1,721,052 research outputs found
Towards digitalisation of food safety management systems – enablers and constraints
No full textEnsuring the integrity, efficacy, efficiency, and reliability of the food safety management system (FSMS) has become imperative for every food business operator (FBO) as part of the interconnected food supply chains and essential to overcoming global food challenges. The 4th industrial revolution process creates new opportunities for FBOs, prompting a re-evaluation of the design, operation, and maintenance of FSMS. This article presents the findings of a Delphi study aimed to generate insights into the enablers, and technological and managerial constraints of introducing digitalisation in prerequisite programs (PRPs) and HACCP activities, the cornerstones of FSMS. The panel comprised experts from academia, industry, and consultancy to obtain a broad perspective. The experts suggested and agreed on how digitalisation can enable the design, operation, and maintenance of PRPs and HACCP-related activities. Regarding the managerial and technical/technological constraints, we observed a greater dispersion of agreement amongst the experts than the enablers. Typical managerial/organisational-related challenges encompass financial impact, lack of motivation/resistance to change, need for specific digital competencies/training, and absence of a clear regulatory framework. Technical/technological constraints included aspects such as lack of system adaptability/flexibility and user-friendliness, data entry workload, and ensuring system reliability. The research contributes to a better understanding of how digitalisation could enable the design, operation and maintenance of PRP and HACCP-based FSMS, and offers insights into the potential practical and policy implications of FSMS digitalisation. Future research could conduct case studies to evaluate FSMS digitalisation at the firm level, systematically assessing the tangible benefits and the barriers encountered by FBOs
Values and value conflicts in snack providing of Dutch, Polish, Indonesian and Italian mothers
Full text linkThis study investigates which values play a role in the decision of mothers about snacks to offer to their young children with a focus on the value conflicts that might occur. The study explores whether national culture is reflected in mothers' values in snack choice for their young children and the related value conflicts. Semi-structured interviews with 67 mothers of 2–7 years old children divided over 4 national cultures (Dutch, Polish, Indonesian and Italian) were conducted. Questions were asked about their values and value conflicts when providing a snack to their young children. Four key themes could be distinguished to cluster the mentioned values. The health-related key theme includes all values that are associated with the healthiness of the product, the child-related key theme all values that connects to the child, the time-related key theme includes the value convenience and the product-related key theme includes all values that are associated with the product itself. Dutch and Polish mothers mostly valued health of the snack, whereas Indonesian and Italian mothers mostly valued the preference of their child. Data also shows specific prevalence between values and nationalities: convenience was very important for Dutch mothers, valuing organic food was typical for Polish mothers, religion played a role for Indonesian mothers, while Italian mothers placed more value on brand compared to the mothers of other cultures. In all cultures, the value conflicts mentioned were mainly related to health.</p
Data for: Understanding possible causes of exceeding dioxin levels in palm oil by-products: an explorative study
No full textRaw data belonging to article 'Understanding possible causes of exceeding dioxin levels in palm oil by-products: an explorative study
Status assessment and roadmap for improvement of food safety management systems in Africa : the case of Tanzania
Full text linkExport oriented food companies in Tanzania are improving their FSMS, but still experience microbiological and chemical safety problems. At local level, food companies continue to experience an increase in the number of cases of foodborne disease outbreaks. Moreover, food safety awareness by the public and market (supermarkets) has increased the demand for quality and safe products accross Africa. Majority of food companies are micro- and small-scale without adequate resources and facilities and operate in poorly regulated environment, which pose a significant challenge to develop more effective FSMS that will reduce incidences of food safety hazards in the agri-food chain. This PhD research attempted to get insights in the FSMS situation in Tanzanian food industries and to develop a roadmap for improvement of current FSMS in order to ensure supply of safe food for both domestic and export markets. The overall objective was to gain an understanding on underlying factors causing insufficient performance of food safety management systems in fish (export oriented) and dairy (domestic market oriented) processing companies in Tanzania in order to develop a roadmap for improvement of these systems.
