Party Certification Research Articles

The CCS greensand project: CO2 pilot injection and monitoring

The CCS greensand project: CO2 pilot injection and monitoring

The seafood basket: Application of zero-inflated model to fish count purchase

The study analyzed demand for fish in the United States by the number of species purchased from a basket of species, rather than the usual approach focusing on one single species. The basket includes largemouth bass, hybrid striped bass, bluegill, walleye, yellow perch, rainbow trout, Great Lakes whitefish, lake trout, barramundi, and tilapia. These results largely confirm that consumers purchase different fish species or a combination of them from time to time and that consumers pay little attention to green factors such as sustainability, 3rd party certification and hormone-free when purchasing seafood. It appears that the effects of green credence attributes may not apply generically to a collection of fish or that the utility of green characteristics to seafood demand may be declining. As for production systems, although a higher percentage of consumers indicated preference for wild-caught fish, the importance of farmed fish to them was found to increase fish purchased.

Digital Fashion Revolutions: Supply Chain Transparency, Digitalization and the Non-Disclosure Paradox

The emergence of digital technology as a ‘cure-all’ for sustainable practice has captured the imagination of observers and entrepreneurs alike. Among these technologies, blockchain has been cited as the ideal tool to optimize supply chain transparency. However, despite the abundance of effusively disseminated information in the media, the lack of blockchain applications that are universally accessible, and their negligible uptake raises doubts as to its utility. In particular, small to medium enterprises (SMEs) have for several reasons been slow to adopt blockchain technologies. ‘Digital hesitancy’; lack of common data standards; complex and tedious data collection and transfer; immaturity of the technology; no effective universal platform; lack of resources; and reluctance to share data with perceived competitors are common obstacles. This study explores one of these barriers to adoption, that is, the reluctance to disclose supply chain information to potential competitors. Taking a qualitative approach, the study analyses the current perception of blockchain enabled supply chain transparency through interviews with small scale fashion firms and technology start-ups. Applying a lens of technology adoption theories, the study seeks to understand how supply chain transparency might be satisfactorily managed and even accelerated through technology uptake. A misunderstanding of the software’s capabilities is evident. Many firms seem unaware that the software can be applied to provide managed access to information—arguably providing an advantage over extant transparency measures such as public self disclosure or reliance on third party certifications. This study identifies that because of lack of ‘education’, firms are ill-informed and under-utilizing technologies that are potentially more advantageous than current analogue approaches—that could circumvent the information disclosure paradox.

The role of trust and privacy concerns in using social media for e-retail services: The moderating role of COVID-19

The COVID-19 pandemic has disrupted the customers habits of purchasing as well as shopping behaviours. This study seeks to develop an integrated model of the critical role of trust and privacy concerns in influencing consumers purchase behaviour through social media. It also explored the moderating role of COVID-19 on these relationships. Quantitative data were collected using survey strategy through questionnaires to address different levels of the study. Our proposed model was tested with 1,200 consumers, 600 prior to COVID-19 and 600 during COVID-19. Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modelling was conducted to assess the hypotheses. The findings revealed that purchase intention depends on trust and privacy concerns. Information quality, security concerns, ease of use, privacy/security assurance seal, and disposition to third party certification are the main drivers of trust and privacy concerns. Furthermore, our proposed model during COVID-19 period has higher explanator power (R2 = 0.741) than before COVID-19 period (R2 = 0.603 and consumers buying behaviour has been increased during COVID-19. The results offer important implications for retailers and are likely to stimulate further research in the area of purchase behaviour through social media.

