International Food Safety Research Articles

AACC International Food Safety Systems Task Force: Consumer Confidence Built with Collaboration, Not Competition

AACC International Food Safety Systems Task Force: Consumer Confidence Built with Collaboration, Not Competition

Seasonal Influence and Heavy Metal Analysis in Marine Shrimp (Penaeus spp.) Sold in Trinidad, West Indies

Shrimp is a popular seafood in Trinidad and Tobago which is mainly caught in the coastal environs and sold mostly for domestic consumption. The objectives of the research were to determine if chemical contaminants copper, zinc, cadmium, chromium, nickel and mercury in the marine shrimp (Penaeus spp.) met international and local food safety standards and; to investigate any location by season interactions. Determination of all heavy metals was by flame atomic absorption spectroscopy except for mercury. Validation of methods was done using Certified Reference Materials namely dogfish liver and fish protein. The heavy metal findings in the marine shrimp were well below the United States Food and Drug Administration, Canada’s Food Inspection Agency and, Trinidad and Tobago’s admissible limits for human consumption. Significant differences were observed only for copper by location and season interaction and; zinc by location and season respectively.

Metrological concepts required for food safety and quality testing

The safety of the food we consume has a direct impact on our well-being and is a determinant for the quality of life. Food testing and the metrological principles associated with this activity play a key role in helping to ensure the safety of the food chain. The globalisation of food trade and national as well as international food safety regulations has produced an enormous demand for comparability of analytical results independent of temporal or spatial borders. Measurement-related elements of EU food legislation and their practical implementation as well as analytical requirements derived from the Codex Alimentarius are discussed in this contribution.

Barriers to HACCP in hospitality: a global problem with global solutions?

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to identify whether barriers and solutions to food safety management identified in the UK hospitality businesses between 2002 and 2005 have broader global relevance. It is the first paper in a themed issue of Worldwide Hospitality and Tourism Themes presenting international food safety management challenges and solutions.Design/methodology/approachIn‐depth interviews, supported by documentary analysis, in restaurants and hotels in Barbados, Dubai, Nigeria and Oman.FindingsRecent research in Barbados, Dubai, Nigeria and Oman supports the findings of parallel UK research between 2002 and 2005, showing that the barriers to food safety management are likely to have global relevance, and also the potential for global solutions.Practical implicationsThe paper will be of value to practitioners, researchers and other stakeholders involved in the food industry.Originality/valueThis paper presents a collection of in‐depth, discovery‐based research studies in a diverse range of countries.

An exploration of food safety culture in a multi‐cultural environment: next steps?

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to explore the concept of food safety culture in a multi‐cultural environment. It is the eighth paper in a themed issue of Worldwide Hospitality and Tourism Themes presenting international food safety management challenges and solutions.Design/methodology/approachA literature review brings together theories and practical research in the fields of management, international business, psychology and food safety.FindingsA theoretical framework is developed using a wide range of theories and research findings, with the aim of broadening the current understanding of the concept of food safety culture while also clarifying it.Practical implicationsThe paper will be of value to practitioners, researchers and other stakeholders involved in the food industry.Originality/valueThis paper presents a unique insight into the concept of food safety culture, and presents an in‐depth theoretical framework.

The Sharjah Food Safety Program

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to present the latest food safety initiatives for hospitality businesses in the Emirate of Sharjah, UAE. It is the fifth paper in a themed issue of Worldwide Hospitality and Tourism Themes presenting international food safety management challenges and solutions.Design/methodology/approachThe Sharjah Food Safety Program is presented, with a detailed description of the phased, multi‐layered management approach, with progress to date.FindingsInitial results indicate recognizable improvements in food safety awareness and performance in the businesses.Practical implicationsThe paper will be of value to practitioners, researchers, policy makers, and other stakeholders involved in the food industry.Originality/valueThis paper presents an innovative strategy of integrating training, HACCP implementation and verification. It offers governments and other stakeholders a practical “template” that can accelerate HACCP implementation.

