The Razard Analysis Critical Control Point (RACCP) system has been in existence as a method of quality assurance for over 30 years. During this time it has evolved considerably, along with the food industry in which it is applied. Rowever, only in the last few years has the system achieved widespread acceptance as one of the most effective methods of controlling foodborne hazards and its principles come to be included in national legislation. Whilst the greater implementation of RACCP has the recognised potential to bring great gains in terms of food safety assurance, the technical nature of its procedure, which seeks to identify hazards and prevent their occurrence via specifically targeted control measures (Critical Control Points (CCPs», has caused some considerable difficulties in its operation. Identifying that there was a real need for the dissemination and subsequent application of expertise in RACCP, this piece of research work has aimed to develop a method of aiding the practical implementation of RACCP. A computer based solution was chosen for its potential to store, organise and access large amounts of information and data which could be used interactively by the user to conduct a RACCP study. Through the experiences of several companies with RACCP implementations and the completion of a traditional RACCP study with a collaborating company, requirements for expertise on RACCP have been identified in two main areas. The first requirement was for knowledge, in particular with regard to hazard identification. The second requirement was for a more clearly defined structure for the RACCP study itself, in particular with regard to hazard analysis. Aiming to address these aspects, two computer applications based around relational databases have been developed. This development together with limited field testing of the second application have provided an insight into many of the problems associated with the practice of RACCP as well as demonstrated the potential of computer based systems to both disseminate information and aid decision processes in this area.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Missouri-Columbia, 1998. / Typescript. Vita. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 236-246). Also available on the Internet.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Missouri-Columbia, 1998. / Typescript. Vita. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 236-246). Also available on the Internet.

The ability of animals to contend with unpredictable seasonal shifts in quality and quantity of prey has implications for the conservation of wildlife. Steller sea lions(Eumetopias jubatus) were subjected to different quantities and qualities of food to determine what physiological and endocrine responses would occur and whether they differed between season (summer and winter) or diet (high-lipid Pacific herring Clupeapallasi vs. low-lipid Walleye Pollock Theragra chalcogramma). Eight females were divided among two groups. One (Group H) were fed herring for 28 days (baseline), then received a reduced caloric intake for a subsequent 28 days (restriction) to induce a 15%loss of body mass. The second (Group P) were also fed herring during the baseline followed by a reduced isocaloric diet of pollock during the restriction. Both groups subsequently returned to their baseline intake of herring for a 28-day controlled re-feeding. The two groups of sea lions lost identical mass during restrictions independent of species eaten, but did differ in the type of internal energy reserve (protein vs. lipids) they predominantly used. Group H lost significantly more lipids and less lean mass than Group P in both seasons. In summer, Group H also increased activity levels and decreased thermoregulation capacity to optimize energy allocation. No such changes were observed for Group P whose capacity to adjust to the reduced caloric intake seemed to have been blocked by the pollock diet. During winter, the sea lions spared energy allocated to activity (especially Group H) and preserved thermoregulation capacity. Changes in body mass was negatively related to free cortisol and positively related to IGF-1 in winter, but only IGF-1 was related to changes in mass in summer when lean mass regulation seemed more important. Levels of IGF-1 were associated with changes in protein metabolism in both seasons for both groups, but changes in body condition were never explained by the measured metabolites or hormones. The capacity to compensate for mass loss was seasonally dependent with sea lions displaying compensatory growth (by restoring lipid stores) in winter but not in summer. Summer appears to be a more difficult season for sea lions to recover from mild nutritional stress. These physiological findings can be used to refine bioenergetic models needed for the conservation of Steller sea lion populations.

