested through statistical analysis with data (n = 85) collected from two Belgian vegetable processing companies through self-assessment surveys.
A positive relationship between food safety climate and employees' behavior was found. Mediation analysis showed that knowledge is a partial mediator between food safety climate and compliance, participation and behavior, which means that knowledge cannot fully explain this relationship. Motivation is a partial mediator between food safety climate and compliance and behavior only. The moderation effect between jobstress and burnout was not confirmed. These results demonstrate the direct (without mediation) and indirect effect (through motivation and knowledge) of food safety climate on employees' behavior and illustrate the key role of employees' behavior and well-being for governing food safety in a company. This study suggests that human factors might impact the implementation and follow-up of a food safety management system and recommends a more human behavioral approach for the food safety management in food companies.
•An extended food safety culture conceptual model is proposed.•The relation between food safety climate and food safety behavior is investigated.•A positive relation between food safety climate and employees'behavior was found.•Food safety motivation and knowledge are partial mediators in the relationship.•No moderation effect of burnout and jobstress could be proven.
The food donation process in Belgium is mapped and analyzed to identify bottlenecks in compliance with the legal framework and implementation of food safety management, based on literature search and ...interviews with stakeholders (donors, acceptors, regulators and facilitators) in Belgium and at EU level. The study revealed that the food donation/acceptation chain is far less structured and organized than the conventional food supply chain. The fragmented landscape of many small food banks and charity organizations (acceptors), often directed by and working with volunteers without training in food safety and lack of knowledge of legal food hygiene requirements is a bottleneck to generate trust among food donors and restricts the provision of perishable products in food donations. Lack of refrigerated transport and insufficient cold/freezing capacity in food banks and charity organizations was identified as a barrier to distribute perishable products. Furthermore, in two cities in Flanders (Belgium), at some food donation centers, donated perishable food samples (n=72) were taken and subjected to microbiological analysis to determine their overall food quality, hygiene and food safety status. Twenty-two of 72 analyzed samples showed marginal microbiological quality based on numbers of yeast, lactic acid bacteria or total viable count. In three samples Listeria monocytogenes was detected per 25g among which one ready-to-eat cooked meat product which showed increased numbers of L. monocytogenes (3.5logCFU/g) and Enterobacteriaceae (6.7logCFU/g). Overall, in Belgium, most of the donated foods considers nonperishable foods, with more or less half of the food collected by the food banks being purchased with funds from FEAD (Fund for European Aid to the Most Deprived) and thus not derived from food losses. Efforts are being made by facilitators to provide a platform for better coordination of donors and acceptors to make more efficient use of food losses. Regulators at the national level are taking action to clarify and provide some flexibility in food hygiene regulation and initiatives on EU level to facilitate food donation in the combat of food losses are pending. As from the side of the acceptors, it is recommended to professionalize the acceptation chain in Belgium and seek for a more harmonized approach and concerted action.
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•Food donation in Belgium is mapped, also the European framework is investigated.•Bottlenecks in legal framework and food safety management are identified.•The Belgian donation process is very fragmented and lacks coordination/harmonization.•72 donated perishable food samples were subjected to microbiological analysis.•Our study reveals the need for a more harmonized approach and concerted action.
Human behavior and decision-making of employees can be influenced by the food safety climate prevailing in an organization. Four farm based and four affiliated centrally managed butcheries were ...screened on their food safety climate and level of implemented food safety management system, by application of self-assessment questionnaires. Besides, by product and environmental microbiological sampling, objective data on hygiene status were collected. The food safety climate was scored significantly higher in the centrally managed butcher shops compared to the independent small scale farm butcheries, mainly for the components ‘leadership’ and ‘communication’ while ‘risk awareness’ and ‘commitment’ were equally evaluated. Food safety climate’ component ‘resources’ was perceived higher in the affiliated butchers shops, but not statistical significant. The study demonstrated that affiliated butcher shops are able to achieve a better microbiological hygiene and safety status, because both a well-elaborated food safety management system and a favorable food safety climate is present in the affiliates. While in the investigated farm butcheries, the overall lower hygiene and safety status is likely to be related to their lower food safety climate score in combination with a more basic food safety management system. This semi-quantitative case study revealed that employees' perception of a favorable food safety climate in combination with a fit-for-purpose food safety management system is likely to result in a good and stable microbiological output in food companies.