Implementing the Menu‐Safe “evolving HACCP” system in Subway, United Arab Emirates (UAE)

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to present the viewpoints of Subway UAE on their implementation Menu‐Safe, an evolving method of Hazard Analysis Critical Control Point (HACCP) for the Hospitality industry. It is the seventh paper in a themed issue of Worldwide Hospitality and Tourism Themes presenting international food safety management challenges and solutions.Design/methodology/approachViewpoints are put forward by the lead food safety trainer and supported by the UAE Development Agent.FindingsThe implementation of the Menu‐Safe HACCP system in UAE Subway stores has seen an improvement in knowledge, attitude and behaviour amongst store managers and their staff; outcomes include the achievement of perfect inspection scores and international HACCP certification in certain stores. Key improvements and success factors are identified.Practical implicationsThe paper will be of value to practitioners, researchers and other stakeholders involved in the food industry.Originality/valueThis paper shows insights into food safety management within a large franchised international chain of restaurants, and identifies practical methods of enhancing food safety management.

Strengthening national food control systems

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to identify global issues relevant to the strengthening of national food control systems with reference to the hospitality and food service sector. It is the second paper in a themed issue of Worldwide Hospitality and Tourism Themes presenting international food safety management challenges and solutions.Design/methodology/approachLiterature review and semi‐structured interviews with food control officials and academics involved in the strengthening of national food control systems.FindingsThis paper finds that similar challenges are experienced by interviews in a range of countries. Food control management and information, education, communication and training are identified as key challenges for food control authorities. In addition, smaller and/or less developed businesses and particularly the hospitality sector, are highlighted as important.Practical implicationsThe paper will be of value to practitioners, researchers, policy makers and other stakeholders involved in the food industry.Originality/valueIn this paper, the experiences of individuals involved in the development and implementation of national food control policy are brought together for the first time.

Food safety challenges and initiatives in the Dubai hospitality industry

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to present the latest food safety initiatives for hospitality businesses in the Emirate of Dubai, UAE. It is the sixth paper in a themed issue of Worldwide Hospitality and Tourism Themes presenting international food safety management challenges and solutions.Design/methodology/approachThe Dubai Municipality Food Control Department food safety initiatives are presented, with a wider discussion of their impact.FindingsResearch shows that many hospitality businesses are not adequately managing food safety despite basic training of employees, which has prompted a move towards management level training. Case study research also demonstrates that innovative “evolving methods” of HACCP can assist in improving food safety management in local hospitality businesses. The Dubai Municipality Food Control Department is, therefore, working on two important strategies: first, the mandatory training of “Persons in Charge” in all food businesses, and subsequently the wider implementation of food safety management systems.Practical implicationsThe paper will be of value to practitioners, researchers, policy makers and other stakeholders involved in the food industry.Originality/valueThis paper presents an insight into senior government strategy and motivations in Dubai.

Strengthening food control in a multi‐cultural society: Abu Dhabi food safety training initiatives

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to report on a number of initiatives currently being taken by the Abu Dhabi Food Control Authority to improve food safety across the food chain. It focuses on the piloting of a new photographic food safety examination for food handlers designed to meet the needs of the multi‐cultural workforce. It is the fourth paper in a themed issue of Worldwide Hospitality and Tourism Themes presenting international food safety management challenges and solutions.Design/methodology/approachThe piloting of the photographic examination involved 121 candidates who undertook the examination in January 2011. The results were compared with the cumulative data from the previous three years (n=40,862) with additional analysis of the performance of each question.FindingsThe results of the pilot suggest that replacing the written multiple choice examination paper with a photograph‐based alternative, increased the pass rate by almost 20 per cent, whilst retaining the overall level of difficulty of the examination.Practical implicationsThe paper will be of value to practitioners, trainers, education specialists, policy makers and other stakeholders involved in the food safety training initiatives.Originality/valueThis is a unique study providing a mechanism for food handlers with low levels of literacy to become “qualified” to international standards.

