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1 – 10 of over 10000
Article
Publication date: 1 October 1899

That ice‐creams prepared with dirty materials and under dirty conditions will themselves be dirty is a proposition which, to the merely ordinary mind, appears to be sufficiently…

Abstract

That ice‐creams prepared with dirty materials and under dirty conditions will themselves be dirty is a proposition which, to the merely ordinary mind, appears to be sufficiently obvious without the institution of a series of elaborate and highly “scientific” experiments to attempt to prove it. But, to the mind of the bacteriological medicine‐man, it is by microbic culture alone that anything that is dirty can be scientifically proved to be so. Not long ago, it having been observed that the itinerant vendor of ice‐creams was in the habit of rinsing his glasses, and, some say, of washing himself—although this is doubtful—in a pail of water attached to his barrow, samples of the liquor contained by such pails were duly obtained, and were solemnly submitted to a well‐known bacteriologist for bacteriological examination. After the interval necessary for the carrying out of the bacterial rites required, the eminent expert's report was published, and it may be admitted that after a cautious study of the same the conclusion seems justifiable that the pail waters were dirty, although it may well be doubted that an allegation to this effect, based on the report, would have stood the test of cross‐examination. It is true that our old and valued friend the Bacillus coli communis was reported as present, but his reputation as an awful example and as a producer of evil has been so much damaged that no one but a dangerous bacteriologist would think of hanging a dog—or even an ice‐cream vendor—on the evidence afforded by his presence. A further illustration of bacteriological trop de zèle is afforded by the recent prosecutions of some vendors of ice‐cream, whose commodities were reported to contain “millions of microbes,” including, of course, the in‐evitable and ubiquitous Bacillus coli very “communis.” To institute a prosecution under the Sale of Food and Drugs Act upon the evidence yielded by a bacteriological examination of ice‐cream is a proceeding which is foredoomed, and rightly foredoomed, to failure. The only conceivable ground upon which such a prosecution could be undertaken is the allegation that the “millions of microbes ” make the ice‐cream injurious to health. Inas‐much as not one of these millions can be proved beyond the possibility of doubt to be injurious, in the present state of knowledge; and as millions of microbes exist in everything everywhere, the breakdown of such a case must be a foregone conclusion. Moreover, a glance at the Act will show that, under existing circumstances at any rate, samples cannot be submitted to public analysts for bacteriological examination—with which, in fact, the Act has nothing to do—even if such examinations yielded results upon which it would be possible to found action. In order to prevent the sale of foul and unwholesome or actual disease‐creating ice‐cream, the proper course is to control the premises where such articles are prepared; while, at the same time, the sale of such materials should also be checked by the methods employed under the Public Health Act in dealing with decomposed and polluted articles of food. In this, no doubt, the aid of the public analyst may sometimes be sought as one of the scientific advisers of the authority taking action, but not officially in his capacity as public analyst under the Adulteration Act. And in those cases in which such advice is sought it may be hoped that it will be based, as indeed it can be based, upon something more practical, tangible and certain than the nebulous results of a bacteriological test.

Details

British Food Journal, vol. 1 no. 10
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0007-070X

Article
Publication date: 23 October 2023

Intan Innayatun Soeparna

The World Trade Organisation (WTO) Agreement on Fisheries Subsidies (AFS) requires all members to avoid subsidy policies and financial measures that weaken sustainability in…

Abstract

Purpose

The World Trade Organisation (WTO) Agreement on Fisheries Subsidies (AFS) requires all members to avoid subsidy policies and financial measures that weaken sustainability in fishing and instead divert public spending in such a way that it is more beneficial to fisheries sectors. This paper aims to argue that the WTO fisheries subsidies rules can be considered as a mechanism not only for achieving fisheries sustainability but also for supporting food security in Indonesia.

Design/methodology/approach

The methodology of this study consists of descriptive and analytical legal research that identifies the relation between fisheries subsidies and food security policies in Indonesia.

