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This thesis examines the important and topical issue of food safety among member states of the European Union. After tracing the development of related legislation, a review of the literature focuses on its management within the European hotel industry. In attempting to account for differences in attitudes and practice towards food safety, the study explores the respective application oftwo opposing theoretical positions. The first, known as divergence theory, which tends to equate culture with nationality, maintains that variation is attributable to inter-country differences in norms and values. The second, convergence theory, argues that culture is more appropriately understood in the organisational sense as functioning at the corporate level of the hotel. Hence, under the latter perspective, an explanation of variance is more likely to be derived from differences in type or ethos of hotel (whether chain or independent) and the ways that they are structured according to mode ofoperation, size and hierarchy. After outlining the methodological difficulties of carrying out a comparative study capable of resolving the foregoing dilemma, the empirical section takes place in two major stages: (1 ) a canvassing of expert opinion, with a view to filling gaps in knowledge of the legislation and its implementation; and (2) the conducting of a sample survey among hotel personnel in a number of EU member states (this stage being preceded by a small, two-phase pilot investigation). In order to contrast the rival theories statistically, the data from the survey are analysed by a series of relevant independent variables and tested for significance. Although there are acknowledged limitations on the degree of generalisation that can be claimed, by and large the convergence theory is upheld. A summary of the findings is provided and a number of implications for the future of food safety legislation in the EU are highlighted.

Food hygiene practices and standards and their implication on food safety among students in Senior High Schools in the Ashanti Region of Ghana and the effect of two food safety interventions were investigated due to increasing cases of food poisoning from schools reported in the media. Forty five sampled schools in the Ashanti Region were audited and compared with 10 schools from Lincolnshire, UK, as a means of categorising the schools into hygiene standards. Whilst all schools audited in Lincolnshire were in excellent hygiene category (9.0 - 10.0), in the Ashanti Region, only 17.8% were in good category (7.0 - 8.9), 73.3% were in medium (5.0 - 6.9) and 8.9% were in poor hygiene category (2.0 - 4.9). Although 60% of the sampled schools in Ashanti Region served between 1000 – 3000 students daily, there was no evidence of Food Safety Management System in place and 52% of the 180 sampled students reported to have experienced foodborne infections 3-12 times per year within their 1 and 2 years in secondary school. Staff hygiene training was absent in schools which led to substandard hygiene practices with low food and personal hygiene test scores. Although there was supervision, 31% of the kitchen matrons reported they had no hygiene qualification in Ghana. Early food preparation times with absence of hot holding equipment in the kitchens encouraged temperature abuse of Ready-to-Eat meals with Aerobic Colony Count (ACC), Bacillus cereus, total coliforms, Staphylococcus aureus, yeast and moulds counts exceeding the national acceptable limits for cooked meals. Lack of standardised hand washing and utensils cleaning procedure increased microbiological contaminants (ACC, coliforms, S. aureus, yeast and moulds) above existing advisory guidelines after washing. Eleven schools from the Ashanti Region of Ghana after the hygiene categorisation were given GHP training as an intervention and the previous hygiene indicators reassessed. There were improvements in all hygiene indicators with significant differences in staff food hygiene iii knowledge (Z= -2.934, p=0.001), personal hygiene requirement (Z= -2.847, p=0.001) and food temperature (Z= -2.142, p=0.015) Post GHP. ACC, total coliforms and Staphylococcus aureus levels were significantly reduced (p<0.05) in jollof rice. Microbiological contaminants on food contact surfaces and staff hands reduced Post GHP with significant reduction in ACC and coliforms with the exception of serving pans. Post HACCP results for all measured indicators were comparable to other international reports from schools with HACCP in place. Food temperature significantly improved [χ2 (2) =8.400, p=0.008]. Jollof rice microbiological contaminants reduced with up to 100% satisfactory rate for ACC and yeast and moulds, 80% for Staphylococcus aureus and 60% for Bacillus cereus. Coliforms significantly reduced [χ2 (2) =9.580, p=0.002] but had only 40% satisfactory rate. Post HACCP ACC on staff hands and food contact surfaces were significantly reduced (p<0.05) and also yeast and mould for the latter [χ2 (2) =7.600, p=0.024]. Reduction of total coliforms was not significantly different for both staff hands and utensils probably due to absence of disinfection. Food service/dishing time reduced to the agreed time (30-60 minutes) to student’s meal time. Post hoc analysis with Wilcoxon’s signed-rank test was conducted with Bonferroni’s correction. There were significant reductions in Post GHP - Pre GHP; food temperature (Z=-2.625, p=0.003), S. aureus in jollof rice (Z=-2.803, p=0.001), ACC (Z=-2.578, p=0.003), yeast and mould (Z=-2.490, p=0.005) on food contact surfaces. There was enough evidence to prove that GHP significantly improved hygiene and food safety. The study recommends the introduction of GHP and applied HACCP principles in schools.