The ability of animals to contend with unpredictable seasonal shifts in quality and quantity of prey has implications for the conservation of wildlife. Steller sea lions(Eumetopias jubatus) were subjected to different quantities and qualities of food to determine what physiological and endocrine responses would occur and whether they differed between season (summer and winter) or diet (high-lipid Pacific herring Clupeapallasi vs. low-lipid Walleye Pollock Theragra chalcogramma). Eight females were divided among two groups. One (Group H) were fed herring for 28 days (baseline), then received a reduced caloric intake for a subsequent 28 days (restriction) to induce a 15%loss of body mass. The second (Group P) were also fed herring during the baseline followed by a reduced isocaloric diet of pollock during the restriction. Both groups subsequently returned to their baseline intake of herring for a 28-day controlled re-feeding. The two groups of sea lions lost identical mass during restrictions independent of species eaten, but did differ in the type of internal energy reserve (protein vs. lipids) they predominantly used. Group H lost significantly more lipids and less lean mass than Group P in both seasons. In summer, Group H also increased activity levels and decreased thermoregulation capacity to optimize energy allocation. No such changes were observed for Group P whose capacity to adjust to the reduced caloric intake seemed to have been blocked by the pollock diet. During winter, the sea lions spared energy allocated to activity (especially Group H) and preserved thermoregulation capacity. Changes in body mass was negatively related to free cortisol and positively related to IGF-1 in winter, but only IGF-1 was related to changes in mass in summer when lean mass regulation seemed more important. Levels of IGF-1 were associated with changes in protein metabolism in both seasons for both groups, but changes in body condition were never explained by the measured metabolites or hormones. The capacity to compensate for mass loss was seasonally dependent with sea lions displaying compensatory growth (by restoring lipid stores) in winter but not in summer. Summer appears to be a more difficult season for sea lions to recover from mild nutritional stress. These physiological findings can be used to refine bioenergetic models needed for the conservation of Steller sea lion populations.

The ability of animals to contend with unpredictable seasonal shifts in quality and quantity of prey has implications for the conservation of wildlife. Steller sea lions(Eumetopias jubatus) were subjected to different quantities and qualities of food to determine what physiological and endocrine responses would occur and whether they differed between season (summer and winter) or diet (high-lipid Pacific herring Clupeapallasi vs. low-lipid Walleye Pollock Theragra chalcogramma). Eight females were divided among two groups. One (Group H) were fed herring for 28 days (baseline), then received a reduced caloric intake for a subsequent 28 days (restriction) to induce a 15%loss of body mass. The second (Group P) were also fed herring during the baseline followed by a reduced isocaloric diet of pollock during the restriction. Both groups subsequently returned to their baseline intake of herring for a 28-day controlled re-feeding. The two groups of sea lions lost identical mass during restrictions independent of species eaten, but did differ in the type of internal energy reserve (protein vs. lipids) they predominantly used. Group H lost significantly more lipids and less lean mass than Group P in both seasons. In summer, Group H also increased activity levels and decreased thermoregulation capacity to optimize energy allocation. No such changes were observed for Group P whose capacity to adjust to the reduced caloric intake seemed to have been blocked by the pollock diet. During winter, the sea lions spared energy allocated to activity (especially Group H) and preserved thermoregulation capacity. Changes in body mass was negatively related to free cortisol and positively related to IGF-1 in winter, but only IGF-1 was related to changes in mass in summer when lean mass regulation seemed more important. Levels of IGF-1 were associated with changes in protein metabolism in both seasons for both groups, but changes in body condition were never explained by the measured metabolites or hormones. The capacity to compensate for mass loss was seasonally dependent with sea lions displaying compensatory growth (by restoring lipid stores) in winter but not in summer. Summer appears to be a more difficult season for sea lions to recover from mild nutritional stress. These physiological findings can be used to refine bioenergetic models needed for the conservation of Steller sea lion populations. / Science, Faculty of / Zoology, Department of / Graduate

The study has defined the position with regard to existing and evolving United Kingdom (UK) and European Union (EU) legislation, world trade agreements and institutions, global trade in chicken meat and market Quality Assurance (QA) standards in a series of peer-reviewed published papers and working papers. The development of global food supply chains can be a key driver in the harmonisation of international legislation, product and private assurance standards. Indeed compliance with legislation and retailer requirements has been a key market driver in the development of private assurance standards. The key objectives of the research were to examine current assurance schemes within the integrated poultry meat supply chain and the influence of regulation and external market drivers within the integrated poultry meat supply chain; develop and test a QA model for the poultry meat supply chain with a view to both baseline and higher level standards including the development of a business benchmarking system utilising a pre-requisite programme (PRP) and key performance indicators (KPI); and to assess the ability of the QA model to deliver regulatory and policy compliance whilst meeting varied business and market needs for an internationally traded product. This study has shown that a QA model is capable of providing a framework within which the poultry meat supply chain can operate. The legislative and performance requirements have been translated into quantifiable performance indicators which can be used to measure supply chain performance. This can assist differentiation of products at the point of consumption and give a quantifiable measure of the extrinsic value that has been added. This approach will therefore aid the communication of the benefits of differing methods of poultry meat production and afford the consumer the opportunity to make a more informed choice when purchasing meat products.

