Food product contamination leading to a food borne illness is real and has potentially devastating impact on supply chain operations and cost. However, it is not well understood from the quantitative perspective. This research seeks to fill this gap by providing a generic model of a multi-stage food supply chain consisting of a supplier/grower, processing center and retailer(s) and analyzing the impact of food product contamination in this model. The supplier corresponds to the farm/grower of the raw material such as fruits and vegetables, the processing center processes the raw material into a final food product and the retailer corresponds to the supermarkets and grocery stores selling the food product to a customer. A situation where a contamination occurs at the supplier or processing center potentially resulting in a food borne illness to the customer is considered. The contamination is discovered through periodic sampling tests conducted by the grower, processing center or through the outbreak of a food borne illness. The supply chain is modeled utilizing a G/G/1 queuing system at the processing center and an order- up to policy at the retailer(s). This research develops and compares multi-stage supply chain models with varying number of retailers. The negative dependence of contamination on the origin and mode of detection of the contamination is quantified. The differences in individual food product attributes which can impact the cost of contamination are analyzed. The impact of supply chain structure and properties and detection policies on the severity of potential contamination cases is studied. The most cost effective sampling strategies which companies can adopt in the event of product contamination are derived. The payoff from the implementation of a quality control process which can eradicate contamination is evaluated. A numerical study of the impact of a real-world contamination event on a tomato and lettuce supply chain is also conducted. Finally, a traceability system capable of tracking and tracing back products in the event of a food product recall is incorporated in the supply chain model. The value of traceability for different supply chain scenarios is assessed through the implementation of an ARENA based simulation model.

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Darbo tikslas. Įvertinti ir palyginti Lietuvos sveikatos mokslų universiteto (LSMU) ir Dublin City University (DCU) studentų mitybos ypatumus Darbo uždaviniai: 1. Įvertinti ir palyginti LSMU ir DCU studentų mitybos ypatumus. 2. Įvertinti LSMU ir DCU studentų mitybą lyginant su rekomenduojamais racionalios mitybos standartais. 3. Įvertinti LSMU ir DCU studentų sveikatos būklės priklausomybę nuo jų mitybos įpročių. Tyrimo metodika. Vykdydami tyrimą analizavome Lietuvos ir Airijos visų kursų bei programų studentų, besimokančių Lietuvos sveikatos mokslų universitete (LSMU) ir Dublin City University (DCU), mitybą. Anoniminį klausimyną (anketą) sudarėme remiantis tarptautiniu sveikos gyvensenos klausimynu (Finbalt Health Monitor, HBSC 2001, HBSC 2006). Klausimyną (anketą) sudarė 21 klausimas. Iš apklaustų 298 LSMU studentų, iš kurių teisingai ir iki galo anketas užpildė 282, t.y. 94,6 proc. Ir 193 iš Dublin City University (DCU) iš kurių teisingai ir iki galo anketas užpildė 177, t.y. 91,7 proc. Tyrimo duomenų analizė buvo atlikta naudojant statistinį paketą SPSS (Statical Pacage for Social Sience) 17.0 for Windows versiją ir ,,Microsoft Excel 2010“ programą. Pateikiant rezultatus nurodomas statistinių hipotezių patikimumas naudojant χ2 (chi kvadrat) kriterijų. Chi-kvadrato testo kriterijaus p-reikšmė pagal Pirsono formulę (Pearson Chi-Square) viršija reikšmingumo lygmenį 0,05 (p<0,05- reikšmingas). Išvados: 1. Daugiau kaip pusė visų respondentų (vidutiniškai 59 proc.) maitinasi... [toliau žr. visą tekstą] / Objective. To evaluate and compare the Lithuanian University of Health Sciences (LUHS) and Dublin City University (DCU) student nutrition habits. The Goals: 1. To evaluate and compare LUHS DCU students and feeding habits. 2. Compare LUHS and DCU students nutrition with the nutrition recommended by rational standards. 