The specific objectives of the PhD research were (i) to typify the characteristics of food production sectors and food safety legal framework in Tanzania, (ii) to identify the factors contributing to deficiencies in FSMS and the opportunities for improvement of these systems in African food industries, (iii) to determine the current performance status of FSMS and the opportunities for improvement towards more effective FSMS of dairy processing companies, (iv) to determine the current performance status of FSMS and the opportunities for improvement towards more effective FSMS in fish processing companies in Tanzania, (v) to determine the actual microbiological performance of current HACCP-based FSMS in the fishery sector, (vi) to identify the potential causes of the differences in performance of FSMS between the export and local market oriented companies in Tanzania
Food safety management systems in the East African Community : empirical evidence from the fresh produce sector in Kenya and Uganda
Full text linkThus far, few studies concerning production, trade, organization of the supply chain and Food Safety Management Systems (FSMS) for fresh produce, have concentrated specifically on Sub-Saharan African countries, which is exactly the gap in contemporary knowledge this study aims to bridge. The overall objective is to study the modalities and incentives for implementation of Food Safety Management Systems in two East African neighboring countries both at farm and trade level in the fresh produce supply chain.
The scope of the study is the East African Community with specific focus to the green bean and hot pepper chains in Kenya and Uganda respectively in view of their export trends in the global fresh produce market
Going Beyond Counting First Authors in Author Co-citation Analysis
Full text linkThe present study examines one of the fundamental aspects of author co-citation analysis (ACA) - the way co-citation
counts are defined. Co-citation counting provides the data on which all subsequent statistical analyses and mappings
are based, and we compare ACA results based on two different types of co-citation counting - the traditional type that
only counts the first one among a cited work's authors on the one hand and a non-traditional type that takes into
account the first 5 authors of a cited work on the other hand. Results indicate that the picture produced through this non-traditional author co-citation counting contains more coherent author groups and is therefore considerably clearer. However, this picture represents fewer specialties in the research field being studied than that produced through the traditional first-author co-citation counting when the same number of top-ranked authors is selected and analyzed. Reasons for these effects are discussed
Wasting food on the level of a household: System Dynamics based study towards the potential effects of interventions
No full textA System Dynamics study towards the potential effects of interventions on the food waste produced by households. Households are a major contributor to the waste of food within the Netherlands. There are negative consequences regarding the waste of food. A causal relation diagram is created, a set of interventions is defined, and based upon a System Dynamics model is created. Based upon the simulations, it is concluded that the process in which food is wasted is fragmented. Reducing the waste of food effectively demands combining multiple interventions. There are two important aspects within a household when multiple interventions are applied. Interventions should focus on the 'willingness' and on the 'knowhow' within a household. Focusing on both aspects results in a synergy. The combined effects of the interventions is bigger than the individual effects accumulated.Systems Engineering, Policy Analysis and Management (SEPAM
A interação entre os manipuladores de alimentos e cultura de segurança dos alimentos: estratégias de avaliação e ações de formação para a evolução proativa