Thesis: Food law in the Czech Republic before and after joining the European Union This thesis deals with the comparison of food legislation in the Czech Republic before and after joining the European Union, while it predominantly focuses on the area of food safety and food hygiene, as well as on the institutional backup. The aim of this thesis is to provide an introduction to food legislation, its concepts, legal sources and basic principles and subsequently to perform a comparison of the most important changes in the respective areas in the Czech Republic before and after joining the European Union. In its conclusion, the thesis evaluates the overall impact of the identified changes, especially with regards to the level and quality of the system securing food safety and food hygiene in the Czech Republic after joining the European Union.

The aim of this thesis was to explore food safety as part of Home and consumer studies (HCS) education in Swedish compulsory school. Firstly, a nationwide web-based questionnaire was performed among HCS teachers to obtain an overall picture of their knowledge, behaviour and attitudes regarding food safety.  The second study was a questionnaire among school Year 9 students, where the data were collected using a student response system. The questions were related to the students’ food safety knowledge and behaviour, as well as cooking habits and sources of food safety knowledge and trust. Finally, qualitative interviews were performed among HCS teachers regarding their didactic choices of teaching content. The results indicated a routine behaviour connected to cleaning practices and teaching regarding different perishable food to differ between teachers. The students’ food safety knowledge and behaviour were reported to be inadequate, especially among boys, and that students might leave school without having learnt even basic food safety principles. Mothers and thereby the home were reported to be an important as well as a trusted source of food safety knowledge, especially among the girls. Boys reported HCS to also be an important as well as trusted source, especially students that rarely or never reported to cook at home. For those students HCS must be seen as particularly valuable. To increase the students’ learning, the teaching needs to be related to the students’ everyday practices and to be more reflective in order for it to be practiced outside the HCS classroom. The teachers’ didactic choices could imply consequences for the students’ food safety learning and a need for more education and updated information for the teachers was noticed. In summary, the results indicate that risk areas related to all the Four Cs in Food safety (Cooking, Cleaning, Chilling and avoidance of Cross-contamination) need to be highlighted in HCS teaching and for food safety to become a conscious didactic choice for the teachers.  As teaching regarding food safety in HCS seem to differ it needs to be highlighted in HCS policy documents to ensure equivalent food safety learning for all students in compulsory school.

Inledning En välsmakande och hygieniskt säker mat är viktig för patientens medicinska behandling och välbefinnande. Det ligger i sakens natur att man som patient ofta är svag eller nedsatt och därmed extra känslig för infektioner. Livsmedelshygien är på ett sjukhus en fråga om patientsäkerhet med temperaturen som den enskilt viktigaste faktorn. Brickdukning har som system för att distribuera maten inom ett sjukhus många fördelar men en nackdel är svårigheten att upprätthålla rätt temperatur. Mätningar på det studerade sjukhuset visade stora variationer och betydande avvikelser från tillåtna temperaturer, varför ett förbättringsprojekt genomfördes för att förbättra och stabilisera temperaturerna. Syfte Förbättringsarbetet studerades med syfte att beskriva de fenomen som den involverade personalen upplevt vara betydelsefulla för förbättringsarbetets resultat och hur patienternas upplevelse av maten förändrades under tiden för förbättringsarbetet. Syftet med förbättringsarbetet var att uppnå en stabil process med korrekta temperaturer. Metod Förbättringsarbetet genomfördes med PDSA-modellen som övergripande teori och metod. Studien utfördes som en deskriptiv fallstudie med induktiv ansats med deduktiva inslag. Fokusgruppsintervju och enkäter användes för datainsamling. Kvalitativ innehållsanalys och deskriptiv statistik användes som metoder vid analys. Resultat Förbättringsarbetet resulterade i betydande temperaturförbättringar, en stabil process med eftersträvade målvärden uppnåddes. Dock förändrades inriktning och mål för förbättringen under projekttiden, de ursprungliga målen uppnåddes ej till fullo. Förbättringarna minskade risken för matförgiftning bland patienterna. Studien visade att fenomen som i hög grad ligger inom mikrosystemets inflytande varit betydelsefulla. Dessa sammanfattades i fyra kategorier: Resursanvändning, Interaktion och kommunikation, Förändringsförmåga samt Delaktighet/engagemang. Slutsats Ett sjukhus med brickdukningssystem kan uppnå betydande förbättringar i mattemperaturen med hjälp av strukturerat förbättringsarbete. Förändringens resultat påverkades främst av fenomen som finns beskrivna i litteraturen sedan tidigare. Framtida studier kan med fördel kombinera induktiva, kvalitativa ansatser med deduktiva jämförelser med fenomen som finns beskrivna i litteraturen. / Introduction Tasty and hygienically safe food is essential to the treatment and comfort of the patient. Patients are commonly weak or impaired and more vulnerable to infections. Food hygiene is a matter of patient safety in hospitals where food temperature is the single most important factor. Meal tray as food distribution system in hospitals offers many advantages but one disadvantage is its ability to maintain proper temperature of the food. Measurements at the studied hospital display substantial variations and significant deviations from acceptable temperatures. Hence, an improvement project was completed in order to improve and stabilize temperatures. Purpose The improvement project was studied in order to describe what phenomena was important to the success for the improvement, according to staff involved and also how patients experience of the food. The aim of the improvement project was to achieve a stable process with proper food temperatures. Methods The quality improvement completed with the PDSA improvement model as overarching theory and method The study was conducted as a descriptive case study with an inductive approach and deductive ingredients. Focus group interview and questionnaires was used for data collection. Qualitative content analysis an descriptive statistics was used for analysis of data. Results The improvement project resulted in substantially temperature improvement, a stable process with desired temperatures was achieved. Yet the focus and the aims for the improvement were adjusted under the project period, the original aims were not achieved completely. The improved temperatures decreased the risk for patients getting infected with food poisoning. The study displayed phenomena that to a great extent are within the influence of the microsystem, as important for the success of the improvement. These where summarized in four categories: Utilization of resources, Interaction and communication, Improvement capability and Participation/involvement. Conclusions A hospital with meal tray distribution system can achieve substantial improvements in food temperature using structured improvement methods. The results of the changes were mainly affected by phenomena that already are described in the quality improvement litterature. Future studies may combine inductive, qualitative approaches with deductive comparisons to phenomena described in literature.