•The food safety climate assessment tool was used in a case study in the meat distribution sector.•Food safety climate was scored higher by affiliated butcher shops than by farm butcheries.•Leadership and communication concerning hygiene and food safety is perceived to be better in affiliated butcher shops.•Microbiological hygiene and safety was overall better in affiliated butcher shops.•A good food safety climate is not sufficient to counteract a basic food safety management system.
In January 2011, a workshop was organized by the EU FP7 Veg-i-Trade project to capture opinions of stakeholders on food safety issues in the global fresh produce supply chain. Food safety experts ...from various stakeholder types in the farm-to-fork chain were represented: farmer related organizations (n = 6), fresh produce processing and trading companies (n = 17), retail (n = 3), consumer organizations (n = 2), competent authorities (n = 7) and lastly research institutes and universities (n = 19). The experts who originated mainly from European countries (92.6%) were grouped in nine discussion groups per type of stakeholder and asked to rank food safety issues via a scoring approach according to perceived importance from their stakeholder type point of view. Also information sources for opinion making, appropriate food safety control measures and perceived contextual factors increasingly challenging governance of food safety in fresh produce were ranked according to perceived importance. Although some differences were noted between opinions of the different stakeholders, there was in general an agreement on the main priorities in food safety of fresh produce. Bacterial pathogens were overall considered to be the most important food safety issue for fresh produce, followed by foodborne viruses, pesticide residues and mycotoxins. Alert systems such as the European Commission's Rapid Alert System for Food and Feed (RASFF) were considered as the most important source of information of food safety issues, followed by reports of international organizations (e.g. WHO, EFSA), legislative documents (e.g. EU legislation), national reports (e.g. on monitoring hazards, foodborne outbreaks) and exchange of information between people (informal contacts). Concerning the control measures, the application of good agricultural practices (GAP) was identified to be the most important control measure to assure the safety of fresh produce, followed by the application of good hygienic practices (GHP) and the certification of food safety management systems (FSMS). Increasing international trade and globalization were overall expected to have a large impact on food safety in fresh produce. Other contextual factors perceived to be important were the food safety policies by governments and the (lack of) food safety knowledge by consumers and other stakeholders of the fresh produce supply chain. Although the various stakeholder groups may conceive issues differently from their proper position in the fresh produce supply chain, no deep disagreements emerged. This type of workshop enhances interaction and risk communication between stakeholders and contributes to a better understanding of each other's concerns, constraints and interests to deal with the food safety of the increasingly complex and globalized fresh produce supply chain.
► Workshop with experts on food safety in the fresh produce supply chain. ► Bacterial pathogens, viruses and pesticide residues most important concerns. ► Good agricultural practices and good hygienic practices most important measures. ► Increasing international trade most important contextual factor. ► Importance of risk communication between stakeholders highlighted.
A quantitative human norovirus (NoV) exposure model describing transmission of NoV during pre-harvest, harvest and further processing of soft red fruits exemplified by raspberries is presented. The ...outcomes of the model demonstrate the presence of NoV in raspberry puree or individual quick frozen (IQF) raspberry fruits and were generated by Monte Carlo simulations by combining GoldSim® and @Risk® software. Input data were collected from scientific literature, observational studies and assumptions. NoV contamination of soft red fruits is assumed to take place at farms by application of contaminated water for pesticides dilution or by berries' pickers shedding NoV. The model was built simulating that a collection center received berries from ten farms with a total of 245 food handlers picking soft red fruits during a 10-hour day shift. Given 0, 5 and 20 out of 245 berries' pickers were shedding NoV, these conditions were calculated to result in a mean NoV contamination of respectively 0.47, 14.1 and 36.2 NoV particles per kg raspberries in case all raspberries are mixed to one day-batch of 11tons. The NoV contamination of the fruits was mainly driven by the route of NoV shedding food pickers (95.8%) rather than by spraying contaminated pesticide water (4.2%) (baseline scenario with 5 shedding pickers and contaminated pesticide water). Inclusion of appropriate hand washing procedures or hand washing followed by hand disinfection resulted in estimated reductions of the mean NoV levels from 14.1 to 0.16 and 0.17 NoV particles per kg raspberries, respectively, for the baseline scenario with 5 out of 245 food pickers shedding NoV. The use of a mild heat treatment (30s at 75°C) during further processing of berries to purees was noted to reduce mean NoV levels substantially from 14.1 to 0.2 NoV particles per kg raspberry puree. For IQF raspberries, the NoV contamination is heterogeneously distributed and resulted in a mean contamination of 3.1 NoV particles per 250g package containing approximately 115 berries. This farm-to-fork model is a useful tool for evaluating NoV mitigation strategies in the soft red fruit supply chain.
