Browsing by Subject "Food safety"

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Assessing quality and safety of food and beverage products in Albanian processing enterprises
(2012) Kapaj, Ilir; Doluschitz, Reiner
It is apparent that the consumers, for many reasons, do not have the ability to control directly the product they are purchasing. It is the FBE who have the ability to control and manage the quality and the safety of the products keeping in mind the customers? expectations of a product in terms of quality and safety. The mechanism that realizes this demand today is certification, a process that every product and system of quality and safety management in an enterprise should undergo. The management of quality and safety is concretized in the framework of a special system: as an international system for quality and safety, under the care of the special international organizations; as a national system, under the care of the respective ministries and institutions of a country; and as a system of quality and safety of a certain enterprise, established and maintained by the directorate of this enterprise. The attention in this analysis for this study is more focused on the management of products quality and safety issues at the level of the FBE. In this study, the elaboration of these issues is done in the logical sequence of the consumer, the standards and legislation, the quality and the safety of the products in the enterprise, the certification according to the standards and in the end, some general data regarding food and beverage enterprises. The changes that have occurred in the Albanian market regarding food products and beverages, especially the increase of the quantity/demand and variety, have resulted in the development of a new standard within the food and beverage industry as well as made it apparent the importance of the FBE relations with the markets and amongst other FBE as well. . Among the main features of this food and beverage paradigm is that consumers set higher expectations, especially concerning qualitative requirements, resulting in fierce competition between FBE. Such a situation imposes changes and transformations within FBE, not only progressive changes but in some aspects even revolutionary changes. The last 15 years markets a transition period within the industry as increased number of imports have transformed the internal market of food products and beverages into ?an international market?. In this market exists a continuous competition between foreign products and national products. The export of food products and beverages, although in low quantities and very spontaneous, has started to make the Albanian FBE aware of the competition with western enterprises in the foreign market ?ring?, which today is considered the global market. The agreements that the Albanian Government has signed with the WTO and EU, such as the Agreement on the Technical Barriers of Commerce with the WTO and the Stabilization-Association Agreement with the EU, to name a few, treat also the technical problems related directly to the ?pillars? of the ?Temple of quality?: standardization, metrology, accreditation and certification. It is on these ?pillars? that the restructured and reformed Albanian enterprise should be set, so that it can overcome the obstacles that are present in the global market. Albanian FBE, regardless of their current status in the markets, are making attempts and are being prepared to face the inevitable challenges that lie ahead regarding the multi-plan development that includes the economic, technical, human, managerial aspects and more importantly the Albanian mentality and culture. Even for the Albanian enterprises, the purpose of their establishment, development, and existence is and always will be for the profit. The significance of profit and the need for it to constantly be increasing and improving is closely related to the investment made from the enterprise, but with different attitudes. To be specific, in the earlier stages of enterprise development, short term investment is often implemented supported by the slogan, ?I am investing today so I gain the profit still today?; whereas in the later stages of development where there exists the competitive market enterprises follow the slogan, ?I am investing today so that I gain the profit tomorrow or the day after tomorrow?. This slogan makes the enterprise think and work foremost for the long-term investment, which is an investment that provides a more sustainable profit and strategic approach for survival in the market. Profit is the indicator of long-term investments. It is one of the most important indicators through which FBE can be evaluated regarding the economic-technical-human-managerial level of the enterprises. In order to establish and to put into play the certification system, some requirements by the consumer side are needed (i.e., legislation, ministries, different organizations), etc., but also from the enterprises side. Regardless, the level that is achieved it is important to define the indicator, through which is measured the quality and safety level in an enterprise, in an industrial sector, and even in a state; today, this indicator is the certification indicator. As stated above, besides the issues related to quality for food and beverage products, there are also the safety-related problems to consider. The latter are of particular importance and are related with the so-called ?consumer protection? rights, as they represent the potential risks or harm to consumers health in using and consuming the products produced by the FBE in the processing stages. The legislation on food and beverage products quality and safety, as part of the general legislation of the Republic of Albania, is based on the respective legislation of the European Union. Intensification for this legislation to be completed is encouraged and supported mainly by the international agreement, where a special section covers the Stabilization Association Agreement. This Agreement, among others, instructs and controls the adaptation of the European Directives towards that of the European one regarding the products quality and safety. In addition, it aims to harmonize the legal acts and relevant by-acts (technical regulations, decisions, orders, and guidelines). Therefore, in order to explore the possibilities and the potential trends of the development in the field of product quality and safety, a detailed analysis of the current situation of the FBE in Albania was completed. To be more specific, the study included the assimilation of data and information gathered from face to face interviews investigating the FBE in Albania regarding product quality and safety. Albanian FBE comprised the basis of the selected sample. A sample of 112 enterprises was chosen to participate in the face to face interview, of which 106 enterprises actually completed the questionnaire. As such, the FBE sample from this study was considered to be representative of this sector of the processing industry in Albania F. The respondents of the FBE were mainly managers, owners or high level personnel of the selected food and beverage processing enterprises. A descriptive statistical analysis was used to elaborate the situation within the food and beverage industry in Albania. A model of ordinal logistic regression was used to quantify the effects of the different management factors on different