Search results

1 – 3 of 3
Article
Publication date: 7 January 2021

E.D. van Asselt, J.L. Banach, M. Klüche and W.A.J. Appelman

Leafy vegetables may get contaminated with pathogens through the use of irrigation water during open field cultivation. The main control option to prevent this contamination is…

Abstract

Purpose

Leafy vegetables may get contaminated with pathogens through the use of irrigation water during open field cultivation. The main control option to prevent this contamination is the use of disinfection technologies that will reduce the pathogenic load of the irrigation water. Several technologies, either chemical or physical, are available for disinfection, which were gathered from the literature and European Union (EU) projects. The purpose of this paper is to prioritise these technologies.

Design/methodology/approach

A feasibility study was performed to identify the most promising disinfection technology considering 12 different criteria. A two-tier approach was used in which the technologies were first evaluated based on three criteria: legal status, effectiveness and technology readiness level (TRL). Only the technologies that reached pre-set thresholds for these three criteria were then evaluated in the second tier.

Findings

The evaluation showed that the most promising technologies after the tier-2 evaluation were ultrasound, microfiltration, ultraviolet and ozone. The study showed that the followed approach enabled prioritising disinfection technologies allowing for selecting the most promising technologies that can be tested further on a possible application during primary production to prevent possible food safety issues in leafy vegetables.

Research limitations/implications

The overview is not an exhaustive list of disinfection technologies available rather only those technologies that seemed promising for application in horticulture were addressed. Some technologies may, thus, have been missed. Nevertheless, a total of 12 single and seven combined technologies were evaluated.

Originality/value

This is the first study that uses a structured approach to prioritise a broad range of possible water disinfection technologies for use at primary production.

Details

British Food Journal, vol. 123 no. 5
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0007-070X

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 4 April 2016

Esther van Asselt, Sjoukje Osinga and Harry Bremmers

The purpose of this paper is to simulate compliance behaviour of entrepreneurs in the Netherlands based on the Table of Eleven: 11 factors determining compliance (based on…

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to simulate compliance behaviour of entrepreneurs in the Netherlands based on the Table of Eleven: 11 factors determining compliance (based on economic, cognitive, social and institutional factors).

Design/methodology/approach

An Agent-Based Model (ABM) was developed that could incorporate both individual and group behaviour and allowed to evaluate the effect of various intervention strategies. For this purpose, a case study on the compliance of pig farmers with antibiotics legislation in the Netherlands was used.

Findings

The effect of social factors (acceptance of legislation and social influence) on compliance levels was tested as well as the number of inspectors. This showed that the model can help to choose the most optimal intervention strategy depending on the input parameters.

Research limitations/implications

Further expansion of the model may be necessary, e.g. including economic factors, in order to reflect real-life situations more closely.

Practical implications

The model can be used by inspection services to effectively implement their control programme.

Originality/value

The developed ABM is a first attempt to simulate compliance behaviour and as such contributes to the current limited knowledge on effective intervention strategies.

Details

British Food Journal, vol. 118 no. 4
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0007-070X

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 10 July 2007

Nynke J. Bergsma, Arnout R.H. Fischer, Esther D. Van Asselt, Marcel H. Zwietering and Aarieke E.I. De Jong

The disease burden caused by Campylobacter jejuni may be decreased by reduced consumption of undercooked chicken meat. However, little is known about consumer preparation of…

1873

Abstract

Purpose

The disease burden caused by Campylobacter jejuni may be decreased by reduced consumption of undercooked chicken meat. However, little is known about consumer preparation of poultry and the effects of commonly applied cooking times on bacterial inactivation. This study aimed to answer these questions.

Design/methodology/approach

Surveys were mailed in The Netherlands and analysed and laboratory inactivation experiments were conducted for the most frequent preparation method.

Findings

The surveys revealed that the predominant way of chicken meat cooking was (stir)frying fillets and that consumers were generally aware of the presence of bacteria on chicken meat. Thorough heating of meat was considered important, which was often checked by visual inspection. In the laboratory, D‐values for C. jejuni were obtained at frying temperatures: D was 1.95 min for artificially contaminated whole and D 0.59 min for diced fillets, respectively under practically relevant conditions. Large variability in survival was found, however.

Originality/value

The paper shows that by combining consumer research and food microbiology it was concluded that the actual risk of consumption of chicken breast fillets that contain surviving C. jejuni is higher than previously assumed.

Details

British Food Journal, vol. 109 no. 7
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0007-070X

Keywords

Access

Year

Content type

Article (3)
1 – 3 of 3