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In modern society, the quality and safety of food plays an important role. To ensure these significant indicators, it is necessary to create an effective system of state control. Such a system has been most successfully implemented in countries and associations such as the European Union, the United States of America and Japan. Successful attempts are also being made in Ukraine's neighboring countries to establish a system of coordination and control over the quality and safety of food products. In addition, many countries implemented sanitary control system based on HACCP and policy from farm to consumer and the system of rapid alerts on threats to food and animal feed. The European Union supervision of compliance requirements and standards, which aim to guarantee food safety engaged in the Ministry of Agriculture, Ministry of Social Affairs and the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Communications. The basic principles of regulating the system of compliance with the quality and safety of food are contained in the Law On Food, Regulation of the European Parliament and the EU Council №178 / 2002 EU. In the United States, food safety is monitored by a number of government agencies at various levels: federal, state, and local. At the federal level, 15 agencies collectively administer at least 30 food safety laws. In Japan, food safety is regulated by the Food Sanitation Act. According to the Act responsibility for ensuring safe food is shared by the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare and the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries. In the Republic of Belarus, the main legal act in the field of food security is the Law On the quality and safety of raw materials and food for human life and health. Confirmation of the quality and safety of food products can be obtained at the Republican Unitary Enterprise Scientific and Practical Center of Hygiene. The National Agency for Food Safety has been established on the territory of the Republic of Moldova to effectively solve the tasks of ensuring and controlling the quality and safety of food products. It operates jointly with the Ministry of Health, Labor and Social Protection, the Ministry of Agriculture, Regional Development and the Environment, and the Ministry of Economy and Infrastructure.

Assessing public interest, risk perceptions, and awareness of food safety in Saudi Arabia: A cross-sectional study

Introduction. People’s satisfaction with food safety and quality is an important component of overall satisfaction with a sanitary-epidemiological situation on a given territory. It is based on consumer criteria of quality and safety, which do not have the same significance. The aim of this study was to assess satisfaction with food quality and safety in population in Russian megacities determined relying on consumer criteria. Materials and methods. The study involved accomplishing a formalized survey, which was conducted in Novosibirsk and Perm among people aged 18 years and older (river sampling, quotas per age, sex and place of residence). Data were collected over the period between October 6, 2024 and November 6, 2024. A specifically designed survey tool was used in the process, which enabled calculating an integral index of satisfaction for each respondent. Results. Several key criteria were named by consumers to detect a product quality for all product groups such as ‘freshness; expiration date has not been reached’ (this criterion is among top five for all product groups suggested for evaluation); ‘pleasant taste’; ‘conforms to State Standards (GOST), quality standards’. Safety criteria determined by consumers included ‘storage under proper conditions’; ‘absence of any strange taste’; ‘expiration date has not been reached’. Significance of these criteria varied depending on consumers’ sex, age, family situation and economic status. The lowest level of consumer satisfaction with product quality, according to the integral index estimation, was identified for soft drinks (21.4 % of consumers were unsatisfied, the index value was ≤0.4) and vegetables (19.7%); the lowest level of satisfaction with food safety was identified for eggs (27.9% of consumers unsatisfied, the index value was ≤0.4), bread and bakery products (26.6%), poultry (23.9%), meat and meat products (23.8%), milk and milk products (22.6%). Satisfaction with food safety is a) lower than satisfaction with quality, b) is different in various socio-demographic groups. Limitations. The research object was represented by people who live in cities with their population exceeding 1 million; a sample was created by using non-random techniques and this resulted in its deviation from a total population per several social and demographic parameters (this deviation was partially compensated for by using the weighting procedure). Conclusion. It is important to consider consumers’ satisfaction with food quality and safety when developing activities aimed at communications with executive regional and local authorities in RF regions as well as with population as regards the existing sanitary-epidemiological situation. Various managerial actions have been recommended depending on how people are distributed per categories of satisfaction, which were created using the results obtained by estimations based on the integral index.

The article examines regulatory legal acts and other documents and literary sources regarding state control of food safety and quality in Great Britain, Germany, France, the USA and Japan. The health of every nation largely depends on the quality and safety of food products. In any country, at the state level, requirements for product safety and quality are regulated and their compliance is ensured. One of the methods of such provision is state control. The article analyzes the practices of controlling the quality and safety of food products in the USA, Germany, France, Great Britain and Japan. It was revealed that there are both common and special rules in the practice of controlling the quality and safety of food products in the studied countries. In all countries, control over the quality and safety of food products is carried out by state bodies. In all countries, during control, special attention is paid to the reliability of product labeling. Improper labeling entails banning the sale of products, removal from circulation or destruction of particularly dangerous products, and even criminal liability in France and the USA. The main responsibility for dangerous food products in all countries is borne by the manufacturers or suppliers of the products who put them into circulation. In the USA and Japan, information about the presence of allergens in a food product must be included in the labeling. In the USA, in order for the manufacturer's products to be able to be supplied for a government order, the enterprise must implement a quality management system in accordance with the requirements of ISO 9001, and in Japan, in order to obtain a permit for the manufacture of food products, it is necessary to prove that proper sanitary and hygienic control is ensured by implementing HACCP system. In Germany, Great Britain, and Japan, quality and safety control is entrusted to local self-government bodies. In Germany, there is a product safety monitoring program throughout the territory, which makes it possible to monitor the appearance of dangerous products on the market, as well as to check the effectiveness of the established MPC of dangerous substances. The presence of "passports" for ready-made food products is checked only in France, although such a document is mandatory in EU countries. In France and Japan, exceptional importance is attached to the education of schoolchildren on food safety issues.