3. Evaluate LUHS and DCU students health condition dependence on eating habits. Methods. In this project there was an analysis made of eating habits of all Lithuanian and Irish students studying in LUHS and DCU. Anonymous questionnaire was made using international healthy lifestyle questionnaire (Finbalt Health Monitor, HBSC 2001 HBSC 2006). The questionnaire consisted of 21 questions. There were 298 respondents from LUHS of which 282 (94.6 %) completed the form correctly and 193 respondents from DCU of which 177 (91.7%) completed the form correctly. Data analysis was performed using the statistical package SPSS (Statical pacages for Social Sience) for Windows version 17.0 and Microsoft Excel 2010 program. The results of the statistical reliability of the hypotheses presented using the χ2 (chi-square) criteria. Chi-square test p-value from the Pearson formula (Pearson Chi-Square) is higher than the significance level of 0,05 (p<0,05 - significant). Results. Comparing the frequency of meals daily results showed that the majority of both university students eat 3-4 times a day (female group: LUHS - 61,7 %, DCU - 53,6 % and male group: LUHS - 65,9 %, DCU - 54,8 %)... [to full text]

Thesis (Msc Food Sc (Food Science))--Stellenbosch University, 2008. / Carob (Ceratonia silliqua) is an evergreen, drought resistant tree of Mediterranean origin. Popularly known as St John’s bread, the carob pod has a long history of use in food (over 4 000 years). Carob has a good nutritional value, a long shelf-life (2-3 years) and it is relatively cheap. Due to its high sugar content, carob is naturally sweet. It also has a nutty chocolate-like flavour, but unlike chocolate or cocoa, carob does not contain any caffeine, thiobromine or oxalic acid. In addition, carob is normally regarded as a healthy food because of its low fat content (0.2 – 2.3%). Carob trees are also found in South Africa, especially in the Western Cape Province. Locally, carob trees have been used mainly ornamentally or as a source of animal fodder, with minimal use of the pods as a nutritious food source. Knowledge of the nutritional composition and the overall nutritional potential of locally (South African) grown carob cultivars is also limited. Carob could potentially be used as an alternative food source in South Africa as currently, most of this nutritious product goes to waste each year. In this study, the feasibility of using carob pods as an alternative source of food in South Africa was investigated. This was done by firstly, analysing the cultivars for proximate composition (moisture, carbohydrates, sugars, dietary fibre, protein, polyphenols, fat and ash) as well as for amino acids, fatty acids and minerals, in order to determine and compare their nutritional contents. Five cultivars (Tylliria, SFax, Aaronsohn, Santa Fe and an “Unknown” cultivar) were examined. The average proximate composition of raw carob pods was 8.17 – 9.56% moisture, 89.57 – 91.12% carbohydrates, 40.69 – 54.74% total sugars (33.70 – 45.09% sucrose, 1.79 – 4.95% glucose and 1.80 – 5.19% fructose), 29.88 – 36.07% dietary fibre, 3.07 – 4.42% protein, 2.58 – 3.08% polyphenols, 0.45 – 0.86% fat and 2.13 – 2.69% ash. Seven essential amino acids were present in all the cultivars, except for methionine which was not detected in the Single unknown cultivar. This study has shown that all the cultivars had good long-chain fatty acid (LCFA) proportions in terms of the saturated to polyunsaturated fatty acid (SFA: PUFA) and n-6 to n-3 ratios. The short-chain fatty acid content of the cultivars was low. All nine minerals (calcium, phosphorus, potassium, magnesium, sodium, manganese, iron, copper and zinc) analysed for in this study were detected in all five carob cultivars and all cultivars were very low in sodium. The impact of various roasting times (45, 60 and 75 min) at 150ºC, on the temperature sensitive components such as sugars, protein and fat, was also examined. Roasting had no significant (P>0.05) effect on the fat content. Although roasting significantly (P<0.05) reduced the sugar and protein content from 54.74 to 32.53% and 3.59 to 3.18%, respectively, levels in both raw and roasted carob still represented a potentially nutritious food source and alternative to cocoa. A variety of food products targeted at the various food market sectors were developed with carob as an ingredient. The formulations for five new food products (bread, porridge, breakfast cereal, mousse and milk-based drink) were developed where carob had successfully been incorporated as an ingredient. Microbiological and consumer sensory analyses carried out showed that all products developed were safe and acceptable. The findings of this study provide useful scientific evidence towards the fact that carob could potentially be used as an alternative food source in South Africa.