quality management aspects. According to the enterprises who participated in the questionnaire, informing activities from the Ministry of Agriculture Food and Consumer Protection (MoAFCP) were weak or absent; only the inspection activity was done well. In addition, more than half of the enterprises surveyed had allocated the competencies regarding quality and safety in their own respective departments. Next, it was determined that Albanian FBE operate mostly in domestic markets (local and national) with some exceptions. Moreover, 95 percent of enterprises stated that they communicate with their customers regarding product quality and safety, representing the main source of information to FBE in this regard. Information from scientific studies is rarely used for decision making in terms of quality. The enterprises standards are widely used for compiling technical specifications for their products, while international standards are used only in some enterprises. Further determined from the study results was that almost all FBE believe that their production technology responds to the product quality and safety requirements. All FBE stated full compliance of their production activities with the requirements of Good Management Practices. In addition, more than half of the FBE lab facilities were non-existent (missing) and half of the enterprises did not even measure any characteristics of their products. Next, there seems to be no standard for the qualification of employees in terms of quality and safety but enterprises did express their willingness to invest in such trainings for their employees. Furthermore, in the majority of FBE cases, materials related to product quality and safety were provided from governmental agencies. Next, 75% of FBE have their products labeled and certified, whereas 21 of FBE also express the willingness to invest in label improvement or relabeling. Nearly 75% of FBE do not apply international quality management standards (ISO, HACCP, TQM), but they understand and support the need for applying and certifying such systems. Based on the regression analysis, it was determined that information and activities from the MoAFCP, as they relate to product quality and safety in particular, have a great impact on enterprises willingness to invest in QMS. Furthermore, FBE training of employees, focusing on selling and on product delivery and application of client technical specification, appear to all be prerequisites to entering the competitive markets. On the other hand, application of management standards and certification, qualifications of employees, increased level of information on quality standards and updated production technology, all have a significant impact on enterprises annual turnover and export/annual turnover ratio. It is recommended that the MoAFCP and all related governmental agencies, such as the Veterinary Institute, Commerce and Industry Chamber and the General Directorate of Standardization must put more effort into information sharing/awareness and communication activities in terms of food and beverage quality and safety as well as on quality management standards. More importantly, food and beverage enterprises should address the issues of alternative sources of information, improving their organizational structure, upgrading production technology, investing in trainings, investing in label improvement and product certification and application and certification of QMS, as prerequisites for increasing their overall business performance.
Improving food safety of sprouts and cold-smoked salmon by physical and biological preservation methods
(2007) Weiss, Alexander; Hammes, Walter
The safety of raw, ready-to-eat foods is of paramount importance and is in the focus of the food industry, consumers as well as food scientists. To improve the food safety status of the products, efficient decontamination as an important processing step and/or the use of protective microorganisms as biocontrol agents are promising approaches. In our work we successfully used these approaches for raw sprouts and cold-smoked salmon as examples for RTE foods. Therefore the set goals have been successfully performed and essential scientific knowledge has been contributed. The results have been published and are described in the following in form of the respective abstracts. Thermal seed treatment to improve the food safety status of sprouts: Alexander Weiss and Walter P. Hammes. 2003. Thermal seed treatment to improve the food safety status of sprouts. (Journal of Applied Botany. 77: 152-155) Efficacy of heat treatment in the reduction of salmonellae and Escherichia coli O157:H? on alfalfa, mung bean and radish seeds used for sprout production: Weiss Alexander and Hammes, Walter P. 2005. Efficacy of heat treatment in the reduction of salmonellae and Escherichia coli O157:H? on alfalfa, mung bean and radish seeds used for sprout production. (Eur. Food Res. Tech. 211, 187-191) Characterization of the microbiota of sprouts and their potential for application as protective cultures: Alexander Weiss, Christian Hertel, Silke Grothe, Diep Ha and Walter P. Hammes 2006. Characterization of the microbiota of sprouts and their potential for application as protective cultures. (Applied and Environmental Microbiology. Submitted for publication) Lactic acid bacteria as protective cultures against Listeria spp.on cold-smoked salmon: Weiss Alexander and Hammes, Walter P. 2006. Lactic acid bacteria as protective cultures against Listeria spp.on cold-smoked salmon. (Eur. Food Res. Tech. 222, 343-346)
Occurrence of mycotoxins in pulses
(2022) Acuña‐Gutiérrez, Catalina; Jiménez, Víctor M.; Müller, Joachim
Pulses, dry grains of the Fabaceae family used for food and feed, are particularly important agricultural products with increasing commercial and nutritional relevance. Similar to other plant commodities, pulses can be affected by fungi in the field and during postharvest. Some of these fungi produce mycotoxins, which can seriously threaten human and animal health by causing acute poisoning and chronic effects. In this review, information referring to the analysis and occurrence of these compounds in pulses is summarized. An overview of the aims pursued, and of the methodologies employed for mycotoxin analysis in the different reports is presented, followed by a comprehensive review of relevant articles on mycotoxins in pulses, categorized according to the geographical region, among other considerations. Moreover, special attention was given to the effect of climatic conditions on microorganism infestation and mycotoxin accumulation. Furthermore, the limited literature available was considered to look for possible correlations between the degree of fungal infection and the mycotoxin incidence in pulses. In addition, the potential effect of certain phenolic compounds on reducing fungi infestation and mycotoxin accumulation was reviewed with examples on beans. Emphasis was also given to a specific group of mycotoxins, the phomopsins, that mainly impact lupin. Finally, the negative consequences of mycotoxin accumulation on the physiology and development of contaminated seeds and seedlings are presented, focusing on the few reports available on pulses. Given the agricultural and nutritional potential that pulses offer for human well-being, their promotion should be accompanied by attention to food safety issues, and mycotoxins might be among the most serious threats.