Vergleich der Ausbildung von Tierärzten im Fachbereich Lebensmittelhygiene an den europäischen veterinärmedizinischen Bildungsstätten

Magister Public Health - MPH / This study is aimed to assess the extent of street food vendor information and education on food safety. Aim: To determine the knowledge, attitudes and practices (KAP) of street food vendors, within the City of Johannesburg, with regard to food hygiene and safety. Methods: A descriptive, cross-sectional study utilizing a quantitative research approach. Data was collected through face-to-face interviewing of street food vendors, with observations of general hygiene and cleanliness. Data was captured in Excel and imported into CDC Epi Info version 3.4.3 (2007) for analysis. Numerical data was analyzed using descriptive statistics and categorical data was analyzed using frequencies. Bivariate analysis was used to establish differences between regions with high and low proportions of street food vendors with regard to knowledge, practices and attitudes variables. / South Africa

A indústria de comissaria aérea é uma atividade com grandes riscos que afetam diretamente a saúde do consumidor, sendo um desses o tempo, entre 150 horas e 200 horas, decorrido entre o preparo das refeições e o seu consumo. Portanto, o objetivo deste trabalho foi validar o sistema de Análise de Perigos e Pontos Críticos de Controle (HACCP) implementado em uma indústria de comissaria aérea com a finalidade de prover melhorias na inocuidade das refeições servidas a bordo. A presente pesquisa foi composta pela análise de 4.899 laudos de refeições, 1.920 laudos de mãos de manipuladores e 1.200 laudos de superfícies que apresentaram resultados de ensaios microbiológicos realizados durante o período de 1998 a 2005. Os ensaios microbiológicos realizados foram a determinação da população de microrganismos aeróbios mesófilos, de membros da família Enterobacteriaceae, de Staphylococcus aureus, de Bacillus cereus além da pesquisa de Salmonella spp. Observou-se que após a implantação das medidas de controle, houve uma significativa melhora na evolução da porcentagem das refeições classificadas como \"Seguro\" (Classe A), de 45% no ano de 1998 para cerca de 85% no ano de 2005. O maior número de alimentos em não conformidade com os parâmetros internos da comissaria aérea em estudo foram os pratos frios que, por sua vez, foram os principais responsáveis pelos resultados insatisfatórios para o período em questão. Tal fato pode ser justificado pelo maior número de manipulações a que esses pratos são expostos e ao uso de ingredientes crus e pré-cozidos. O aumento significativo no número de refeições consideradas \"Seguro\" para todos os tipos de pratos mostra que quando as medidas implantadas são efetivas e devidamente fiscalizadas, o sistema HACCP mostra-se útil no controle da disseminação de microrganismos patogênicos veiculados por alimentos. / Airline catering is an activity with high risks that directly affects the health of consumers. A cause of concern in this activity, among opthers, is the time elapsed between the preparation of meals and consumption 150 to 200 hours. - which may allow the growth of undesirable microorganisms. The Hazard Analysis of Critical Control Point (HACCP) is a system that, when properly implemented, provides conditions for the control of pathogenic microorganisms. The purpose of the present study was to validate the HACCP implemented in an airline catering industry in order to improve the safety of the meals served on board. This study consisted of the analysis of microbiological reports (4,899 reports on meals, 1,920 on handlers\' hands and 1,200 on surfaces) from 1998 to 2005 comprising pre-and post-HACCP implementation periods. The microbiological assays determined the population of mesophile aerobic microorganisms, Enterobacteriaceae, Staphylococcus aureusand Bacillus cereus. Salmonella spp. analysis were also carried out. After control measures were implemented, a significant increase was observed in the percentage of meals classified as \"Safe\" (Class A) -from 45% in 1998 to about 85% in 2005. The highest number of meals not satisfying the standards was found among the cold dishes. This was accounted for by the fact that they need more manipulation and they are prepared with raw ingredients or cold pre-cooked ingredients. The meaningful increase in the number of meals classified as \"Safe\" for all kind of dishes showed that when the measures implemented are effective and properly inspected, the HACCP system is useful to control the dissemination of pathogenic microorganisms transmitted by foods.