Native tree species richness enhances matrix functionality for soil arthropods in tropical plantation landscapes: A case study from the Himalayas

AbstractDespite their distinctive role in regulating agroecosystems, soil fauna is largely excluded from conservation action. With increasing evidence supporting matrix functionality as critical for multiple species in agroecosystems, it is important that efforts meant to enhance biodiversity in managed systems be inclusive and effective for all species and not just charismatic fauna.Third party certifications are a popular mechanism for claiming pro‐conservation practises in tropical agricultural lands. Therefore, we asked whether voluntary practises codified by third party certifications of tropical tea plantations support soil biodiversity, and what factors explain soil arthropod abundance and richness in such certified and uncertified landscapes.We used pitfall trap data and soil samples across two seasons in large tea plantations, and small tea‐growing agroforestry farms in the Darjeeling Himalayas in India. Plantations certified and those not certified were selected for the study.Soil arthropod morphospecies abundance, richness and diversity were significantly higher in summer as opposed to winter. Contrary to our expectations, there was no significant difference in soil arthropod abundance, richness and diversity between uncertified small agroforestry farms and certified large monoculture plantations. Our analysis establishes tree species richness and season as the most important predictors of soil arthropod abundance, richness and effective number of species.We recommend that increased abundance and diversity of native trees in the tea matrix should be a crucial criterion for agroecosystem management. This would improve matrix functionality for species that are sensitive to management and reflect practises that enhance biodiversity.

Certifications in short food supply chains in the region of Madrid. Part of the alternative?

Third party certified food labelling schemes can be used to reduce asymmetric information in anonymous markets. However, in short food supply chains (SFSCs) trust linkages can be also built through direct contact between consumers and producers. This paper analyzes which type of local producers are interested in these officially recognized certifications, inferring the role that third party certified labelling schemes can play for SFSCs in the Region of Madrid (RofM). For this purpose, 71 producers were surveyed in 2018. We studied their interest in third party certifications, what food attributes they offer to consumers and their perceptions about SFSCs.Producers without interest in third party certifications not only offer direct product attributes but also inform about production methods and their characteristics as producers. Furthermore, these producers have more social and environmental ethical concerns for conventional chains, recognizing SFSCs as solutions with social, economic and environmental benefits. The findings of our study suggest that policies that promote or require existing officially recognized certifications in SFSCs may limit the participation of these committed producers. Therefore, third party certifications may not be the best strategy to support these producers in fostering a transition towards a more sustainable local food system in the RofM.

Third Party Certification of Agri-Food Supply Chain Using Smart Contracts and Blockchain Tokens.

Every consumer’s buying decision at the supermarket influences food brands to make first party claims of sustainability and socially responsible farming methods on their agro-product labels. Fine wines are often subject to counterfeit along the supply chain to the consumer. This paper presents a method for efficient unrestricted publicity to third party certification (TPC) of plant agricultural products, starting at harvest, using smart contracts and blockchain tokens. The method is capable of providing economic incentives to the actors along the supply chain. A proof-of-concept using a modified Ethereum IGR token set of smart contracts using the ERC-1155 standard NFTs was deployed on the Rinkeby test net and evaluated. The main findings include (a) allowing immediate access to TPC by the public for any desired authority by using token smart contracts. (b) Food safety can be enhanced through TPC visible to consumers through mobile application and blockchain technology, thus reducing counterfeiting and green washing. (c) The framework is structured and maintained because participants obtain economic incentives thus leveraging it´s practical usage. In summary, this implementation of TPC broadcasting through tokens can improve transparency and sustainable conscientious consumer behaviour, thus enabling a more trustworthy supply chain transparency.

Assessment of Quality Management Practices of Building Construction Firms in Uganda: A Case of Kamwenge District

Quality management in the construction industry includes quality control, quality planning and quality assurance to improve the quality of buildings. However, there have been challenges related to cost variations, timeliness and delays in maintenance which affect quality management of buildings. The study assessed quality management practices of building construction firms in Uganda with the purpose of developing a framework that can be used by construction firms to improve on the quality of buildings. In this study, descriptive design was employed in which both qualitative and quantitative data were collected from a sample size of 54 respondents purposively selected from employees of construction firms and Kamwenge local government using a survey questionnaire and documentary reviews. Data were analyzed using descriptive and multivariate analysis in SPSS version 25. The contribution of each of the factors on the quality of construction firms was determined by use of Relative Importance Index (RII) and the ranking of these attributes in terms of their criticality as perceived by the respondents. The findings indicated that procurement systems, third party certification and on site supervision greatly influenced the cost, timeliness and delivery of buildings hence affecting the quality management practices. The developed framework shall be used to engage stakeholders in the phases of the construction projects mainly buildings to improve on cost estimation and timely completion hence improving on quality management of buildings and service delivery.