The demand for safe, hygienic, organic, and high-quality food products nowadays puts pressure on farmers to produce and practice sustainability. Sustainable agriculture practices (SAPs) are crucial to be implemented on every farm that produced foods to enable the supply of hygienic, safe food products and as a solution of pesticide-residue problems towards a healthier lifestyle. However, the farmers' main challenges towards sustainability and hindering their penetration to the global market are the difficulties in complying with the international standard of quality and certification compliance, such as MyGAP or Malaysian Good Agricultural Practices in cultivating, harvesting, and processing. MyGAP compliance showed that farmers are moving towards sustainable agriculture. This paper was aimed to assess the perception and the factors that influence the Intention to implement SAPs in pepper cultivation among pepper farmers in Sarawak. Descriptive analysis and factor analysis were used to accomplish the objectives of this study. Data collection was through interviews using a structured questionnaire administered on registered farmers under the Malaysian Pepper Board (MPB), planted at least 1 hectare or 2000 pepper trees in Bau and the District of Serian, Sarawak. Systematic stratified random sampling method was used based on the two different districts selected as stratification. The Theory of Planned Behaviour (TPB) was used as the conceptual framework to explain the farmers' behaviour towards SAPs. The results discovered four latent factors influencing Intention to practice SAPs: attitude, subjective norms, perceived behavioural Intention, and Intention, with the value of percentages of variance, explained 13.554%, 27.912%, 12.506%, 8.771%, and 7.703%, respectively. Subjective norms showed a high value of alpha at 0.935, followed by attitude (0.817) and Intention towards Sustainable Agriculture Practices (0.804). The findings provided the pepper farmers with invaluable insight on the advantages of adopting sustainable agriculture practices to expand their business locally and intentionally.

In modern conditions, one of the main components of any country's national security is food security. First of all, it implies the human right to have free access to ecologically clean and safe food products, based on their cultural needs and historical traditions. It is known that physical access to food is considered as the presence of a sufficient quantity and assortment of products, as for economic accessibility, it means that a person has enough income to at least minimally meet their food needs. It is recognized that there is a number of external and internal factors which directly impact food security: world population growth, global climate change, political instability, food losses, natural disasters, food shortages, malnutrition (low-quality, unsafe food products), gender inequality, and more. In the article, the features and trends that are characteristic of food production in Georgia are discussed. Ensuring food security and safety in the country is a difficult but at the same time important task that requires the joint efforts of all interested parties. An investment in food safety is an investment in the health and well-being of the population. Food safety solutions must be comprehensive and cover all stages of the food chain. They must be implemented through coordinated efforts of government, business, science, and take into account the interests of society (consumers). Keywords: food security, demography, political instability, food losses, climate change, natural disasters, safe food production, malnutrition, gender inequality.

Nowadays food preservation, quality maintenance, and safety are major growing concerns of the food industry. It is evident that over time consumers’ demand for natural and safe food products with stringent regulations to prevent food-borne infectious diseases. Antimicrobial packaging which is thought to be a subset of active packaging and controlled release packaging is one such promising technology which effectively impregnates the antimicrobial into the food packaging film material and subsequently delivers it over the stipulated period of time to kill the pathogenic microorganisms affecting food products thereby increasing the shelf life to severe folds. This paper presents a picture of the recent research on antimicrobial agents that are aimed at enhancing and improving food quality and safety by reduction of pathogen growth and extension of shelf life, in a form of a comprehensive review. Examination of the available antimicrobial packaging technologies is also presented along with their significant impact on food safety. This article entails various antimicrobial agents for commercial applications, as well as the difference between the use of antimicrobials under laboratory scale and real time applications. Development of resistance amongst microorganisms is considered as a future implication of antimicrobials with an aim to come up with actual efficacies in extension of shelf life as well as reduction in bacterial growth through the upcoming and promising use of antimicrobials in food packaging for the forthcoming research down the line.

College students are one of the most at-risk population groups for food poisoning, due to risky food safety behaviors. Using the Likert Scale, undergraduate students were asked to participate in a Food Safety Survey which was completed by 499 students ages 18–25. Data was analyzed using SPSS and AMOS statistical software. Four conceptual definitions regarding food safety were defined as: general food safety, bacterial food safety, produce food safety, and politics associated with food safety. Knowledge seems to be an important factor in shaping students attitudes regarding general and bacterial safety. Ethnicity plays a role in how people view the politics of food safety, and the safety of organic foods.

