Food safety and network governance structure of the agri-food system

Food safety risk during the pandemic

Purpose Food quality and safety issues have always been imperative topics discussed by people. The anti-tampering of blockchain technology and the transparency of information make it possible to improve food traceability and safety quality. How to effectively apply blockchain traceability technology to food safety has great research significance for improving food safety and consumer quality trust. Design/methodology/approach The paper aims to analyze the differences in product quality levels and market participants’ profits before and after the use of blockchain-driven traceability technology in the food agricultural product supply chain (SC) in the dynamic game frameworks of supplier-led and retailer-led modes, respectively, and explores the willingness, social welfare and consumer surplus of each member of the agricultural product SC to participate in the blockchain. Besides, We investigate the SC performance improvement with the mechanism of central centralized decision-making and revenue-sharing contract, compared to the SC performance in dynamic games. Findings The results are obtained as follow: The adoption of blockchain traceability technology can help improve the quality of food agricultural products, consumer surplus and social welfare, but the application and popularization of technology is hindered by traceability technology installment costs. Compared with the supplier leadership model, retailer-led food quality level, customer surplus and social welfare are higher. Research limitations/implications How to effectively apply blockchain traceability technology to food safety has great research significance for improving food safety and consumer quality trust. Practical implications Food quality and safety issues have always been hot topics discussed by people. The anti-tampering of blockchain technology and the transparency of information make it possible to improve food traceability and safety quality. Social implications The research results enrich the theories related to food safety and quality, and provide a valuable reference for food enterprises involved in the decision-making exploration of blockchain technology. Originality/value Based on the characteristics of blockchain technology, the demand function is adjusted and the product loss risk of channel members is transferred through a Stackelberg game SC composed of agricultural products suppliers and retailers. Highlights: We introduce two features of blockchain: quality trust and product information tracking. The willingness of each member of the supply chain to use blockchain for product traceability was explored. The overall traceability effect of the retailer-led blockchain is better than that of the manufacturer-led blockchain. The cost of blockchain technology is a barrier to its adoption. Blockchain brings higher consumer surplus and social welfare.

The perceived impact of quality assurance systems on tomato supply chain performance

continuous improvement [4] .Our food system is also facing a multitude of shared challenges that need to be managed simultaneously:• increasing dependence on a global supply chain to source raw materials and partially processed food products, • growing pace and volumes of food trade

Editorial and News

This article considers the management approaches to designing and adopting a management system to ensure the health & safety of personnel and visitors to a food premises and comparing these to the processes used to develop an effective food safety management system. In some organisations the management systems for health & safety and food safety are distinct and managed separately, whereas in other organisations there is integration of practise and processes in an overarching management system that provides both shared learning and cross-competencies. The management of both health & safety and food safety can only be realised when there is appropriate strategic leadership, an enabling organisational culture and the daily behaviours at all levels of the organisation support a positive and collaborative environment. A failure to deliver this objective can lead to increased organisational risk across all functional areas.

<scp>IFST</scp> vision for a <scp>UK</scp>‐wide national food strategy

Intrinsic value of food chain data

This study examines the key factors affecting supply chains in Vietnam's food export-import market. Using a mixed-methods approach, including expert interviews, focus groups, and a survey of 400 managers from food export-import companies, the research identifies seven critical factors: food quality and safety, traceability, logistics and transportation management, relationships between supply chain members, enterprise factors, ability to meet market demands, and government policies. Quantitative analysis reveals that food quality and safety has the strongest impact, with a standardized regression coefficient of 0.327. The proposed model explains 56.6% of the variance in supply chain performance. Based on these findings, the study recommends strategies for businesses to enhance their supply chain efficiency, including investing in quality control, implementing traceability technologies, optimizing logistics, building sustainable partnerships, strengthening management capabilities, improving market responsiveness, and leveraging government support. The research contributes to both theoretical understanding and practical management of food export-import supply chains in Vietnam.

