Food safety knowledge and climate in the university canteens of three European countries.

The association of food safety knowledge and climate with gender, education level, length of employment, food safety training, and professional role was measured using a 15-item food safety climate survey and a 20-item food safety questionnaire on a sample of 263 employees from 19 small and medium-sized university canteens in Croatia, Hungary, and Portugal. The relationship between knowledge and climate and the demographic determinants of both variables were examined. Food safety knowledge was inadequate (45.5% of correct responses), while perceptions of food safety, as measured by the food safety climate survey, were positive (2.69 out of a maximum of 3.00). The perception of resources in canteens was the least favorable across all countries. Leaders did not exhibit better food safety knowledge or perceptions. Food safety climate and knowledge were significantly positively correlated and influenced by training. Perceptions of food safety compared to employee knowledge levels indicated that some employees were overly optimistic about food safety risks. Therefore, food safety knowledge and food safety climate should be assessed in parallel, and both could be improved through ongoing training of employees, especially leaders.

Utilizing Impedance for Quality Assessment of European Squid (Loligo Vulgaris) during Chilled Storage.

This study evaluates the quality of chilled squid Loligo vulgaris by non-destructive measurements of bioelectrical impedance from the first post-mortem day under controlled conditions. Squid samples were stored at 4.5 °C and 55% of relative humidity for 11 days. Impedance magnitude (|Z|) and phase (φ) at 200 frequencies (100Hz to 100MHz) were measured using an Agilent 4294A Precision Impedance Analyzer with needle-type multi-electrode array on days 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 8, 9, 10, and 11 of storage. The changes in color, sensory properties, total volatile nitrogen, pH, and water holding capacity were also determined. The obtained results indicated that the samples could be classified into five to six distinctive groups by measuring the electrical parameters at frequencies close to 5MHz. In general, φ is less dependent on temperature and measurement setup than |Z|, while records at 5MHz correlate well with the days of storage (R2 = 0.968). The data imply that it is only possible to estimate the length of storage for the samples with measurements of phase angle, which can be useful for the development of new analytical instruments. Biosensors have a practical industrial application, as it is demonstrated that bioelectrical impedance data correlates well with the days of chilled storage.