•Quantitative human NoV exposure model in soft red fruit supply chain developed.•NoV contamination driven by NoV shedding food pickers rather than by contaminated pesticide water.•Evaluation of NoV mitigation strategies in the soft red fruit supply chain are presented.
Recurrently the question arises if efforts in food safety management system (FSMS) have resulted in effective systems in animal-based food production systems. The aim of this study was to gain an ...insight in the performance of FSMS in European animal-based food production companies in view of their typical context characteristics. Hundred European companies (from Belgium, Spain, The Netherlands, Greece, Italy, and Hungary) varying in company size, and producing different types of fresh and processed animal-derived products (dairy, beef/lamb, poultry, and pork) were assed using a diagnostic instrument. Results indicated that most participating companies adapted adequately their food safety management systems to the riskiness of their context characteristics resulting in rather good safety output scores. Only a small group have overall basic systems and operate in a moderate or moderate-high risk context, which was reflected in lower safety output scores. Companies tend to invest first in the control strategies whereas assurance activities such as verification and validation seem to require more time and effort to achieve advanced levels. Our study demonstrated that also small and medium enterprises managed to have advanced systems, and achieve a good safety output. However, their typical organisational characteristics such as less resources (educated staff, laboratory facilities, time), more restricted formalisation (restricted use of procedures and formal meetings), limited information systems, but more stable workforce, might require more tailored support from government and/or branch organisations to develop towards advanced systems in the case of high-risk products and processes. More in-depth studies to successful SMEs could give insight in best practices to improve FSMS performance.
Considering the growing demand for egg donation (ED) and the scarcity of women coming forward as donors to meet this demand, scholars have expressed concerns that clinics may (initially) misrepresent ...risks to recruit more donors. Additionally, (non-)monetary incentives might be used to try to influence potential donors, which may pressure these women or cause them to dismiss their concerns. Since the internet is often the first source of information and first impressions influence individuals' choices, we examined the websites of fertility clinics to explore how they present medical risks, incentives and emotional appeals. Content Analysis and Frame Analysis were used to analyze a sample of Belgian, Spanish and UK clinic websites. The data show that the websites mainly focus on extreme and dangerous risks and side effects (e.g. severe OHSS) even though it is highly relevant for donors to be informed about less severe but more frequently occurring risks and side effects (e.g. bloating), since those influence donors' daily functioning. The altruistic narrative of ED in Europe was dominant in the data, although some (hidden) financial incentives were found on Spanish and UK websites. Nonetheless, all information about financial incentives still were presented subtly or in combination with altruistic incentives.Considering the growing demand for egg donation (ED) and the scarcity of women coming forward as donors to meet this demand, scholars have expressed concerns that clinics may (initially) misrepresent risks to recruit more donors. Additionally, (non-)monetary incentives might be used to try to influence potential donors, which may pressure these women or cause them to dismiss their concerns. Since the internet is often the first source of information and first impressions influence individuals' choices, we examined the websites of fertility clinics to explore how they present medical risks, incentives and emotional appeals. Content Analysis and Frame Analysis were used to analyze a sample of Belgian, Spanish and UK clinic websites. The data show that the websites mainly focus on extreme and dangerous risks and side effects (e.g. severe OHSS) even though it is highly relevant for donors to be informed about less severe but more frequently occurring risks and side effects (e.g. bloating), since those influence donors' daily functioning. The altruistic narrative of ED in Europe was dominant in the data, although some (hidden) financial incentives were found on Spanish and UK websites. Nonetheless, all information about financial incentives still were presented subtly or in combination with altruistic incentives.