Food products placed on the market must be safe to eat and have adequate quality. Food safety and quality are governed by the laws that each country brings to its market. In addition, legislation that has been adopted at regional and world level has a very important role in the international trade in food products. Nowadays, it is not possible to imagine international food trade without the existence of standards for particular product categories. Standards related to food products are a kind of limit for consumers regarding the quality, safety and authenticity of the food they eat. Efforts to harmonize different standards in order to facilitate and uniform the process of food production and trade are of great importance in the world. Enterprises producing food products in Republic of Srpska face many challenges today. Customers are increasingly demanding food quality and safety requirements, which are often more stringent than official legal standards for certain product categories. There has been a concentration of food trade on large trading systems whose bargaining power has increased sharply relative to food producers. In recent years, there have been a number of certification schemes for the certification of food products, which has had a major impact on not only the business of the companies in this field, but also on the evolution of the food quality and safety management system. In most cases, certification scheme owners are retail systems, traders associations, large multinationals with the support of certification bodies and traders associations. With this approach, export barriers to food products from Republic of Srpska are increasing significantly, as it is no longer necessary to meet only the legal requirements in the country where the product is sold, but also specific private standards prescribed by customers. All these efforts, on the other hand, are aimed at preventing incidental situations related to the possible poisoning of consumers with food products and the consequences that such cases can cause. In addition, there is a growing concern in the world for consumer health, which may be disturbed by the deliberate contamination of food, most often the result of ideologically motivated terrorist activities. Today, consumers want to be sure of what they eat and in terms of the origin, quality and all other attributes attributed to certain types of food. Modern standards related to integrated approaches to food quality and safety management also require measures to be taken to prevent food fraud that are motivated by the economic gain of fraudsters. In the legislation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, or the Republika Srpska, the application of the concept of establishing food security in the entire food supply chain, "from field to table", begins with the practical adoption of the Food Law of Bosnia and Herzegovina. In the meantime, the Food Law of the Republika Srpska was adopted, defining the obligations of food and feed business operators, as well as a system of official controls on food and feed. It is quite clear that the transition from one concept of food legislation, applicable in the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (SFRY), to a modern proactive approach is still underway, and that the Republic of Srpska seeks to align its food legislation with the legislation that valid in the European Union (EU). Taking into account all the specific features of Bosnia and Herzegovina as a state and the competences defined by the Dayton Constitution at the entity level, the process of harmonization of legislation is more complex with EU legislation. In a number of cases, legislation is adopted at the state and entity levels for the same purpose, and sometimes the essential technical requirements in these regulations are different. This situation causes confusion, above all, for those who need to apply the requirements of the regulations in their business, which are the food business operators.

Cultural revolution

In a food supply chain, food quality and safety are of paramount importance as there is a drastic change in consumers’ food habits, behaviour and markets. Consumer expectations for food quality and safety during the current pandemic situation are the main driving forces behind this change. Food safety has become essential, and in order to have a safe food and to get a sustainable system of food in a food supply chain, emerging green technologies are of immense importance. In a food supply chain, having good-quality food is necessary, which is safe for consumption and free of contamination. Considering these objectives, acquiring the food safety and quality is of immense prominence and responsibility of all the stakeholders in food supply chain. Alongside this journey of food products from the field to fork, there are several risks linked to food contamination which may occur in the whole supply chain. With an aim of achieving the safety and quality in the food supply chain, stakeholders, besides following the legislations and standards have also to include the effective green technological approaches in the supply chain. Evidently, several green technological approaches have emerged which can be adapted with an intention of confirming the food quality and safety in the overall food supply chain. The aim of this chapter is to provide a concise description of the green technologies and to discuss them from the view point of food quality and safety.KeywordsFood supply chainFood qualityFood safetyGreen technological approaches

