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.

The Relationship between Food Safety Culture Maturity and Cost of Quality: An Empirical Pilot Study in the Food Industry.

In the food industry, a mature food safety culture (FSC) is linked to better food safety performance. However, the relationship between FSC maturity and key economical performance indicators, such as cost allocation, remains unexplored. This research is the first pilot study to empirically explore the association between FSC maturity and cost of quality (CoQ). A CoQ survey was developed and pretested. CoQ data were collected through collaboration with company management. FSC maturity was assessed through a validated mixed-method assessment (diagnostic instrument, questionnaires, and interviews). A convenience sample of five food processing companies was assembled and subjected to FSC and CoQ assessment. Results revealed that monitoring CoQ is not yet standard practice in the food industry: three out of five companies were unable to specify all failure costs. For prevention and appraisal costs, results showed descriptively and statistically that when these costs are higher, FSC is more mature. Considering the theoretical context of the research (CoQ models and available literature), these results present the first empirical evidence to substantiate that FSC could replace product/service quality in CoQ models. Findings justify the push for a shift in perception, from considering FSC as a task on the list of resource demanding activities toward a narrative in which FSC contributes to financial health.

Food safety culture maturity and its relation to company and employee characteristics.

Three facets of food safety culture (FSC) (i.e., food safety management system (FSMS), human-organizational and human-individual building block), were diagnosed through a validated mixed-method assessment in twenty food processing companies. Many underdeveloped dimensions were detected in the FSMS and the human-organizational building block, while the human-individual building block was more mature. It was explored whether company (e.g., company size) and employee characteristics (e.g. leaders vs. non-leaders) are associated with FSC maturity (based on 1410 employee responses) through a cluster analysis and statistical (Mann-Whitney U and Kruskal-Wallis) tests. Results revealed significant differences (p-value <0.05) based on company characteristics (significant differences based on: size, belonging to a larger group, product type, place in the supply chain, training frequency, certificates, maturity of control and assurance activities) and employee characteristics (significant differences based on: leaders vs. non-leaders, daily direct contact with food or not, seniority, time since training and psychosocial well-being). These findings are useful to develop tailored food safety culture improvement interventions to enhance the maturity of food safety culture in food companies, as these might focus on lower perceiving (sub)groups of employees or lower perceiving (sub)groups of companies.