O Processo de Desenvolvimento de Produtos (PDP) é considerado a essência da criação de novo conhecimento na empresa. Os investimentos e esforços em gestão que visam à melhoria da capacidade criativa, da tomada de decisão e do emprego de melhores práticas, tendem a elevar o nível de competência dos recursos humanos, intervindo, conseqüentemente, no resultado final do produto. Esta dissertação apresenta um modelo conceitual de integração de ferramentas de auxílio ao PDP com aplicação no setor alimentício, com vistas a enfatizar a utilização destas de maneira associada, considerando alguns princípios da Gestão do Conhecimento (GC). Este modelo foi construído utilizando a estrutura base de um modelo referencial de PDP para a indústria de alimentos. Para a alocação no modelo proposto, algumas ferramentas foram selecionadas na literatura para o setor e, posteriormente, foram analisadas sob a ótica da criação do conhecimento. A relação existente nesta dissertação entre o PDP e a GC é relevante para elucidar a importância de criar, utilizar, compartilhar e registrar o conhecimento que faz parte da memória organizacional e que, normalmente, existe dentro da empresa de forma não estruturada. Neste contexto, as ferramentas de auxílio ao PDP podem servir como conversoras do conhecimento, transformando-o de tácito para explícito, e reciprocamente. Após o desenvolvimento do modelo, o mesmo foi validado junto à gerência do setor de P&D de uma empresa, comprovando-se a sua exeqüibilidade e facilidade de aplicação e benefícios associados ao PDP. Também foi possível comprovar a existência da relação entre a exeqüibilidade do modelo, o nível de maturidade da empresa e o investimento em capacitação. / The Product Development Process (PDP) is the essence of new knowledge creation in any industry. There is no doubt that the human resources’ abilities and expertise are improved by investments and efforts towards projects that bring higher levels of creative capacity, decision making support and better procedures implementation support. And it’s clear that improving the human resources’ level of competence interferes in the final product result. The present dissertation shows a tool integration conceptual model that assists PDP especially in the food industry. One of the main ideas is to emphasize the tool’s application in an associated manner, considering some Knowledge Management (KM) principles. This model was built based on a PDP’s referential model for the food industry. Some tools were selected from the food industry’s literature in order to allocate the tools in the proposed model. After, the tools were analyzed with a knowledge creation point of view. The relation between PDP and KM showed in this dissertation is important to explain the relevance of creating, using, sharing and registering the knowledge, which is a corporate memory’s part that usually exists in the industry in a non-structured way. In this context, the PDP’s tools are able to convert the knowledge, turning it from tacit into explicit and reciprocally. The Research and Development Department’s manager of a confidential company validated the proposed model. According to the interviewing results, it was considered that the model is executable, easy to apply and its use brings advantages to the PDP. Also, it was evident that there is a relation among the model’s application, the company’s maturity phase and the investments in the employee’s capabilities.

O Processo de Desenvolvimento de Produtos (PDP) é considerado a essência da criação de novo conhecimento na empresa. Os investimentos e esforços em gestão que visam à melhoria da capacidade criativa, da tomada de decisão e do emprego de melhores práticas, tendem a elevar o nível de competência dos recursos humanos, intervindo, conseqüentemente, no resultado final do produto. Esta dissertação apresenta um modelo conceitual de integração de ferramentas de auxílio ao PDP com aplicação no setor alimentício, com vistas a enfatizar a utilização destas de maneira associada, considerando alguns princípios da Gestão do Conhecimento (GC). Este modelo foi construído utilizando a estrutura base de um modelo referencial de PDP para a indústria de alimentos. Para a alocação no modelo proposto, algumas ferramentas foram selecionadas na literatura para o setor e, posteriormente, foram analisadas sob a ótica da criação do conhecimento. A relação existente nesta dissertação entre o PDP e a GC é relevante para elucidar a importância de criar, utilizar, compartilhar e registrar o conhecimento que faz parte da memória organizacional e que, normalmente, existe dentro da empresa de forma não estruturada. Neste contexto, as ferramentas de auxílio ao PDP podem servir como conversoras do conhecimento, transformando-o de tácito para explícito, e reciprocamente. Após o desenvolvimento do modelo, o mesmo foi validado junto à gerência do setor de P&D de uma empresa, comprovando-se a sua exeqüibilidade e facilidade de aplicação e benefícios associados ao PDP. Também foi possível comprovar a existência da relação entre a exeqüibilidade do modelo, o nível de maturidade da empresa e o investimento em capacitação. / The Product Development Process (PDP) is the essence of new knowledge creation in any industry. There is no doubt that the human resources’ abilities and expertise are improved by investments and efforts towards projects that bring higher levels of creative capacity, decision making support and better procedures implementation support. And it’s clear that improving the human resources’ level of competence interferes in the final product result. The present dissertation shows a tool integration conceptual model that assists PDP especially in the food industry. One of the main ideas is to emphasize the tool’s application in an associated manner, considering some Knowledge Management (KM) principles. This model was built based on a PDP’s referential model for the food industry. Some tools were selected from the food industry’s literature in order to allocate the tools in the proposed model. After, the tools were analyzed with a knowledge creation point of view. The relation between PDP and KM showed in this dissertation is important to explain the relevance of creating, using, sharing and registering the knowledge, which is a corporate memory’s part that usually exists in the industry in a non-structured way. In this context, the PDP’s tools are able to convert the knowledge, turning it from tacit into explicit and reciprocally. The Research and Development Department’s manager of a confidential company validated the proposed model. According to the interviewing results, it was considered that the model is executable, easy to apply and its use brings advantages to the PDP. Also, it was evident that there is a relation among the model’s application, the company’s maturity phase and the investments in the employee’s capabilities.