Commercial interest in supply chain management in agribusiness firms has increased due to greater urbanization and globalization. While product differentiation, improved quality, more cost-effective transport, and timely delivery have contributed to the development of supply chains from farm-gate to retail level, it is the consumer demand for variety, quality, and year-round availability that has provided the stimulus for the formation of these chains. Traditional agricultural and food businesses that focus only on price are unable to meet consumers’ expectations. Individually, chain members lack the means to respond to consumers’ demands. Understanding the concepts of supply chain management provides a means to manage the changes required in the system to efficiently respond to consumer needs, integrating and coordinating the efforts of all supply chain members. These changes include consolidating organizations at the farm, processor, and supermarket levels; organizing production to achieve economies of scale; and gaining market share and competitive strength to survive global competition. This paper highlights the importance of critical factors like mutual trust; leadership by one or two chain members; the use of information technology (IT) in input procurement, production planning, and market access; realignment of strategies to develop improved production methods to meet consumer preferences and food safety standards; and the intelligent use of market information to help small farmers to overcome production challenges and respond to the challenges of global markets.

Business-to-business (B2B) e-commerce is an innovative use of information and communication technologies and refers to the exchange of goods and related information between companies supported by Internet-based tools such as electronic marketplaces (also called electronic trade platforms) or online shops. It provides opportunities for cost-efficiency in supply chain management processes and access to new markets. With regard to the food sector with its chain levels input – agriculture – industry – retail – consumer, B2B e-commerce would take place in the exchange of food products between all levels except retail to consumer (business-to-consumer e-commerce). It is evident and widely known that B2B e-commerce brings key advantages and potentials for European consumers and the European food sector: The affordability of high quality, traceable food for European consumers is supported as the innovation potentials from e-commerce technologies for cost-efficient processes along the food chain. The healthy choice of quality food will become the easy and affordable choice for European consumers. The competitiveness of the European food sector with the majority of SMEs increases as B2B e-commerce technologies support cost-efficient transaction processes in food supply chains. In recent years, the availability of sophisticated B2B e-commerce technology has improved tremendously. The “European e-Business Market Watch” initiative from the Directorate-General Enterprise and Industry from the European Commission has shown that only large multinationals exploit the potentials of B2B e-commerce in the food sector for their supply chain management with their business partners. SMEs however, which create the majority of turn over in the European food sector and therefore create jobs and welfare in Europe, are reluctant to take up existing B2B e-commerce technologies into their food supply of selling. The crucial barrier to adoption is that trust between companies is not mediated appropriately by existing e-commerce technology. Currently, the barrier for food sector SMEs towards B2B e-commerce come from the difficulty to examine the quality and safety of food products. This refers to all kinds of transactions in the food sector, whether supported by e-commerce or not. However, when it comes to e-commerce, the difficulty of physical product examination plays a much larger role as physical product inspection is not possible; the (perceived) risk of performing a transaction via e-commerce. This includes concerns regarding secure transfer of data, or the possibly unknown transaction partner. Elements for the generation of trust between companies in the food chain and therefore of trustworthy B2B e-commerce environments for the food sector include guaranties regarding food quality, multimedia food product presentations to signal their quality, secure e-commerce technology infrastructures, third-party quality signs to be provided. As trust is highly subjective and depends on culture, food chains in different European countries with a different cultural background require different combinations of trust generating elements regarding the quality and safety of food. Different food chain scenarios with their transaction processes and risks regarding food quality and food safety and related trust elements need to be analysed and differences in trust in different European food chains need to be considered. It is the objective of this paper to identify food chains with trans-European cross-border exchange of food products (e.g., fresh vegetables, fresh fruits, meat, grain) and international food chains from Brazil and the US to Europe and to analyse the these food chains with their transaction processes along the food chain and typical risks regarding food quality and food safety. This WP mainly builds on expert interviews with food chain business leaders and food chain business associations from the advisory board. It is therefore an essential part of the communication with the stakeholders of the project’ results and will create awareness and sensibility towards the topic. It includes the analysis of the transaction process phases and the analysis of particular risks involved in the food product distribution chains, respectively. Risks regarding food quality and food safety provide hints for the necessity of B2B trust elements to compensate the risks. The analysis focuses on trans-European cross-border and international food chains with their chain levels (e.g. production to wholesale trade, wholesale trade to industry, or wholesale trade to retail). In particular, it regards the food product groups meat, grain, olive oil, fresh vegetables, and fresh fruits and the particular risks regarding food quality and safety along the chains.

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.