Abstract
This study aims to develop and test a methodological approach to assess the system of food quality and safety in the COVID-19 pandemic. To achieve the study objectives, a multi-country research project was implemented with 425 enterprises from Russia, Azerbaijan, Ukraine, and Belarus. The application of the developed methodological approach resulted in comparable assessments of the various criteria of the food safety and quality assurance system in supply chains. This makes it possible to implement continuous monitoring of the state of the food safety and quality assurance system in the enterprises. In addition, the study identified critical weaknesses in the safety system, including a very low level of assessment by enterprises of the impact of WHO advisory protocols. This greatly increases the risks associated with food safety in the COVID-19 pandemic. Urgent action is required to increase the confidence of food supply chain actors in WHO recommendations and national food safety and quality protocols. The conducted assessments showed that a significant proportion of enterprises did not implement a food safety system. One out of five of the respondents claimed to have implemented safety systems at an enterprise in accordance with the standards recognized by the Global Food Safety Initiative. Only 2% declared the introduction of HACCP at an enterprise, which is logical given the high mistrust of WHO recommendations. The proposed approach can be used in the real sector of the economy to monitor the food safety and quality assurance system in the supply chain at the regional, sectoral and national levels.
Highlights
This study aims to develop and test a methodological approach to assess the system of food quality and safety in the COVID-19 pandemic
Aday [37], who who analyzed the effects of COVID-19 on the food supply chain, primarily food safety, analyzed the effects of COVID‐19 on the food supply chain, primarily food safety, this this study offers an analysis of the primary collected during stage of the study offers an analysis of the primary datadata collected during the the stage of the re‐
The result of this study is a methodological approach to assessing the food safety and quality assurance system, taking into account the main recommendations for the collection of primary information in the COVID-19 pandemic
Summary
This study aims to develop and test a methodological approach to assess the system of food quality and safety in the COVID-19 pandemic. The application of the developed methodological approach resulted in comparable assessments of the various criteria of the food safety and quality assurance system in supply chains. This makes it possible to implement continuous monitoring of the state of the food safety and quality assurance system in the enterprises. The study identified critical weaknesses in the safety system, including a very low level of assessment by enterprises of the impact of WHO advisory protocols. This greatly increases the risks associated with food safety in the COVID-19 pandemic. Publisher’s Note: MDPI stays neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Disclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.