Findings

Fisheries subsidies policies in Indonesia focus on government support for small-scale fishers not only to promote fishing sustainability and marine resource protection but also to improve their ability to participate in food security strategies.

Practical implications

The elimination of harmful fisheries subsidies could be regarded as a mechanism for not only preserving and sustaining marine resources but also achieving food security in other developing countries.

Originality/value

The author’s knowledge of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) is valuable in elaborating a new paradigm on how the WTO is achieving SDG 14 (Life below Water) and SDG 2 (Zero Hunger) in parallel by analysing Indonesia’s efforts to implement the AFS while also allocating public spending to fisheries sectors to accommodate food security.

Details

Journal of International Trade Law and Policy, vol. 22 no. 3
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1477-0024

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 8 February 2018

Golam Mohammad Shamusul Kabir, Kazi Tanvir Mahmud, Aniqa Hassan, David Hilton and Sheikh Monirul Islam

This paper aims to assess the impact of the training program on fish traders in building awareness about formalin abuse in food items.

Abstract

Purpose

This paper aims to assess the impact of the training program on fish traders in building awareness about formalin abuse in food items.

Design/methodology/approach

Primary data was collected from the fish traders in Bangladesh by using simple random sampling technique. Binary logistic regression was used to assess the opinions of the fish traders about training in building awareness of formalin abuse.

Findings

This study showed that the training of the fish traders played a positive role in improving their awareness level of formalin abuse.

Practical implications

Enhancement of both training and educational support could be an effective strategy in preventing formalin abuse in food.

Originality/value

This study helps in assessing the opinions of the fish traders about the effectiveness of the training programs in building awareness of formalin abuse.

Details

International Journal of Islamic and Middle Eastern Finance and Management, vol. 11 no. 1
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1753-8394

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 26 September 2008

Manisha Ramnauth, Françoise Driver and Parwin Bhugaloo Vial

The objective of this study, part of a larger overall project on food safety management in the fish producing and processing companies in Mauritius, is to generate information on…

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Abstract

Purpose

The objective of this study, part of a larger overall project on food safety management in the fish producing and processing companies in Mauritius, is to generate information on the knowledge, attitude and perception of key informants at the managerial level in these sectors with respect to food safety and its management.

Design/methodology/approach

A structured questionnaire was designed to evaluate the knowledge and understand the attitude and perception of the key informants. Personal interviews were carried out on‐board four fishing vessels and in seven fish processing establishments.

Findings

The main reason provided by all companies to have a documented food safety management system was to comply with the importing countries' legislative requirements. Interviewees expressed the need for technical experts, access to reliable information, more competent veterinarians and increased collaboration with government authorities. A low level of correct replies was obtained during the evaluation of the knowledge of respondents particularly regarding identification of hazards and risks pertaining to their products.

Research limitations/implications

Further in‐depth research is required to examine and understand the interplay between the factors that contribute to the low level of knowledge, the prevailing attitude and the behaviour with regard to food safety management at the managerial level.

Originality/value

The paper presents a body of information on the attitude and perception of fish business owners/managers with respect to food safety management in Mauritius, which was until now unavailable. It also provides evidence for the need to enhance knowledge with respect to food safety management even at the managerial level in the fish industry.

Details

British Food Journal, vol. 110 no. 10
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0007-070X

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 1 January 1970

The long interval between the last abortive attempt to negotiate entry to the European Economic Community and the present time, when, if we read the signs aright, the atmosphere…

Abstract

The long interval between the last abortive attempt to negotiate entry to the European Economic Community and the present time, when, if we read the signs aright, the atmosphere is more favourable, seems to have been a period of reflection for great numbers of people. Nothing has changed politically; “getting into Europe” is the official policy of both Government and Opposition, but many of the so‐called Marketeers are now ready to admit to there being problems. What has emerged, however, in the last year or two is that to the British people, the Common Market is not a political question; there are probably as many against it in both camps; big business remains for it, but the spate of letters in the correspondence columns of newspapers from people who, having had time to think, expressing misgivings, cannot have escaped observation by the policy‐makers. A few politicians confess to having second thoughts, mainly from concern at the price the British public may be called upon to pay.