No full textObjetivo: Esta tese investigou se as ações educacionais para manipuladores de alimentos poderiam evoluir a cultura de segurança dos alimentos (CSA) de forma proativa no contexto dos serviços de alimentação. Métodos: Foram realizados cinco estudos para atingir este objetivo, duas revisões de literatura (integrativa e sistemática) e três estudos empíricos. Na revisão integrativa (Capítulo 2) a pesquisa foi conduzida nas seguintes bases de dados ScienceDirect, Medline, Lilacs e Web of Knowledge. Na revisão sistemática (Capítulo 6), a pesquisa foi conduzida no ScienceDirect, Thomson Reuters Web of Science, Wiley Online Library, Scopus, Taylor & Francis Group, e Google Scholar, na qual foi realizada uma abordagem de método misto. No primeiro estudo empírico (Capítulo 3) foi desenvolvida e utilizada uma abordagem de métodos mistos (quantitativos e qualitativos) e utilizada para avaliar a CSA com base em oito elementos: liderança, comunicação, conhecimento, compromisso, percepção de risco, pressão de trabalho e crenças normativas, ambiente de trabalho e sistemas, estilos e processos de gestão. Os métodos quantitativos abrangeram questionários e listas de verificação e foram avaliados com estatísticas descritivas. Os métodos qualitativos incluíram observações e entrevistas dos participantes e foram avaliados com base na análise de conteúdo do tipo temática. Uma tabela de interpretação foi desenvolvida para triangular os dados usando um sistema de pontuação que classificou a CSA em reativa, reativa a ativa, ativa, ativa a proativa e proativa. Este primeiro estudo de caso realizado em um serviço de alimentação do exército brasileiro (39 manipuladores de alimentos e 3 gerentes). No segundo estudo empírico (Capítulo 4), conduzido em um serviço de alimentação da força aérea brasileira (30 manipuladores de alimentos e 2 gerentes), o método misto desenvolvido para avaliar a CSA foi testado, e um modelo para delinear ações de formação foi proposto para a evolução da CSA predominante. O último estudo empírico (Capítulo 5) utilizou um método longitudinal (22 meses) para testar a abordagem de métodos mistos e o modelo previamente descrito no mesmo serviço de alimentação do exército brasileiro do primeiro estudo empírico (59 manipuladores de alimentos e 5 gerentes). Esta pesquisa foi aprovada pelo Comitê de Ética em Pesquisa. Resultados: A revisão integrativa mostrou que no treinamento tradicional de segurança dos alimentos, não houve tradução adequada de conhecimento/atitudes em atitudes/práticas dos manipuladores de alimentos. No capítulo 3 (o primeiro estudo empírico), os métodos mistos desenvolvidos e os dados triangulados permitiram uma avaliação realista da CSA predominante no serviço de alimentação do exército (reativa a ativa), indicando que essa avaliação poderia ser a base para ações de formação. O capítulo 4 (segundo estudo empírico) ilustra a CSA prevalecente no serviço de alimentação da força aérea (ativa a proativa) como base para desenvolver um modelo que indicasse as recomendações para a evolução proativamente da CSA a curto, médio e longo prazo. O roteiro destacou as fragilidades da CSA (percepção de risco e sistemas de gestão, estilos e processos) e os pontos fortes (pressão de trabalho e crenças normativas) para evoluir a CSA com base no sistema de pontuação. O terceiro estudo empírico (Capítulo 5) demonstrou que a avaliação da CSA pode ser usada como um ponto de partida para ações de formação, pois tais ações evoluíram a CSA predominante de forma proativa (de uma avaliação reativa-ativa na primeira avaliação para uma ativa-proativa após as ações de formação iniciais e as ações do gerente local). As ações de formação foram eficazes porque se basearam nas necessidades educacionais, na criação de confiança e em métodos adequados de manipulação de alimentos (Capítulo 5). A revisão sistemática mostrou uma falta de consenso ou padrão para avaliar a CSA, destacando uma diversidade de elementos e dimensões utilizados na avaliação da CSA e que a principal recomendação para melhorar a CSA é o investimento nas pessoas. Conclusão: As ações educacionais concebidas com base no sistema de pontuação evoluíram a CSA de forma proativa assumindo um ciclo contínuo entre melhorias na CSA e as ações de formação no contexto dos serviços de alimentação. Esta pesquisa fortalece a relevância dos esforços na área de segurança dos alimentos para melhorar a saúde pública, minimizando os surtos de doenças transmitidas por alimentos.Objective: This thesis investigated if the food handlers’ educational actions could evolve the food safety (FS) culture proactively in the food service context. Methods: Five studies were conducted to accomplish this aim, two literature reviews (integrative and systematic) and three empirical studies. In the integrative review (Chapter 2) the search was conducted in the followed bases ScienceDirect, Medline, Lilacs databases, and Web of Knowledge. In the systematic review (Chapter 6), the search was conducted in ScienceDirect, Thomson Reuters Web of Science, Wiley Online Library, Scopus, Taylor & Francis Group, and Google Scholar. A mixed-method approach was performed in the systematic review. In the first empirical study (Chapter 3) a