The aim of this thesis is to test the importance and sufficiency of existing constructs of customer service, customer satisfaction and service quality in the logistics function of the UK food processing industry. These activities represent ongoing challenges in the logistics discipline and are under-researched in this industry sector that is affected by primary producer crises, product commoditisation and increasing retailer power. Firms that improve customer service should increase customer satisfaction resulting in better customer-supplier relationships, increased customer loyalty, profitability and a differential competitive advantage. The customer-supplier dyadic exchange between intermediary food processors is the focus of study. There has been little programmatic and integrative study or empirical research of these activities in logistics since work conducted over twenty-five years ago by La Londe and Zinzser. Additionally, some existing studies suffer from a general lack of rigour that pervades the logistics discipline and has prevented meaningful development of research validity and reliability. Finally, existing research into these activities from the marketing discipline is under-utilised in these investigations. Indeed, there has been limited inter-disciplinary research in logistics notwithstanding the genesis of both logistics and marketing as a single discipline at the beginning of the 20th century. This study uses a rigorous two-stage methodology developed for marketing research by Churchill. This methodology comprises generating variables for enquiry from a literature review, collecting and analysing data in a pilot survey to purify variables, and conducting a second survey to assess reliability and validity of pilot study findings. Models used for the study are adapted from existing work in marketing service quality by Parasuraman, Zeithaml and Berry and are supplemented by relationship constructs emerging from the pilot study. A postal survey was administered to 1,215 UK food processors. Respondent data was analysed using exploratory and confirmatory factor analysis and structural equation modelling to test variables and constructs. The findings of this study validate constructs of pretransaction, order service and quality and relationship service and quality, thus reaffirming original constructs developed by La Londe and Zinzser. The findings also falsify transaction service quality constructs posited by Parasuraman, Zeithaml and Berry. Issues of price, supplier importance, supplier switching, and relationship power were tested, but did not feature in resultant constructs. These latter issues are discussed in terms of an overarching framework that encompasses the validated constructs and an extended model is hypothesised for future study. The results of this thesis indicate that UK food processors should consider all phases of pre-transaction, transaction and post-transaction events when facilitating operations design and customer service planning.

Thesis (Ph.D.)--Victoria University (Melbourne, Vic.), 2008.