Evolving methods of HACCP: costs and benefits

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to identify costs and benefits associated with the implementation of evolving hazard analysis critical control point (HACCP) systems. It is the third paper in a themed issue of Worldwide Hospitality and Tourism Themes presenting international food safety management challenges and solutions.Design/methodology/approachThe paper takes the form of a literature review of food safety research and the stated benefits of food safety management from regulators and other organisations.FindingsThis paper investigates the benefits and costs of implementing evolving methods of HACCP, such as the SFBB system. Statements of benefits from regulators and other organisations are compared to identify the main purported benefits, and these are discussed in relation to practical implications and industry interpretations.Practical implicationsThe paper will be of value to practitioners, researchers, policy makers and other stakeholders involved in the food industry.Originality/valueThis is a unique comparison of the purported benefits of food safety management, with an in‐depth consideration of these in a real world context.

The International Food Safety Complex in Southern Africa: cooperation or competition?

The article seeks to contribute to discussions about international institutional complexes, in particular how they emerge and form functional niches. Testing the premise that competition between international institutions guides functional niche selection, the International Food Safety Complex (IFSC) is characterised and examined in light of the experience of Southern Africa. Institutional competition is shown not to be a necessary precondition for functional niche selection; rather, cooperation can also be a starting point. Related to whether competition or cooperation win out are the timing of and absolute demand for the international institutional complex. The final section looks at the impact of the structure and function of the IFSC on building food safety regulation in the Southern African region. A single case study of South Africa offers some insight into the opportunities and challenges that exist in the African region.

Foodborne outbreaks: managing the risks

Q: What have we learnt about comnunicating the risk of a health threat to the public following the E. coli infection outbreak in Germany? Was it necessary to issue a warning on certain types of food before the source of the outbreak was confirmed? A: It will take time to fully assess all of the lessons to be gleaned from the events in Germany, but a few points can be highlighted. Outbreaks of foodborne disease are particularly likely to have economic implications as they often involve commercially produced products. Consumers will often react to concerns about a particular food by avoiding consumption of similar products, even if there is no evidence to warrant it. To manage the risk of harming the public, governments must assess the evidence and make decisions to protect people's health, even if there may be economic consequences. What was unusual about this event was the broad recommendation to avoid eating three entire groups of foods. There are many varieties of lettuce, tomatoes and cucumbers and it would be very unlikely that all types of all three groups of foods would be the source of the outbreak. While such broad warnings can be justified, having them in place for an extended period of time can inflict economic damage and destroy livelihoods, even outside the affected country, as seen in this case. However, it must be stressed that public health authorities must always balance the health risk to the population against other undesirable consequences. What is also important is that the German authorities have shared all the information they had with the appropriate WHO channels. Q: Following the E. coli infection outbreak in Germany, the Russian Federation banned the import of European Union faod products and Spanish farmers had to give away their produce. How can governrnents communicate the risks that people face during faod poisoning outbreaks, while avoiding unnecessary economic damage? A: The priority must always be on protecting public health and thus economic considerations should never compromise public safety. The solutions to minimizing economic damage and protecting public health are the same. Both require a rapid coordinated response involving epidemiologists, microbiologists and food safety authorities to assemble the evidence, pinpoint the source of the outbreak and remove it from the marketplace as quickly as possible. The faster and the more accurately the source can be narrowed down, the more precise the advice for consumers can be and the more targeted the action to remove the offending food. Q: Are there mechanisms for coordinating communications surrounding such outbreaks to avoid mixed messages? A: Each country will be organized a little differently in terms of the way it coordinates these communications at a national level. On an international level, there are very clear mechanisms for sharing information. One is through the International Health Regulations (IHR) and the other is through a technical network of food safety authorities called the International Food Safety Authorities Network (INFOSAN). These two mechanisms often work in a complementary way. For example in December of 2009, iodine toxicity was identified in Australia linked to high levels of iodine in a soy milk product produced in Japan. The same product had, been exported to several other countries. Australia notified WHO of the problem, under the IHR, and this information was shared with other governments to ensure that they were aware of the potential impact on people's health in their countries. Information was also sent out to INFOSAN members to ensure that appropriate and timely action was taken to remove the offending food product. Q: What is the role of INFOSAN? A: INFOSAN is a voluntary technical network managed by the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) and WHO that brings together national authorities playing a role in food safety. Food safety is a shared responsibility in most countries: there is no single agency that does it all. …

Exit, voice and loyalty in Kenya’s French bean industry: What lessons can we learn from smallholder farmers’ past response to international food safety standards?