The unique aspects of a hospital environment, such as the multitude of dietary needs and thus the variety of meals to be served and incoming (raw) materials to be used, challenge the development and ...application of appropriate control and assurance measures to guarantee food safety. Besides, Listeria monocytogenes is considered a risk for most food service operations producing and serving ready-to-eat foods. Therefore the food safety management system of a hospital food service operation has been evaluated toward L. monocytogenes with an extensive questionnaire in the preset of this case study. In addition, 49 samples of food products and 145 environmental samples were taken and analyzed for L. monocytogenes to verify the implemented control measures. From this case study, it becomes clear that incoming (raw) materials, produced final products and their immediate supply to patients/consumers are high risk situations. This was demonstrated by the presence of L. monocytogenes in six incoming (raw) materials (n = 19) and one final product (n = 9). These risky situations are in need to be mitigated by the implementation of proper control measures, e.g. intensified supplier control, low storage temperatures, cleaning and disinfection to control cross-contamination. However major improvements can be made on the hygienic design of equipment and facilities and on the level of the sampling design. In terms of assurance activities, such as setting up a sampling plan, only a basic level was obtained for the validation and verification of their food safety management system. This case study illustrates that the combination of data from the questionnaire together with data of the sampling result in an overview on the performance of the current food safety management system and that major non-compliances and possibilities for improvement in the system can be defined.
•Questionnaire gives insight on functionality of control and assurance activities.•Sampling plan sets priorities in selecting food products for analysis.•Presence of Listeria monocytogenes in raw materials needs follow-up actions.•Current verification activities need to be improved.
Processed ready-to-eat (RTE) foods with a prolonged shelf-life under refrigeration are at risk products for listeriosis. This manuscript provides an overview of prevalence data (
n
=
1974) and ...challenge tests (
n
=
299) related to
Listeria monocytogenes for three categories of RTE food i) mayonnaise-based deli-salads (1187 presence/absence tests and 182 challenge tests), ii) cooked meat products (639 presence/absence tests and 92 challenge tests), and iii) smoked fish (90 presence/absence tests and 25 challenge tests), based on data records obtained from various food business operators in Belgium in the frame of the validation and verification of their HACCP plans over the period 2005–2007. Overall, the prevalence of
L. monocytogenes in these RTE foods in the present study was lower compared to former studies in Belgium. For mayonnaise-based deli-salads, in 80 out of 1187 samples (6.7%) the pathogen was detected in 25 g.
L. monocytogenes positive samples were often associated with smoked fish deli-salads. Cooked meat products showed a 1.1% (
n
=
639) prevalence of the pathogen. For both food categories, numbers per gram never exceeded 100 CFU.
L. monocytogenes was detected in 27.8% (25/90) smoked fish samples, while 4/25 positive samples failed to comply to the 100 CFU/g limit set out in EU Regulation 2073/2005. Challenge testing showed growth potential in 18/182 (9.9%) deli-salads and 61/92 (66%) cooked meat products. Nevertheless, both for deli-salads and cooked meat products, appropriate product formulation and storage conditions based upon hurdle technology could guarantee no growth of
L. monocytogenes throughout the shelf-life as specified by the food business operator. Challenge testing of smoked fish showed growth of
L. monocytogenes in 12/25 samples stored for 3–4 weeks at 4 °C. Of 45 (non-inoculated) smoked fish samples (13 of which were initially positive in 25 g) which were subjected to shelf-life testing, numbers exceeded 100 CFU/g in only one sample after storage until the end of shelf-life. Predictive models, dedicated to and validated for a particular food category, taking into account the inhibitory effect of various factors in hurdle technology, provided predictions of growth potential of
L. monocytogenes corresponding to observed growth in challenge testing. Based on the combined prevalence data and growth potential, mayonnaise-based deli-salads and cooked meat products can be classified as intermediate risk foods, smoked fish as a high risk food.
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