The food system transformation in Vietnam : challanges for the horticultural sector posed by exports and changing consumer preferences
(2008) Mergenthaler, Marcus; Qaim, Matin
On the background of the food system transformation in developing countries, this cumulative dissertation answers the following research question in three articles: What are the determinants and implications of the food system transformation in the horticultural sector in Vietnam? The first article is entitled ?Quality Assurance Programs and International Market Access: Empirical Evidence from the Vietnamese Horticultural Industry?. It is based on a sample of 50 registered fruit and vegetable processing firms from allover Vietnam. With these firm survey data it is analyzed how private quality assurance programs (QAPs) in Vietnam?s horticultural sector influence the access to international markets. Results of different logistic regression models show that QAPs are critical determinants of international market access. However, the effect is market specific and depends on the type of program implemented. While international QAPs ? like HACCP, GLOBALGAP, or ISO 9000 ? notably improve access to countries of the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), national QAPs seem to be sufficient for exports to non-OECD countries. Domestic market sales decrease the probability of being an OECD exporter and increase the probability of being a non-OECD exporter, suggesting a certain market segmentation between high-value exports on the one hand, and domestic sales and lower-value exports on the other. Although it is argued that the food system transformation is to a large extent demand driven, most of the studies available concentrate primarily on supply side aspects. For this reason, the second article entitled ?Changing Consumer Buying Habits in Developing Countries: A Disaggregate Demand Analysis for Fruits and Vegetables in Vietnam? analyzes changing purchasing and consumption habits for fresh fruits and vegetables. The analysis is based on data from a comprehensive survey of almost 500 households in Vietnam?s two major cities, Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City. Demand parameters are estimated with an almost ideal demand system (AIDS), disaggregating by product and process attributes that characterize modern, high-value supply chains, i.e. (i) place of purchase, particularly considering modern retailers, (ii) food safety indications, with an emphasis on formal labels, and (iii) region of production, with a focus on imports. Estimation results demonstrate that consumers? purchase decisions to buy fresh fruits and vegetables from emerging modern supply chains are heavily driven by household income (expenditures). Income elasticities range between 1.2 and 2.6. Own-price elasticities were found to be between -1.5 and -1.1 and the elasticities regarding distance to the nearest supermarket are between -0.6 and -0.3. Against the background of Vietnam?s current rapid economic development ? with incomes growing fast and supermarkets reaching higher penetration rates ? high-value agricultural products from modern supply chains will rapidly gain market shares at the expense of products from more traditional sub-sectors. In order to adapt to the new requirements in the horticultural sector, appropriate responses in supply chains are required. Such responses presuppose a good understanding of consumer preferences and valuation of new product attributes. Therefore the third article entitled ?Consumer Valuation of Food Safety and Quality Attributes in Vietnam? analyzes consumers? willingness to pay for different vegetable attributes, using contingent valuation techniques. In a mediation framework, special consideration is given to consumer perceptions. Comprehensive data from the above mentioned household survey in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City serve as the basis. Consumers are willing to pay an average price premium of 60% for vegetables that are free of agrochemical residues, and of 20% for a set of convenience attributes, like peeled and pre-cut vegetables. Rising income levels and media use have positive impacts on the willingness to pay. These impacts are partly mediated through different consumer perceptions. From a policy perspective, public media can and should be used to promote the spread of objective information, especially with respect to health issues. The results of the three articles have important implications for rural development strategies in poor countries, which are discussed in a concluding chapter.