Orientador: Helena Maria André Bolini / Dissertação (mestrado) - Universidade Estadual de Campinas, Faculdade de Engenharia de Alimentos / Made available in DSpace on 2018-08-19T15:33:04Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Andrade_JulianaCunhade_M.pdf: 25513060 bytes, checksum: 10ccd10a1638329631e8bb8052232068 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2012 / Resumo: A industria de embutidos representa um importante segmento no setor de carnes. O preco acessivel, a praticidade no preparo, e o valor proteico desses produtos contribuem para a evolucao significativa do consumo, tornando-os parte do habito alimentar de uma parcela consideravel de consumidores brasileiros. Este estudo teve por objetivo avaliar a qualidade de salsichas comerciais com maior representatividade no mercado varejista na cidade de Campinas/SP, a fim de encontrar atributos fisicos, quimicos e sensoriais associados a aceitacao do produto pelos consumidores. Foram selecionadas seis marcas de salsicha (A, B, C, D, E e F) e avaliadas quanto ao teor de sodio, amido, nitrito, nitrato, composicao centesimal, pH, analises instrumentais de cor (sistema CIE Lab) e textura, Analise Descritiva Quantitativa (ADQ) e teste de aceitacao. Foi aplicado Analise de Variancia (ANOVA) e Teste de Media de Tukey pelo programa estatistico SAS. Utilizando o programa XLStat foram gerados o Mapa de Preferencia Interno e a Correlacao dos Quadrados Minimos Parciais. As analises fisico-quimicas indicaram que somente duas amostras (E e F) atenderam aos requisitos de amido, carboidratos totais, umidade, gordura e proteina estabelecidos pela legislacao brasileira sobre os padroes de identidade e qualidade de salsicha. Os resultados das medidas objetivas de cor indicaram que as amostras C, E e F apresentaram maiores valores de luminosidade, coloracao vermelha menos intensa, tanto na superficie externa quanto na interna. Na avaliacao instrumental de textura, os valores medios da forca de cisalhamento foram menores para as amostras C, D e F. A analise de perfil de textura evidenciou que a amostra F apresentou menores dureza e mastigabilidade. A amostra A apresentou o menor valor medio de forca de compressao. Na ADQ, 24 descritores caracterizaram as seis amostras de salsicha. As amostras D, E e F caracterizaram-se principalmente por apresentarem aroma e sabor caracteristico de salsicha e menores intensidades de aroma e sabor de frango. Por outro lado, a amostra C caracterizou-se por apresentar aroma e sabor de frango e soja. A amostra B destacou-se das demais amostras por apresentar sabor de tempero mais intenso e coloracao artificial. E a amostra A destacou-se por apresentar as maiores intensidades de aroma de frango, de soja, cor laranja, cor característica de curado, maciez, arenosidade, sabor de pimenta e de soja, e menores intensidades de aroma e sabor característico de salsicha, suculência, elasticidade e gosto salgado. A Análise de Componentes Principais segmentou as amostras em três grupos, um formado pelas amostras D, E e F, outro formado pela amostra B e o terceiro formado pelas amostras A e C. Os resultados do teste de aceitação indicaram que todas as amostras apresentaram boa aceitação, com exceção da amostra A, enquanto o Mapa de Preferência Interno revelou que as amostras D, E e F foram as preferidas. Por meio da Correlação dos Quadrados Mínimos Parciais observou-se que os aspectos positivos mais importantes para a aceitação de uma amostra de salsicha foram o aroma e o sabor característico de salsicha, enquanto os aspectos negativos foram a maciez e o sabor de pimenta, sendo o sabor de pimenta considerado o mais importante para não estar presente em salsichas. O atributo arenosidade contribuiu negativamente para a aceitabilidade dos produtos / Abstract: The sausage industry represents an important segment in the meat sector. The accessible price of some brands, the convenient preparation and the protein amount in this type of product contribute to the significant increase in the consumption and has made it part of the eating habits of a considerable amount of the Brazilian consumers. This research aimed to evaluate the quality of commercial frankfurter type sausage with greater representativeness in the retail market in the city of Campinas/SP to select physical, chemical and sensory characteristics related to its acceptability by the consumers. Six sausage brands were selected and the amount of sodium, starch, nitrite, nitrate, pH value and proximate composition determined. Instrumental color (CIE Lab system), texture profile analysis, Quantitative Descriptive Analysis and acceptability were carried on. The data were subjected to analysis of variance (ANOVA) and differences between mean values were evaluated by Tukey¿s multiple range test using SAS software. Using XLStat the Internal Preference Map and Partial Least Squares correlations were obtained. The physical and chemical analysis indicated that only two samples (E and F) met the requirements of starch, total carbohydrates, moisture, fat and protein within the Brazilian Legislation on standards of identity and quality of the sausage. Objective measures of color (CIE Lab System) indicated that samples C, E and F presented the highest levels of lightness, less intense red coloring, on its external surface as well as internally. In the instrumental evaluation of texture the mean values of shear force were smaller for samples C, D and F. The texture profile analysis showed that sample F presented the lowest values for hardness and chewiness, while sample A presented the lowest average of compression force among samples. In the Quantitative Descriptive Analysis (QDA) 24 attributes characterized the six samples of sausages. Samples D, E and F, were mainly characterized by its aroma, typical sausage flavor, less intensity of chicken aroma and flavor. However, sample C was characterized by its chicken and soybean aroma and flavor. Sample B stood out due to its intense seasoning flavor and artificial color, while sample A stood out due to its intensity of the aroma of chicken, soybean, orange color, cured color, softness, sandiness (perception of tiny hard bone particles), pepper, soybean flavor and less intensity of aroma and flavor of typical sausage, juiciness, springiness and salty taste. The Principle Components Analysis divided the samples in three groups, one formed by sample D, E and F, another formed by sample B and the third formed by sample A and C. The results of the acceptance test revealed that samples D, E and F were the most preferred. All samples presented a good acceptance except for sample A. By correlation of Partial Least Squares between the samples, regarding the attributes of QDA and overall impression of the acceptance test, it was observed that the most important characteristics for the acceptance of a sample of sausage were the typical aroma and flavor of sausage, meanwhile the negative aspects were softness and the pepper flavor, which was the most important to not be present in the sausage. The attribute sandiness contributed negatively for the samples acceptance / Mestrado / Consumo e Qualidade de Alimentos / Mestre em Alimentos e Nutrição