Kenya is one of the leading exporters of fresh vegetables to Europe. Kenyan exporters have since the 1990s targeted the leading European supermarkets with their produce. However, the food safety scandals of the 1980s and 1990s led these supermarkets to adopt stringent food safety protocols relating to pesticide use, hygiene, and traceability. These standards were then passed on to Kenyan exporters. In turn, manyleading fresh export companies in Kenya developed their own stringent private protocols relating to food safety standards. Others adopted the European Retail Group’s Good Agricultural Practices or their European buyers’ private food safety standards. In both cases, Kenyan exporters required full compliance with the food safety standards in order to continue buying beans from their suppliers. This study examined how Kenyan smallholder growers responded to the standards and how theirresponse affected their continued participation in the supermarket business. It applies Hirschman’s concept of exit, voice and loyalty to assess the strategies used by Kenyan smallholder French bean farmers in response to international food safety standards (IFSS). It then assesses the factors that influence the success or failure of such strategies. Data obtained in this study suggest that smallholder farmers used differentstrategies to respond to IFSS. The initial overwhelming response was to exit production. Other farmers resorted to voice strategy: complaints, petitions, threats,lobbying, in attempt to influence buyers/exporters to relax or change the standards. Such farmers largely failed. The rest of the farmers, however, proactively complied with the standards by using collective action and were able to stay in the fresh export business. This strategy of compliance with IFSS has since become the model insmallholder export horticulture in Kenya. This study, therefore, demonstrates role that collective action and proactive response to standards can play in maintaining their participation of smallholder in fresh vegetable export business and suggests the need for assisting the poor smallholder farmers to keep their share of market.

Value addition to bamboo shoots: a review

Bamboo shoot forms a traditional delicacy in many countries. Being low in fat content and high in potassium, carbohydrate, dietary fibres, Vitamins and active materials, bamboo shoots are consumed in raw, canned, boiled, marinated, fermented, frozen, liquid and medicinal forms. Although the fresh bamboo shoots of species like Dendraocalamus giganteus are healthier and nutritionally rich, the young shoots, after fortification, can be consumed by processing into a wide range of food products with longer shelf-life and better organoleptic qualities. However, the consumption pattern of bamboo shoots in most of the countries is traditional, non-standardized, seasonal and region-specific with little value addition. Therefore, there exists a great opportunity, especially for the organized food processing sectors to take up the processing of bamboo shoot-based food products in an organized manner. The present article gives an insight into the global scenario of bamboo shoot-based food products and their consumption pattern, the quality attributes, and the opportunities for value addition along with future prospects in view of international food safety, security and nutrition.

Implementation of food safety management systems in the UK

This paper reports the first stage of work being undertaken to understand the factors that have impacted on the current state of food safety in the UK food manufacturing sector. The paper first explores developments in international food safety regulation in general and in particular, the UK. Using a survey and case study methodology, the paper examines the response of food manufacturing enterprises to food safety regulation, and uses statistical techniques to investigate the effects of enterprise size on the drivers for, benefits of, and challenges to compliance. Further, the factors that influence the successful implementation of an integrated food safety management system are also examined. The results show a great deal of both statutory and private regulation that has incentivised enterprises. In response, enterprises have implemented integrated food safety management systems to proactively deal with the risks associated with food safety, however, enterprises claim that statutory regulations are biased towards consumers, without adequate impact assessments on all stakeholders within the chain, and hence causing industry to incur significant costs that could otherwise be avoided. Even though compliance with food safety regulation is burdensome, the cost of non-compliance will also be significant to enterprises. The findings also show that there is no significant effect of size of enterprise on the drivers, benefits and challenges to compliance with food safety regulation.

