M. van der Spiegel, P.A. Luning, G.W. Ziggers and W.M.F. Jongen
Manufacturers use several quality assurance systems to assure quality. However, their effectiveness cannot be assessed because an instrument does not exist. This article is based…
Abstract
Purpose
Manufacturers use several quality assurance systems to assure quality. However, their effectiveness cannot be assessed because an instrument does not exist. This article is based on a study that was set up to identify performance measurement indicators of an instrument that measures effectiveness of food quality systems, called IMAQE‐Food.
Design/methodology/approach
The instrument has been developed by translating a conceptual model in quantifiable performance measurement indicators. Literature research, qualitative research, Delphi sessions, and quantitative research were used.
Findings
In total, 28 relevant and comprehensible indicators were obtained that measure performance of quality management, production quality and their influencing factors in the bakery sector.
Originality/value
This paper will make a contribution to the body of knowledge in the field of food quality management by developing an instrument to measure effectiveness instead of compliance with norms and requirements or merely performance. This will support food manufacturers in deciding which system is most suitable to achieve their objectives. The developed procedure can be used for providing insight in determining the desired level of quality management, and for extending the instrument for other applications.
Details
Keywords
Dimitrios P. Kafetzopoulos, Katerina D. Gotzamani and Evangelos L. Psomas
The purpose of this paper is to analyse the importance of specific, quality-related employees’ attributes to the enhancement of product quality in food companies. The main goal is…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to analyse the importance of specific, quality-related employees’ attributes to the enhancement of product quality in food companies. The main goal is to examine the synergistic relationships between specific employees’ attributes, which have been related in literature to ISO 9000 successful implementation, to continuous improvement, operational performance and product quality.
Design/methodology/approach
The analysis includes an initial exploratory factor analysis, followed by confirmatory factor analysis and structural equation modelling, in order to investigate the relations between the constructs of the proposed model.
Findings
The findings reveal that although the examined quality-related “employees’ attributes” do not directly contribute to “product quality”, they influence both “continuous improvement” and “operational performance” of food firms. The results also confirm the impact of both “continuous improvement” and “operational performance” on “product quality” and also that “continuous improvement” helps explain “operational performance”.
Research limitations/implications
The domain in which the model has been validated, the restricted use of moderators in the model and lack of empirical validation of the model in non-food sector companies, based on various respondents from each company, are a number of limitations associated with this study which suggest future research proposals.
Practical implications
The findings of this study can motivate managers of food companies to focus on certain quality-related employees’ attributes in order to boost continuous improvement of ISO 9001 systems and operational performance of their companies, leading to product quality enhancement.
Originality/value
This study finds particular relevance in emphasizing that although specific quality-related employees’ attributes, as these are detected in literature, have a significant contribution towards continuous improvement and operational performance, they are not the only critical factor leading to product quality. More complex relationships need to be considered by integrating other constructs as major antecedents of food product quality.
Details
Keywords
Tram Thi Bich Nguyen and Dong Li
The study sets to summarise managerial requirements, analyse practices and tools to measure food safety management system (FSMS) implementation. Also, underpinned by critical…
Abstract
Purpose
The study sets to summarise managerial requirements, analyse practices and tools to measure food safety management system (FSMS) implementation. Also, underpinned by critical success factors (CSFs) theory, the authors explore when food firms manage FSMS and which factors are critical to their implementation to identify promising research directions for researchers and suggestions for practitioners through a comprehensive analytical lens.
Design/methodology/approach
It is difficult to ensure food safety from farm to fork worldwide. The paper addresses this challenge from the angle of how firms measure and improve the implementation of the FSMS in global food supply chains by a systematic review combined with biological mapping analysis (VOS viewer) on 81 peer-reviewed papers published from 2005 to 2020.
Findings
Mandatory and voluntary regulations and standards are the most critical part of international requirements to assure integrated, proactive, risk-based approaches as well as continuous improvement in the FSMS in global food chains. To measure the FSMS, only a limited number of measurement tools for the FSMS have been identified. External and internal factors, and technology adoption that significantly impact the management of the FSMS implementation still require more future works.