O Processo de Desenvolvimento de Produtos (PDP) é considerado a essência da criação de novo conhecimento na empresa. Os investimentos e esforços em gestão que visam à melhoria da capacidade criativa, da tomada de decisão e do emprego de melhores práticas, tendem a elevar o nível de competência dos recursos humanos, intervindo, conseqüentemente, no resultado final do produto. Esta dissertação apresenta um modelo conceitual de integração de ferramentas de auxílio ao PDP com aplicação no setor alimentício, com vistas a enfatizar a utilização destas de maneira associada, considerando alguns princípios da Gestão do Conhecimento (GC). Este modelo foi construído utilizando a estrutura base de um modelo referencial de PDP para a indústria de alimentos. Para a alocação no modelo proposto, algumas ferramentas foram selecionadas na literatura para o setor e, posteriormente, foram analisadas sob a ótica da criação do conhecimento. A relação existente nesta dissertação entre o PDP e a GC é relevante para elucidar a importância de criar, utilizar, compartilhar e registrar o conhecimento que faz parte da memória organizacional e que, normalmente, existe dentro da empresa de forma não estruturada. Neste contexto, as ferramentas de auxílio ao PDP podem servir como conversoras do conhecimento, transformando-o de tácito para explícito, e reciprocamente. Após o desenvolvimento do modelo, o mesmo foi validado junto à gerência do setor de P&D de uma empresa, comprovando-se a sua exeqüibilidade e facilidade de aplicação e benefícios associados ao PDP. Também foi possível comprovar a existência da relação entre a exeqüibilidade do modelo, o nível de maturidade da empresa e o investimento em capacitação. / The Product Development Process (PDP) is the essence of new knowledge creation in any industry. There is no doubt that the human resources’ abilities and expertise are improved by investments and efforts towards projects that bring higher levels of creative capacity, decision making support and better procedures implementation support. And it’s clear that improving the human resources’ level of competence interferes in the final product result. The present dissertation shows a tool integration conceptual model that assists PDP especially in the food industry. One of the main ideas is to emphasize the tool’s application in an associated manner, considering some Knowledge Management (KM) principles. This model was built based on a PDP’s referential model for the food industry. Some tools were selected from the food industry’s literature in order to allocate the tools in the proposed model. After, the tools were analyzed with a knowledge creation point of view. The relation between PDP and KM showed in this dissertation is important to explain the relevance of creating, using, sharing and registering the knowledge, which is a corporate memory’s part that usually exists in the industry in a non-structured way. In this context, the PDP’s tools are able to convert the knowledge, turning it from tacit into explicit and reciprocally. The Research and Development Department’s manager of a confidential company validated the proposed model. According to the interviewing results, it was considered that the model is executable, easy to apply and its use brings advantages to the PDP. Also, it was evident that there is a relation among the model’s application, the company’s maturity phase and the investments in the employee’s capabilities.

No description available.