Consumer demand for reliable food product quality and safety is growing. This trend, together with increased public regulation and attention to the legal liability of food processors and retailers creates derived demand for food safety assurance in farm production. In consequence, farms have adopted different measures, voluntarily or compulsorily, in their production practice to ensure reduced food safety risks from the farm product. Multiple individual indicators exist which reflect different facets of food safety practice. In fact, it is likely that production of a safer product is a result of several factors. However, little is known about what practices effect greater food safety control at the farm level, or how farms that take greater food safety control fare in comparison to other farms. This study develops a composite food safety control indicator by aggregating data from a set of individual indicators of food safety control and investigates the variation in food safety practices across farms. Moreover, we show how some relevant variables may influence farm food safety control, thus provide empirical evidence for the design of food safety-enhancing agricultural policy measures.

Quality and safety of food product – Current assessment, issues, and metabolomics as a way forward

A review of human factors and food safety in Ireland

<p class="1"><span lang="EN-US">The purpose of this research was to analyze the perceptions and practices of participants involved in safe food handling. The sample was composed by 204 participants. To assess behavior, knowledge and psychosocial factors, the instrument used was divided in six topics: sociodemographic characteristics; behavioral measures regarding safe food production; measures about knowledge and practices in pest control and food purchase; Food Safety scale with two factors and Cronbach's alpha of 0.75; Credence declaration scale with three factors and Cronbach's alpha of 0.78, both scales with seven points, Likert type; Self-efficacy scale with one factor and Cronbach's alpha of 0.86, also Likert type with five points. A linear model of multiple variance analysis was used to evaluate if the variables gender, age, income, education and professional experience were used to determine the behavioral, knowledge and psychosocial measures. When the detected differences were significant, a post-hoc analysis was used with the Tukey adjustment. The knowledge about safe food production and food poisoning showed that 95.1% of participants consider <em>very important</em> hygiene precautions in food preparation in their homes; 30.4% of participants said that they or someone in their family have developed symptoms related to food poisoning in the last 12 months. The data obtained for self-efficacy showed significant differences for the variables gender, age and education. Women and college graduates replied that they <em>Are Sure they Can Do That </em>when asked about the execution of tasks that promote food safety. </span><span lang="EN-US">These results substantiate the need for educational initiatives tailored to develop the food safety knowledge and food-handling practices in Brasil.</span><strong></strong></p>

The political situation in Lebanon has reportedly impacted the implementation of food safety law. Although responsibility is placed upon the food industry to ensure food safety, consumers should also take responsibility. To date, no studies have explored the perceptions of risk, control, and responsibility of consumers regarding food safety in the region. Consequently, this study explored the food safety perceptions of consumers in Lebanon by using quantitative researcher measures. Lebanese consumers (n = 95) responded to a self-complete questionnaire to determine perceptions of risk, control, responsibility, and hygiene consciousness regarding food safety. Correlations were determined between personal perceptions of risk, control, responsibility, and hygiene consciousness (P < 0.001), whereby low levels of risk were correlated with high levels of control, responsibility, and hygiene consciousness. Statistically significant differences were determined between perceived risk, control, responsibility, and hygiene consciousness for “self” compared with other people (“others”) (P < 0.005), suggesting consumers in Lebanon exhibit perceptions of invulnerability, optimistic bias, illusion of control, and superiority bias. The most notable finding was that experiencing foodborne illness had a negative impact upon perceptions of risk, control, and responsibility to prevent foodborne illness. The perceptions and biases identified among study respondents are of great importance to help inform the development of future food safety interventions.

Food safety and eradication of food waste are current concerns of society and governments due to health, ethics, and sustainable economics. There are multiple technologies for monitoring food safety at different chain stages, among them, time-temperature integrators (TTI). Temperature is a major factor affecting food quality and safety during its life cycle. This parameter can be monitored using TTI devices on food packages, allowing users to know the thermal exposure. This chapter addresses food safety issues, namely factors related to microbial growth responsible for food deterioration. Moreover, TTI monitoring technologies are also described, focusing on features, advantages, disadvantages, applicability, and product examples. Analysis of the current state of TTI and technological evolution, a prediction is provided for future TTI devices designed for more assertive, traceable, safe, and quality food products.

South Korea imports a large amount of agricultural and aquatic food products from China, which meets its food security. However, the import from China raises food safety questions, leading to food safety apprehension. We explored the source of the Korean consumer’s apprehension. Based on the apprehension reduction theory (ART) developed from interviews with Korean consumers in the first stage of the study, we conducted a survey to assess the social media as an indirect source of information and direct experience of the consumer in the second stage of the study. We received 504 responses, of which 1/3 of the respondents had visited China in the last year. Using FSS (Food Safety Satisfaction) as the dependent variable (1— low to 5— high), we link information from the social media vis-à-vis direct experience and made three discoveries. (a) The information quantity of social media increases the consumer’s apprehension, partially refuting the ART. (ii) FSS increased in response to information flow from the direct experience of the consumer with Chinese imported food. (c) The direct information from experience mediates the effects of indirect information (social media) on apprehension about agricultural and aquatic product imports. We made three inferences. First, information quantity and quality have separated roles in the ART. Second, social media increases the free-market style information flow, turning legitimate products to illegitimate and vice versa. Third, the collective irrationality from the information quantity needs institutional bricolage to legitimize the chaotic nature of the untamed information.