Credibility beyond compliance: Uncertified smallholders in sustainable food systems

This article examines the phenomenon of uncertified producers of otherwise certifiable organic food embedded in value chains whose farm products conform to elevated environmental standards. Having embraced so called “beyond organic” cultivation approaches—including agroecology, biodynamic, and permaculture—producers undertaking restorative ecological practices on their farms are certification worthy, in principle, while remaining either unwilling or unable to pay to upgrade to premium markets, in practice. Confronted with the trade-off between allocating scarce resources to compliance and credibility—producers creating collective public goods may do so at the expense of being able to signal the credibility of their actions as environmental stewards along value chains, as through private, third party certification schemes. Drawing on insights from multiple waves of ethnographic fieldwork conducted in Nicaragua beginning in 2007, I show how this credibility dilemma exacerbates challenges already facing smallholders—including livelihood insecurity, political instability, and environmental degradation—demanding new institutional innovations that effectively lower the cost of credibility. In Nicaragua, peasant associations responded to this challenge by advancing an innovative institutional arrangement—the Grupo de Promocion de Agricultura Ecologica (GPAE) marca de confianza, Group for the Promotion of Ecological Agriculture's trademark of trust—to commercialize fresh produce destined for local consumption and new niche markets via networks of trusted producer communities.

Building trust in food safety certification

Building trust in food safety certification

Participatory system of guarantees – PSG of the Red de Mercados Agroecológicos de Bogotá Región RMABR. A contribution to the sustainability of agroecological producers and markets

ABSTRACT Following the development of a framework of sustainability indicators for the Red de Mercados Agroecológicos de Bogotá Región – RMABR, in 2016, it was identified, that only 56% of its producers were agroecological, while the remaining were mostly in the process of agroecological transition. To address this problem, this Participatory Action Research – PAR was carried out in 2016, which included the design, implementation, and evaluation of a PSG. The methodology was subdivided into five phases: participatory diagnosis, agreement on the same language, design of the Participatory System of Guarantees – PSG, pilot implementation, evaluation, and adjustment. The developed PSG encompasses a structure with a PSG committee and certification visiting teams; a justification, definition, and principles of agroecology; formats for participatory certification, agroecological transition plans, seal, and sanctions. PSG is operating, it is cheaper than the Third Party Certification – TPC, it allows certifying producers giving coherence to markets and confidence to consumers, promotes agroecology in producers and allows them to sell in local markets, and has generated cohesion in the RMABR.

Validation of novel food safety climate components and assessment of their indicators in Central and Eastern European food industry

Important insight into the Central and Eastern European food industry, beyond traditional food safety (FS) management and reflects on its food safety climate or the human route of its food safety culture is provided. Novel FS climate self-assessment tool was developed and validated by 65 FS experts from governmental agencies, third party certification bodies, food sector associations, universities and food industry. Three original FS climate components: FS knowledge, business priorities and FS legislation, were introduced and their nine components were assessed in nine Central and Eastern European countries involving 470 food companies. FS knowledge was better assessed in big and medium sized than in small companies. Knowledge component was equally assessed as good, irrespective of the FS risk profile of the food company surveyed while certified FS management system was charted by higher FS knowledge scores within a same food company. Business priorities in Central and Eastern European food organizations were related to hygiene and food safety and were always put before profit regardless of the company size. Hygiene and food safety were seen equality as a critical business success factor irrespective of the associated level of riskiness. FS climate legislation component in all food organizations surveyed was assessed affirmatively. Central and Eastern European food companies seemed to avoid problems in cooperation and trust between food safety leaders and other employees, since they have perceived FS climate highly and similarly. EU operating food companies had comparable overall FS climate to non-EU companies mostly because they have equally perceived their business priorities and appropriateness of associated FS legislation. The only exception was the FS knowledge that was better assessed in EU than non-EU food enterprises.