Darbo tikslas: įvertinti vartotojų požiūrį į maisto produktų reklamą ir pardavimų skatinimą Pakruojo rajone. Darbo uždaviniai: 1) Įvertinti vartotojų žinias apie sveiką mitybą; 2) Įvertinti vartotojų požiūrį į maisto produktų reklamą; 3) Įvertinti reklaminių akcijų ir maisto produktų pasirinkimo sąsajas. Tyrimo metodika. Tyrimas atliktas 2010 m. liepos-rugpjūčio mėn. Tiriamieji – 18 m. amžiaus ir vyresni gyventojai. Į anketą buvo įtraukti klausimai, susiję su respondentų žiniomis apie maistą, ekologinę produkciją, mitybą, jų pirkimo ypatumus, mitybos ypatumus, maisto produktų pirkimą sąlygojančius veiksnius. Iš viso buvo išdalinta 390 anketų, sugrįžo - 343 (atsako dažnis 87,9 proc.). Duomenų statistinė analizė atlikta naudojant „MS Excel“ programą ir „SPSS for Windows 14.0“ statistinį paketą, sąsajoms įvertinti taikyti t-testas ir chi kvadrato kriterijus. Statistinio pasikliautinumo lygmuo – 95 proc. Rezultatai. 70 proc. pirkėjų domisi informacija, parašyta maisto produkto etiketėje, apie 50 proc. pirkėjų produktus renkasi atsižvelgdami į su sveikata susijusią informaciją. Turguje dažnai arba kartais maisto prekes perka 82 proc. prekybos centrų pirkėjų.. 66 proc. respondentų žinojo apie genetiškai modifikuotus produktus, o 93 proc. manė, kad ekologiški produktai yra sveikesni, 61 proc. domėjosi sveika mityba, 85 proc. žinojo, kad grūdai ir daržovės yra sveikiau nei mėsa, pienas, saldainiai ar cukrus. Tik 9 proc. pirkėjų tiki reklaminiais teiginiais. Tarp svarbiausių veiksnių... [toliau žr. visą tekstą] / Aim of the study: To evaluate consumers' attitude towards advertising and sales promotion of food products in Pakruojis district Objectives: 1) to evaluate consumers' knowledge about healthy nutrition; 2) to evaluate consumers' attitude towards food product advertising; 3) to examine the relationship between promotions and choice of food products. Methods: The research was carried out in July-August 2010. The respondents were adults 18 years of age and older. The questionnaire included questions related to respondents' knowledge about food, organic products, nutrition, their shopping patterns, eating habits, factors influencing food purchase. Of the 390 questionnaires distributed, 343 were returned (response rate of 87.9 %). Statistical analysis of data was performed using MS Excel program and statistical analysis package SPSS 14.0 for Windows, there were t-test and chi-square criterion used in order to evaluate the correlations. The level of statistical confidence is 95 percent. Results: 70 percent respondents are interested in information given in labelling, about 50 percent of consumers choose products according to the health-related information. 82 % of customers often or sometimes buy food products at the market. 66 % of respondents were aware of genetically modified products, and 93 % believed that organic food is healthier. 61 % of respondents were interested in healthy nutrition, 85 % knew that grains and vegetables are healthier than meat, milk, sugar or sweets... [to full text]

[pt] A alimentação humana passa, periodicamente, por transformações que impactam o comportamento do consumidor e a forma como performam suas práticas alimentares. Nesse âmbito, as mudanças mais recentes mostram a maior procura por produtos alimentícios artesanais e, consequentemente, uma tendência em consumo alimentar. Apesar da popularidade dos produtos alimentícios artesanais, a definição de alimento artesanal é imprecisa. Isso indica que o alimento artesanal pode ter variadas significações a depender do contexto social. Questiona-se se estas significações fazem com que os produtos alimentícios artesanais adquiram distintas representações para os consumidores a ponto de transformar regimes de gosto. Diante disso, o presente trabalho se propôs a investigar como se dá o processo de significação dos alimentos artesanais pelos consumidores e quais são suas relações com o desenvolvimento de normas do gosto. Para tanto, adotou-se a abordagem teórico-metodológica da semiótica discursiva francesa, visto que ela se dedica a explicar as condições de geração de significados e produção de sentido contidas não apenas nos textos, mas nas práticas cotidianas dos indivíduos, em uma perspectiva de articulação social. A análise dos dados coletados por meio de entrevistas individuais e observação resultou na identificação de diferentes significados reunidos em quatro temáticas principais relacionadas à produção, diferenciação, qualidade e relações com o mercado. Além disso, descobriu-se cinco narrativas de consumo que possibilitam a formação de três normas de gosto. Os achados da pesquisa possuem relevância e sugerem implicações tanto acadêmicas quanto gerenciais, considerando os diferentes agentes que atuam no mercado de alimentos. / [en] Human nutrition periodically experiences transformations that impact consumer behavior and the way they perform their eating practices. In this context, the most recent changes show a greater demand for artisanal food products and, consequently, a trend in food consumption. Despite the popularity of artisanal food products, the definition of artisanal food is imprecise. This means that artisanal food can have different meanings depending on the social context. The question is whether these meanings enable artisanal food products to acquire different representations for consumers to the point of transforming taste regimes. Considering this, this study set out to investigate how the signification process of artisanal foods by consumers takes place and what are its relations with the development of taste norms. To this end, the theoretical-methodological approach of French discursive semiotics was adopted, since it is dedicated to explaining the conditions for generating meanings and the production of sense contained not only in texts, but in the everyday practices of individuals, from a perspective of social articulation. Analysis of the data collected through individual interviews and observation resulted in the identification of different meanings grouped into four main themes related to production, differentiation, quality, and relations with the market. It also uncovered five consumer narratives that enable the formation of three taste norms. The research findings are relevant and suggest both academic and managerial implications, considering the different agents that operate in the food market.