Exploring Spatial and Temporal Variations of Cadmium Concentrations in Pacific Oysters from British Columbia

Oysters from the Pacific Northwest coast of British Columbia, Canada, contain high levels of cadmium, in some cases exceeding some international food safety guidelines. A primary goal of this article is the investigation of the spatial and temporal variation in cadmium concentrations for oysters sampled from coastal British Columbia. Such information is important so that recommendations can be made as to where and when oysters can be cultured such that accumulation of cadmium within these oysters is minimized. Some modern statistical methods are applied to achieve this goal, including monotone spline smoothing, functional principal component analysis, and semi-parametric additive modeling. Oyster growth rates are estimated as the first derivatives of the monotone smoothing growth curves. Some important patterns in cadmium accumulation by oysters are observed. For example, most inland regions tend to have a higher level of cadmium concentration than most coastal regions, so more caution needs to be taken for shellfish aquaculture practices occurring in the inland regions. The semi-parametric additive modeling shows that oyster cadmium concentration decreases with oyster length, and oysters sampled at 7 m have higher average cadmium concentration than those sampled at 1 m.

Effects of International Legal Regimes and Policy Measures Aimed at the Protection of Human, Animal or Plant Life or Health on Animal Genetic Diversity

The value of livestock diversity for food security is increasingly acknowledged. Previous studies have found evidence that resistance or tolerance of animals to diseases is related to genetic variation. This study asks whether international zoo sanitary and food safety regimes affect the diversity of animal genetic resources for food and agriculture (AnGRFA) or diversity of livestock, and, if so, whether measures to mitigate these impacts are desirable. The research is based on three case studies: the outbreak of highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) in Asia (2003-2005); the outbreak of foot and mouth disease (FMD) in the United Kingdom (2002); and a study on the possible impacts of zoo sanitary and food safety measures on creation of export markets for products of breeds at risk. We find no clear answer to the question. However, we conclude that, given the global nature of the risk, the burden of risk prevention measures should also be shared. This calls for a stronger commitment of the developed countries. We make recommendations for the elaboration of emergency, containment and prevention strategies and plans; for mitigating the indirect impacts of standards on trade in animal products; and information and capacity building on measures for the conservation of AnGRFA.

Risk assessment in the international food safety policy arena. Can the multilateral institutions encourage unbiased outcomes?

Two institutions provide multilateral venues for countries to discuss food safety measures at the international level: the Codex Alimentarius Commission (Codex) and the World Trade Organization. Both institutions encourage their Members to base food safety standards on scientific evidence. In this paper we provide a description of how food-safety-related scientific evidence is generated and how it is used in the context of risk assessment for international standard-setting at Codex and in WTO trade disputes. In particular, we discuss the processes leading to policy conclusions on the basis of scientific evidence, with a focus on the interactions involved between private and public sector actors and those between “scientific experts” and others. We identify weaknesses in the current institutional set-up and provide suggestions on how to improve the interaction between different players at the national and international level so as to strengthen the existing system and increase its cost efficiency.

Identifying Constraints, Mechanisms, and Resources in Harmonized International Food Safety System between the Asia Pacific Region and U.S

Abstract Globalization and free trade have opened up world food market among countries at different stages of development. A harmonized international food safety system is very important for countries to build capacity and address food safety problems from a global perspective. This paper has developed a fundamental understanding of the key constraints to a harmonized food system, the mechanisms used to solve food safety problems, and the resources available based on Asia Pacific region and U.S comparison from such views as food safety culture and demographics, food safety research, food safety system and international trade, food safety outreach, education and training. A roadmap is proposed to develop and institute harmonized international food safety mechanism among developed and developing countries. Findings from this paper will assist in developing public policy; identify quality control issues, developing training needs and program implementation for government, firms and consumers.