Research limitations/implications
Several FSMS research gaps observed during the content analysis of selected papers within 15 years are presented along with ten future research questions.
Practical implications
A systematised list of published papers that have been studied and reported in this research could be a useful reference point for practitioners in the food industry.
Originality/value
This study set out to summarise managerial requirements for the FSMS from the existing research, analyse practices and tools to measure FSMS implementation, explore when food firms manage the FSMS, which factors are critical to their implementation, and identify promising research directions for researchers and useful suggestions for practitioners.
Details
Keywords
This paper aims to review existing literature in the discipline of food hospitality with specific emphasis on the interaction between food safety management, food safety…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to review existing literature in the discipline of food hospitality with specific emphasis on the interaction between food safety management, food safety management systems (FSMS) and food safety culture. It is the first paper in a theme issue of Worldwide Hospitality and Tourism Themes, discussing the importance of measuring food safety and quality culture.
Design/methodology/approach
This paper examines academic literature on FSMS and food safety culture and emerging tools and methods being used to determine their efficacy.
Findings
FSMS provide a framework for determining the resources required and the procedures and protocols, monitoring and verification necessary to deliver safe food. However, a performance gap has been identified in the literature between intended and actual food safety practice. The factors, rituals and behaviours that mediate this divide have been termed by many as “food safety culture”. It has been shown that food safety knowledge does not necessarily lead to behaviour that promotes food safety. Thus, the knowledge–experience–attitude–behaviour dynamic of food safety culture is of crucial importance and worthy of further empirical study in the hospitality industry.
Originality/value
The paper will be of value to practitioners, researchers and other stakeholders involved in the hospitality industry.
Details
Keywords
Goran Petković, Dubravka Užar and Aleksa Dokić
Food fraud has vexed the food industry throughout history. Today, it is still a present and multidimensional problem affecting all parts of the food industry. Food fraud…
Abstract
Food fraud has vexed the food industry throughout history. Today, it is still a present and multidimensional problem affecting all parts of the food industry. Food fraud encompasses adulteration, counterfeit, diversion of products outside of intended markets, over-run, simulation, tampering, theft, misrepresentation or mislabelling, malicious poisoning, bioterrorism or sabotage. It is difficult to detect and trace the source of unintentional contamination and related food safety concerns and even more difficult to detect instances of product fraud. The most common product categories that are associated with food fraud are olive oil, milk and milk-based products, fish and seafood, wine, tea, honey and organic foods. On the other hand, knowledge on what influences the occurrence of fraud in food supply chain is limited. The main research aim in this chapter is to determine key factors which influence the occurrence of food fraud within the organic supply chain, and how these factors differ between various organic marketing channel members. We focus on the application of qualitative methods for detecting key food fraud aspects including broad practical areas, such as opportunities and motivations to commit fraud, as well as the presence or lack of suitable food fraud control measures. These three key aspects are assessed to identify the perceived fraud vulnerability of the organic supply chain. The research is conducted with special attention to the context of the transition economies, since these markets require a new, comprehensive strategic approach to preventing and detecting food fraud and adulteration. The entire analysis is conducted on the Serbian market.
Details
Keywords
Johanna E. Elzerman, Pieke E.M. van Dijk and Pieternel A. Luning
The Dutch market for meat substitutes has grown steadily, however, their market share is still low, and meat consumption in the Netherlands is not decreasing. For a transition…
Abstract
Purpose
The Dutch market for meat substitutes has grown steadily, however, their market share is still low, and meat consumption in the Netherlands is not decreasing. For a transition towards a more plant-based diet, understanding consumer motives regarding meat substitutes is important. The purpose of this study was to explore what motives lay behind the appropriateness of the use of meat substitutes in different usage situations.
Design/methodology/approach
In total, 20 semi-structured in-depth interviews were performed to discover Dutch consumers’ associations with the terms “eating vegetarian” and “meat substitutes”, as well as motives regarding the situational appropriateness of meat substitutes.
