The performance of food safety management systems in the raspberries chain

Maturity of Food Safety Management Systems in the Vietnamese Seafood Processing Industry

Fifty-nine percent (59%) of the reported food safety issues in Vietnam are related to seafood products, mainly fish and fish products. The international export of seafood products continues to grow due to intensification of the production in the Vietnamese seafood processing industry. To ensure the production of safe food, a company-specific, effective food safety management system is essential. This research explores the maturity of food safety management systems in a convenience sample of the Vietnamese seafood processing industry to identify potential gaps and interventions for improvement. The food safety management system diagnostic instrument was used to assess the context riskiness, maturity of control and assurance activities and food safety performance of 11 companies. Maturity of their food safety management systems was further explored through hierarchical cluster analysis, and the differences in maturity between clusters were statistically tested through Mann-Whitney U tests (nonparametric). The influence of companies' organizational characteristics on the maturity of control and assurance activities was assessed through nonparametric K independent tests. A variability in the maturity of food safety management systems between the eleven Vietnamese companies was measured. Cluster analysis revealed two clusters, Cluster I (six companies) and Cluster II (five companies). The companies in both these clusters operate under a moderate level context riskiness and average to advanced level of food safety performance. However, control and assurance activities are at a lower maturity in Cluster I compared to Cluster II. None of the companies' organizational characteristics (i.e. certification level) have a statistically significant influence on the maturity of control and assurance activities. However, compliance with multiple food safety standards and the presence of physical intervention system(s) have a positive influence on food safety performance.

Food Safety and Management System Audits in Food Retail Chain Stores in Greece

The present study aimed to assess the performance of food safety management systems in food retail stores via audits to reveal potential areas of improvement and to find out possible corrective actions to suggest to the top management. Two cycles of on-site audits took place in 106 stores to assess the requirements and hygiene conditions. After the first cycle of audits, improvements were suggested to the top management, and a second cycle of audits took place after a reasonable time. In the checklist, we recorded the temperatures of retail refrigerators and the scores from the inspection of hygiene and HACCP documentation. In the A' audit, the percentage of stores that had higher temperatures than the critical limits was equal to 51%, and those temperatures occurred in the refrigerators for salads, followed by the refrigerators for deli meat, yogurts and desserts. In the B' audit, only the refrigerators for salads exhibited percentages that were statistically significant lower (p-value < 0.05), and the stores were improved after the audit. High percentages of high-scoring stores were observed in the A' and B' audit in the inspection of HACCP documentation, although there was not a statistically significant improvement observed (p-value > 0.05). In the hygiene inspection, statistically significant improvement with 95% confidence appeared for "Refrigerator's products appearance", "Storage cleanliness", and "Grocery shelf cleanliness". The highest number of non-conformities without statistically significant improvement was found for "Checking temperatures of the receiving products" and "Labeling of fruit store products", with the percentages being lower than 15% in both of the audit cycles. Many employees of the stores did not check and record the temperatures of receiving products from suppliers. In addition, the storage of spoiled products beneath fresh products for selling in the same refrigerator is not a good practice. Greater efforts must be made by top management and employees to maintain and distribute food products in the best and safest possible hygiene conditions.

Efficiency of PEG secondary concentration and PCR for the simultaneous concentration and quantification of foodborne bacteria, viruses and protozoa

Fresh fruits are a potential source of many different pathogens, including bacteria, enteric viruses and protozoa that may pose serious health risks. The consumption of raspberries has been widely associated with large foodborne outbreaks and because of the low concentration at which most of these pathogens are found, sensitive and accurate detection methods are required. Methods that would allow for an accurate and sensitive simultaneous elution and concentration of the different classes of pathogens would decrease the time for analysis, the costs associated and the expertise necessary. In this study we explored the use of polyethylene glycol (PEG) secondary concentration to simultaneously concentrate bacteria, enteric viruses and protozoa from raspberries. PEG secondary concentration showed good recovery rates for all the organisms tested. This work indicates that PEG secondary concentration followed by quantitative (Reverse Transcription) Polymerase Chain Reaction (q(RT)PCR) may be a relevant alternative to standardized methods for the simultaneous concentration of bacteria, enteric viruses and protozoa.

Assessment of the Efficiency of Nitrogen Slow-Release Fertilizers in Integrated Production of Carrot Depending on Fertilization Strategy

Optimization of plant nutrition is a very important part of primary production quality systems. Crop fertilization is the most important agrotechnical measure because it determines the amount and quality of the yield. Moreover, excess fertilization intensifies the eutrophication processes and the greenhouse effect. The study aimed to assess the suitability of slow-release fertilizers in cultivation of carrot subspecies Daucus carota L. ssp. sativus in the integrated production system. The objective was realized on the basis of a strict field experiment set up on a clay loam soil with low nutrient content. The dose of fertilizer was the experimental factor. The fertilizers were applied during the formation of the ridges. Traditional fertilizers (ammonium phosphate, potassium salt, ammonium nitrate, and a multi-component fertilizer Polifoska 6), as well as a multi-component fertilizer with slow release of nutrients, NPK Mg (18-12-24-4), were used. In individual variants of the experiment, different fertilization strategies were applied: integrated production fertilization, traditional fertilization, and fertilization based on the use of slow-release fertilizers. The control treatment comprised of unfertilized plants. The efficiency of nitrogen fertilization was evaluated based on agronomic efficiency, partial factor productivity, physiological efficiency, and removal efficiency. Fertilization strategy significantly impacted the quantity of obtained yield. In the control sample, prior to mineral fertilization, the crop yield was 33.53 Mg·ha−1. The largest yield was 82.30 Mg·ha−1.The largest yields were obtained from plants fertilized with a combination of slow-release fertilizers, with nitrogen introduced in the form of ammonium phosphate, and through conventional fertilization. The highest productivity and environmental efficiency were obtained in treatments with fertilization according to the principles of integrated production and with slow-release fertilizers. In terms of environmental efficiency, the best results were obtained through nitrogen fertilization using 400 kg of slow-release fertilizers. The use of slow-release fertilizers in carrot cultivation can significantly improve the efficiency of fertilization, both in terms of production and environmental protection.

Convective Drying of Fresh and Frozen Raspberries and Change of Their Physical and Nutritive Properties

Raspberries are one of Serbia's best-known and most widely exported fruits. Due to market fluctuation, producers are looking for ways to preserve this fresh product. Drying is a widely accepted method for preserving berries, as is the case with freeze-drying. Hence, the aim was to evaluate convective drying as an alternative to freeze-drying due to better accessibility, simplicity, and cost-effectiveness of Polana raspberries and compare it to a freeze-drying. Three factors were in experimental design: air temperature (60, 70, and 80 °C), air velocity (0,5 and 1,5 m · s^-1), and state of a product (fresh and frozen). Success of drying was evaluated with several quality criteria: shrinkage (change of volume), color change, shape, content of L-ascorbic acid, total phenolic content, flavonoid content, anthocyanin content, and antioxidant activity. A considerable influence of convective drying on color changes was not observed, as ΔE was low for all samples. It was obvious that fresh raspberries had less physical changes than frozen ones. On average, convective drying reduced L-ascorbic acid content by 80.00-99.99%, but less than 60% for other biologically active compounds as compared to fresh raspberries. Convective dried Polana raspberry may be considered as a viable replacement for freeze-dried raspberries.