Consumers’ Awareness on Their Basic Rights and Willingness to Pay for Organic Vegetables in Ethiopia

In developing countries, widely reported incidents of dangerous levels of pesticides in food have stimulated the demand for organic food, a movement to choose organic agriculture. It also makes more people have desires to consume chemical free foods. This study, therefore, assessed the consumers’ awareness of their eight basic rights and willingness to pay for organic vegetables in Ethiopia. The data were collected from 200 respondents (consumers) from Addis Ababa and 80 smallholder vegetable farmers at Ziway and Meki through a combination of random and purposive sampling procedures using a structured interview and were analyzed using descriptive analysis. The results show that vegetable producers used a lot of chemicals, but not in a safe way or at the optimum level. The findings also show that the overall degree of consumers’ awareness on the eight consumer rights is low. Furthermore, willingness to pay premium prices about 5-50% to obtain organic products, which can be viewed as the cost of investment in human health, is encouraging. There is a need to target agricultural policies relating to handling practices and for public health policies to be more differentiated in promoting food safety. Informing consumers about unique characteristics of organic production methods, the strict inspection and required third party certification might be a promising strategy to develop the market for organic vegetables in Ethiopian urban centers. JEL Classification: D18, Q10, Q18

Allergens – food service responsibilities

Allergens – food service responsibilities

Consideration and Practice of Introducing Third-party Certification Institutions to Participate in Post-marketing Supervision of Medical Devices

After years of international regulatory practice, the third party certification bodies have become an important social force in the field of medical devices supervision. It is broadly discussed how to introduce social resources to play an active role in the supervision of medical devices under the regulatory system of medical devices in China. Shanghai Medical Products Administration has carried out research and preliminary practice on the participation of third-party institutions in post-marketing supervision of medical devices. The article mainly focuses on purpose, entry point, inspection criteria and result disposal of introducing the participation of third-party institutions in the post-marketing supervision, meanwhile, discusses the next work direction at the same time.

Information asymmetry, third party certification and the integration of organic food value chain in China

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to discuss characteristics of organic food value chain governance and policy tools that can increase the supply of good quality of agri-products.Design/methodology/approachThis paper discusses a national organic food supply system in China, identifying the link between an organization form with a social confidence crisis and information asymmetry as the main challenges. It develops an analytical model of the market structure of organic certification based on the contract theory, which considers the certification incentive driven by both farmers and processors. Two cases of raw milk producers and processors provide empirical data.FindingsThe argument which is brought forward is that product information asymmetry together with strict requirement for ensuring organic food integrity brings the organic milk value chain into a highly integrated organization pattern. A tight value chain is effective in the governance of organic food supply chain under third party certification (TPC), while a loose value chain discourages producing organic products because of transaction costs. TPC is found to be a positively correlation with a tight value chain, but it brings high organizational cost and it raises cost for consumers.Originality/valueThis is the first paper discussing the governance of organic food value chain in Chinese milk industry.

New Assessment Scales for Evaluating the Degree of Risk of Wind Turbine Blade Damage Caused by Terrain-Induced Turbulence