Findings
The most mentioned motives for eating vegetarian were “environmental impact”, “health” and “animal welfare”, while meat substitutes were mainly eaten to replace meat in the meal. Most participants perceived vegetarian stir-fry pieces appropriate for almost all situations; the appropriateness of other meat substitutes was more situation-specific. The thematic content analysis yielded seven categories for the motives given for the (in)appropriateness of the four meat substitutes in six usage situations: “Functionality”, “Convenience”, “Properties”, “Preferences”, “Association with meat”, “Association with meals” and “Nutrition”. Mainly motives in the categories convenience and functionality (function of the meat substitute in a meal) were mentioned for all situations and other motives were situation-specific.
Originality/value
The focus in the development of plant-based foods is mostly on the product properties. The situational appropriateness and the underlying motives regarding meat substitutes have not yet been studied. This exploratory study suggests that these should be taken into consideration in the design of new meat substitutes.
Details
Keywords
Henry Lau, Dilupa Nakandala and Paul Kwok Shum
Frequent food safety incidents caused widespread consumer concerns. Even though food safety is one of the weakest links in the fresh food supply chain and influences consumer food…
Abstract
Purpose
Frequent food safety incidents caused widespread consumer concerns. Even though food safety is one of the weakest links in the fresh food supply chain and influences consumer food choice in ways different from the quality dimension, this factor is hardly proposed as one of the key traditional supplier selection criteria (e.g. quality, delivery, and price) in the literature. The purpose of this paper is to develop a business process decision model to assess the non-compensating food safety sub-criteria in order to disqualify fresh food suppliers that cannot reach the minimum threshold for low probable food safety failure. The preferred fresh food suppliers can minimize the risk of food safety failure and the associated huge food safety failure costs spanning from private consumer anguish to social distress that cause unbearable costs of sales loss and damage to brand image in business.
Design/methodology/approach
This study proposes a novel approach that combines several well-established multi-criteria decision making (MCDM) techniques, including fuzzy AHP (FAHP), TOPSIS, and ELECTRE, and innovatively apply to analyze supplier performance and prioritize potential fresh food suppliers. This hybrid business process model can enforce compliance to all the five non-compensatory sub-criteria of food safety. Since ELECTRE is a non-compensatory MCDM method, it is therefore particularly applicable for disqualifying high risk fresh food suppliers from further full scale supplier performance evaluation by FAHP and TOPSIS. This hybrid business process decision model is able to capitalize on the strengths of these MCDM methods and offset their deficiencies.
Findings
This study uses data of an international supermarket chain to validate feasibility of the proposed model. Results indicate that this model is able to assess the non-compensating food safety sub-criteria via the ELECTRE method in order to disqualify fresh food suppliers that cannot reach the minimum threshold for low probable food safety failure. Only the preferred suppliers with the required food safety capability can proceed to the second stage of the supplier selection process. Assessment via the TOPSIS method reveals the ranking order of those top performing suppliers according to their relative scores along all the supplier selection criteria. The TOPSIS ranking results with the selection of the suppliers C, E, A, and F are robust and consistent across all the different scenarios.
Practical implications
Application to the fresh food industry is possible with the aid of the MCDM methods. The contribution to the body of knowledge in this teaching and research field demonstrates the importance of first identifying the order qualifier for disqualifying those suppliers that do not satisfy the food safety requirements via the ELECTRE method. The proposed assessment procedure complies with the regulatory policy on food safety, and would influence public policy in applying the best practice of food safety regulation. Without first qualifying the potential suppliers on the basis of food safety, wrong decision can be made to select those high food risk suppliers that have relatively higher overall scores in other supplier selection criteria. Using the assessment results has positive economic and commercial impact on the purchasing managers to formulate appropriate purchasing and supplier development strategy to enhance supplier’s food safety performance, whilst maximizing the overall supplier portfolio performance. The improved supplier’s food safety performance will certainly benefit the society’s quality of life as well.