mixed-methods approach (quantitative and qualitative) was developed and used to assess FS-culture based on eight elements, as followed: leadership, communication, knowledge, commitment, risk perception, work pressure and normative beliefs, work environment, and management systems, styles, and process. The quantitative methods encompassed questionnaires and check-lists and were assessed with descriptive statistics. The qualitative methods included participant observations and interviews and were assessed based on thematic content analysis. An interpretation grid was developed to triangulate the data using a scoring system that classified the FS-culture in reactive, reactive to active, active, active to proactive, and proactive. This first study was a case study conducted in a Brazilian army foodservice (39 food handlers and 3 managers). In the second empirical study (Chapter 4), conducted in a Brazilian air force food service (30 food handlers and 2 managers), the mixed-methods to assess FS-culture was tested, and a roadmap to design educational actions were proposed to evolve the prevailing FS-culture. The last empirical (Chapter 5) study used a longitudinal method (22 months) to test the mixed-methods approach and the roadmap previously described in the same Brazilian army food service than the first empirical study (59 food handlers and 5 managers). This research was approved in the Ethics Committee on Research. Results: The integrative review showed that in traditional food safety training, there was no proper translation of knowledge/attitudes into attitudes/practice of food handlers. In chapter 3 (the first empirical study), the mixed-methods developed and triangulated data enabled a realistic assessment of the prevailing FS-culture in the army’s food service (reactive to active), indicating that FS-culture assessment could be the basis for educational actions. Chapter 4 (second empirical study) illustrates the air force food service’s prevailing FS-culture (active to proactive) as a basis to develop a roadmap that indicated the recommendations to proactively evolve FS-culture in a short-, medium-, and long-term. The roadmap highlighted the FS-culture weaknesses (risk perception and management systems, styles, and process) and strengths (work pressure and normative beliefs) to evolve FS-culture based on the scoring system. The third empirical study (Chapter 5) demonstrated that the FS-culture assessment might be used as a starting point for educational actions because the educational actions evolved the prevailing FS-culture proactively (from reactive-active in the baseline assessment to an active-proactive after the initial educational actions and the local manager’s actions). Educational actions were effective because they were based on educational needs, confidence building, and adequate food handlers’ methods (Chapter 5). The systematic review showed a lack of consensus or standard to assess FS-culture, highlighting a diversity of elements and dimensions used in the FS-culture assessment and people’s investment as the main recommendation to improve FS-culture. Conclusion: The educational actions designed based on the scoring system evolved the FS-culture proactively assuming a continuous cycle between improvements in FS-culture and educational actions in the food service context. This research strengthens the relevance of food safety efforts to improve public health minimising the foodborne outbreaks.Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES)88881.190230/2018-0
Variations on the Author
Full text link“Variations on the Author” discusses two of Eduardo Coutinho’s recent films (Um Dia na Vida, from 2010, and Últimas Conversas, posthumously released in 2015) and their contribution to the general question of documentary authorship. The director’s filmography is characterized by a consistent yet self-effacing form of authorial self-inscription: Coutinho often features as an interviewer that rather than express opinions propels discourses; an interviewer that is good at listening. This mode of self-inscription characterizes him as an author who is not expressive but who is nonetheless markedly present on the screen. In Um Dia na Vida, however, Coutinho is completely absent form the image, while Últimas Conversas, on the contrary, includes a confessional prologue that moves the director from the margins to the center of his films. This article examines the ways in which these works stand out in the filmography of a director who offers new insights into the notion of cinematic authorship
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