The present study scrutinized the impacts of terrain-induced turbulence on wind turbine blades, examining measurement data regarding wind conditions and the strains of wind turbine blades. Furthermore, we performed a high-resolution large-eddy simulation (LES) and identified the three-dimensional airflow structures of terrain-induced turbulence. Based on the LES results, we defined the Uchida-Kawashima Scale_1 (the U-K scale_1), which is a turbulence evaluation index, and clarified the existence of the terrain-induced turbulence quantitatively. The threshold value of the U-K scale_1 was determined as 0.2, and this index was confirmed to not be dependent on the inflow profile, the influence of the horizontal grid resolution, and the influence of the computed azimuth. In addition, we defined the Uchida-Kawashima Scale_2 (the U-K scale_2), which is a fatigue damage evaluation index based on the measurement data and the design value obtained by DNV GL’s Bladed. DNV GL (Det Norske Veritas Germanischer Lloyed) is a third party certification body in Norway, and Bladed has been the industry standard aero-elastic wind turbine modeling software. Using the U-K scale_2, the following results were revealed: the U-K scale_2 was 0.86 < 1.0 (within the designed value) in the case of northerly wind, and the U-K scale_2 was 1.60 > 1.0 (exceeding the designed value) in the case of easterly wind. As a result, it was revealed that the blades of the target wind turbine were directly and strongly affected by terrain-induced turbulence when easterly winds occurred.

Certifier Competition and Audit Grades

Third party certification bodies audit companies to determine compliance with standards. We introduce a model of oligopoly competition between certification bodies, showing that a higher degree of certification body competition results in higher grades. We empirically test this hypothesis using panel data from the British Retail Consortium food program, a leading international food safety standard for food manufacturers, and find evidence that a higher degree of competition between certification bodies is associated with higher audit grades. Grades are lower the first time manufacturers certify, suggesting certification may improve food safety practices. Producers with multiple certified sites obtain higher grades.

Factors Affecting Coffee Certification Among Rural Farm Households in Nepal

The study on value chain analysis of coffee was conducted in Palpa and Kaski districts, Nepal during June to August, 2016. The purposive and random sampling technique were used. Semi-structural interview with 160 households (HH) from Kaski and Palpa district (80 samples HH from each district) were conducted. In Palpa district, third party organic certification of coffee has been adopted from company initiation, whereas all coffee from Kaski district has gone through conventional market chain. The coffee cultivated land was 0.85 ropani which was higher among non-certified group (Kaski district) as compared to certified once (Palpa district). Average price of fresh cherry was NRs. 80 per kg which was lower for company initiative third party certification in Palpa (NRs.75/kg) than non-certified area in Kaski (NRs. 85/kg). Average productivity of coffee in study area was found 48 kg per ropani which was very less (13.05 kg/ropani) in certified area than non-certified area (82.96 kg/ropani). The low productivity of coffee and weak value chain structure of coffee was found in third party certified and conventional market chains. Education (49%) and access to credit (67%) were major contributing factors for organic certification of coffee. The land for coffee cultivation had positive and significant impact whereas private company based certification had negative impact on income from coffee subsector. Effective monitoring and premium assessment from certification scheme need to have judged from concerned stakeholders to increase the benefit from certification, to promote proper certification and in coffee market chain in Nepal.
 Int. J. Appl. Sci. Biotechnol. Vol 7(1): 69-74

Varieties of collaboration in public service delivery

Collaboration – and its cognates consultative in-house service delivery, contracting out, commissioning, co-management, co-production, and third party certification – have in recent years been at the center of efforts to reform the public sector and devolve its capacity for policy implementation and service delivery. While the arguments in support of the use of different types of collaborative service delivery are plausible and the intentions motivating them laudable, the crucial questions to ask are: what kind of service delivery arrangement is “collaborative?” And, when could such an arrangement be used? Seeking answers to posed questions this article, and articles in the special issue it introduces, conceptualize and explore alternative arrangements in public service delivery by investigating them though governance lenses. After addressing the nature and collaborative potential for each type of service delivery, the article situates them in the model of capacity combining analytical, managerial, and political competences over three levels of governance activities. It shows that while the success of all collaborative arrangements for public service delivery is linked to political capacities, each arrangement involves a critical type of managerial or analytical capacity which serves as its principle vulnerability. The extent to which various collaborative arrangements can address these vulnerabilities is assessed along with their design requisites and potential utility.