Assessment of food integrity culture in food businesses through method triangulation

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Current food safety technological solutions and management systems need to be complemented with more-comprehensive food integrity tools and strategies to address, control and prevent food fraud throughout the global supply chain. In this paper, the novel construct of food integrity culture is introduced. Its definition is presented and its operationalization was investigated and tested through method triangulation in a Belgian large-scale meat distribution company. The three tools applied in the proposed method triangulation are: (1) the food integrity climate (FIC) self-assessment tool which acknowledges a company's food integrity climate through employees' perceptions (human dimension), (2) a key performance indicators interview which verified objectively the employees' perceptions through an on-site observation (operational dimension), and (3) a food fraud vulnerability diagnostic tool (SSAFE) which evaluates the company's opportunities and motivations to commit fraud in opposition to the organizational control measures to counteract it (technical and managerial dimension). Since food integrity culture encompasses technical, managerial and operational aspects of a food organization as well as human factors, the three tools applied in the method triangulation highlight different complementary aspects of food integrity culture, such as subjective versus objective and individual versus organizational perspectives. Results confirmed the hypothesis that in a company with a high perceived food integrity climate and high food integrity performance, an overall low food fraud vulnerability is found. To achieve a consolidated food integrity culture, food companies should include within their current food safety management systems regular assessments of their food integrity climate, food integrity performance as well as of potential food fraud vulnerabilities, and managing such human, operational, technical and managerial aspects as strategies of an integrated system.