Food safety control practices in in-house and outsourced foodservices and fresh vegetable suppliers

Determinants of reduction of food loss and waste in Indian agri-food supply chains for ensuring food security: A multi-stakeholder perspective

With a rising population and increasing concern for food security, food loss and waste (FLW) has become a critical challenge to global sustainability. This paper, drawing on multi-stakeholder theory, aims to empirically identify the key determinants influencing the reduction of FLW in Indian agri-food supply chains (AFSCs) for ensuring food security. A structured questionnaire was used to collect responses from the various stakeholders of the AFSC and then the exploratory factor analysis technique was used to summarize the items into underlying determinants of reduction of FLW in Indian AFSC for ensuring food security. The results of this study reveal that (1) government support, (2) supply chain partnerships, (3) technological support, (4) consumer attitude and (5) top management commitment are the key determinants in the given context. All the stakeholders of AFSC must be aware of these key determinants affecting the reduction of FLW. They must work collaboratively to make a difference by preventing and managing FLW as it is everyone's responsibility to work towards food security.

Food Safety in Feeding Services: A Requirement in Brazil

Access to food that is adequate in both quantity and quality is directly related to the health of a population. Unsafe food may cause an individual to experience varying degrees of illnesses known as food-borne disease. As their daily lives change, an increasing number of Brazilian people eat outside of their houses in restaurants, cafes, bakeries, and other dining establishments. Until August 2004, food services in Brazil followed the same standards recommended for other industries; these standards were determined by the Ministry of Health through Decree 326 in 1997 and completed in 2002 by the Brazilian Health Surveillance Agency through Resolution 275. On September 15, 2004, the Brazilian Health Surveillance Agency published RDC 216 that provided information about Technical Regulation of Good Practices specifically for food services. This legislation ensures safe production of the food at Brazilian food service sites through good practices and procedures. The purpose of this review is to describe the aspects related to safe food production and to discuss the main legislation for food services in Brazil.

Developing a national food defense guideline based on a vulnerability assessment of intentional food contamination in Japanese food factories using the CARVER+Shock vulnerability assessment tool

The awareness of food terrorism has increased following the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks in New York City, United States, and many measures and policies dealing with this issue have been established worldwide. Suspected deliberate food-poisoning crimes have occurred in Japan, although they are not regarded as acts of food terrorism. One area of concern is that the small- to medium-sized companies that dominate Japan's food industry are extremely vulnerable to deliberate food poisoning. We conducted a literature research on food defense measures undertaken by the World Health Organization and in the United States and Europe. Using the Carver+Shock vulnerability assessment tool, eight food factories and related facilities in Japan were evaluated and we found the level of awareness of food defense to be low and the measures inappropriate. On the basis of this evaluation, we developed a set of guidelines that Japanese food companies can use to help develop their food defense strategies and to serve as a reference in considering specific measures.