Originality/value
Based on the analytical MCDM methods of FAHP, TOPSIS, and ELECTRE, purchasing managers can operationalize the Hill’s framework of order qualifier and winner that has primarily been used in the literature and manufacturing industry. This study represents the first move to innovatively apply the FAHP, TOPSIS, and ELECTRE methods to operationalize the Hill’s framework of order qualifier and winner that has primarily been used in the literature and manufacturing industry. Application to the fresh food industry to validate the feasibility of the proposed model has been conceived and implemented in this study. Analysis of the data inputs of a supermarket chain via the three MCDM methods generate the results that fulfill the purpose of achieving the research objective of identifying and managing the supplier base that can deliver the best supplier performance, conditional on first passing the fresh food safety test.
Details
Keywords
Kostas Milios, Pantelis E. Zoiopoulos, Angelos Pantouvakis, Marios Mataragas and Eleftherios H. Drosinos
The aim of this study is to evaluate the food safety management system (HACCP – type system) implemented in Greek food businesses, examine the techno-managerial factors…
Abstract
Purpose
The aim of this study is to evaluate the food safety management system (HACCP – type system) implemented in Greek food businesses, examine the techno-managerial factors influencing its application according to enterprises' opinion and correlate these answers to the HACCP evaluation results.
Design/methodology/approach
The study involved 33 slaughterhouses located throughout Greece. Two types of questionnaires were used (IF questionnaire – for the influencing factors and HE questionnaire – for HACCP evaluation). Reliability or item analysis and principal component analysis were applied to the data obtained from the survey.
Findings
The results showed that the companies identifying the benefits of HACCP implementation as very important have fully understood possible problems and had the best results as regards HACCP evaluation. Companies not identifying the benefits as important had poor score in HACCP evaluation. Businesses with HACCP certification for longer periods and especially those that were certified according to more than one standard had better performance in HACCP evaluation. In addition, slaughterhouses involved in rearing of animals as well, especially those slaughtering only one animal species, and which do not provide services for others, seem to have better performance as regards HACCP evaluation.
Originality/value
The findings of this study correlate the results of the HACCP evaluation with the factors that affect the implementation of a food safety management system using the hierarchical cluster analysis (HCA) and canonical correlation analysis (CCA) statistical technique.
Details
Keywords
Catherine Hasted and Brett Bligh
Higher education research is replete with discussion of boundaries imagined as structural constraints in need of removal or circumvention. But, while foregrounding…
Abstract
Higher education research is replete with discussion of boundaries imagined as structural constraints in need of removal or circumvention. But, while foregrounding national–transnational frameworks, leadership strategising and institutional structures, the scholarship is subdued about how boundaries are actually dealt with at ground level. How do practitioners come together, day by day, across higher education boundaries; and what is required for desirable practices to be nurtured? It is on this issue, and in particular the theorisation of this issue, that this chapter will focus.
This chapter presents and develops a relational working framework, based on the work of Anne Edwards. We highlight three core concepts (common knowledge, relational expertise and relational agency), disaggregating each into constituent features. We then apply the framework to reinterpret previously published empirical studies, to demonstrate its broad applicability. We argue that the framework usefully conceptualises how practitioners work with others across boundaries; that it helps us to notice how many boundaries are, in fact, routinely permeated; and that it usefully highlights important aspects of local practices that are easily obscured.
Details
Keywords
The purpose of this paper is to critique the existing and emerging alternative approaches being used by regulators and industry to verify the presence and efficacy of food safety…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to critique the existing and emerging alternative approaches being used by regulators and industry to verify the presence and efficacy of food safety management systems (FSMS). It is the second paper in a theme issue of Worldwide Hospitality and Tourism Themes, discussing the importance of measuring food safety and quality culture.
Design/methodology/approach
This paper, primarily focused on UK examples, examines academic and grey literature to consider the options for effective verification of FSMS with emphasis on the hospitality sector including the use of triangulation.
Findings
Third-party certification (TPC) compliance audits alone will not deliver effective verification of the FSMS and the cultural context of how formal systems are implemented, monitored and internally verified. Triangulation needs to be undertaken during the FSMS verification process which at its simplest is a Question, Observe, Measure (QOM) triad and at its more complex involves TPC compliance audits and performance assessment using data analysis methodology and product and environmental testing.
Originality/value
The paper will be of value to practitioners, researchers and other stakeholders involved in the hospitality industry.