Details

British Food Journal, vol. 72 no. 1
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0007-070X

Article
Publication date: 1 February 1984

The earliest law of the adulteration of food imposed divisions among the local authorities of the day in functions and enforcements; most of the urban and rural sanitary…

Abstract

The earliest law of the adulteration of food imposed divisions among the local authorities of the day in functions and enforcements; most of the urban and rural sanitary authorities possessed no power under the law. Provisions dealing with unfit food — diseased, unsound, unwholesome or unfit for human food — were not in the first sale of food and drugs measure and there duties were wholly discharged by all local authorities. Rural sanitary authorities were excluded from food and drugs law and boroughs and urban authorities severly restricted. Enforcement in the rural areas was by the county council, although local officers were empowered to take samples of food and submit them for analysis to the public analyst. Power to appoint the public analyst for the area was the main criterion of a “food and drugs authority”. The Minister had power to direct an authority with a population of less than 40,000 but more than 20,000 to enforce the law of adulteration.

Details

British Food Journal, vol. 86 no. 2
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0007-070X

Article
Publication date: 20 April 2015

Siril Alm and Svein Ottar Olsen

This paper aims to enhance the understanding of the influence of increased food availability and social learning in kindergartens on children’s attitudes toward food. In addition…

Abstract

Purpose

This paper aims to enhance the understanding of the influence of increased food availability and social learning in kindergartens on children’s attitudes toward food. In addition, it discusses questions regarding children and their parent’s attitudes and seafood consumption at home.

Design/methodology/approach

The study uses a qualitative approach that includes semi-structured interviews with 24 Norwegian children aged four to six years, interviewed in pairs. They represented two public kindergartens. One group attended a seafood intervention and the other did not. The intervention comprised seafood served as lunch twice per week, in addition to various educational activities designed to increase children’s knowledge of seafood.

Findings

Children who attended the seafood intervention used more cognitive associations by describing seafood as being healthy. They also expressed more positive attitudes towards seafood compared with the other children. The findings indicate a stronger socialization effect from parents than preschool teachers.

Research limitations/implications

The children proved to have limited cognitive and communicative abilities for participation in semi-structured interviews. Future studies should consider older samples and/or methods that are more adapted to their cognitive abilities. Results cannot be generalized due to the relative small sample size and the fact that the study was performed in one culture.

Social implications

To promote a healthier diet, children’s care givers and school authorities should make seafood more available. Preschool teachers should be encouraged to eat meals with the children to function as positive role models.

Originality/value

The study addresses a currently under-researched issue concerning the influence of kindergartens on children’s food attitudes toward a specific food category.

Details

Young Consumers, vol. 16 no. 1
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1747-3616

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 1 August 2016

Joanna Trafialek, Michal Zwolinski and Wojciech Kolanowski

– The purpose of this paper is to assess hygiene practices during fish selling in retail stores.

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to assess hygiene practices during fish selling in retail stores.

Design/methodology/approach

The data were collected by observations during inspections carried out in 100 randomly selected food retail stores, both independent and chain, selling fresh fish, fish products and other seafood. Stores were located in and around the area of Warsaw, Poland. The inspection check list consisted of 43 questions based on rigorist requirements of Commission Regulation (EC) 852, 853 and Codex Alimentarius. The question form was divided into three hygiene sectors: hygiene conditions of seafood departments; hygiene of fish selling process; personal hygiene of employees. Inspections were unannounced, and were conducted by discreet visual observations of employees work routine and selling procedures.

Findings

The level of hygiene compliances with inspection criteria was unexpectedly low. The highest percentage of compliance appeared in the hygiene of fish selling processes (in 44 percent of the stores compliance with evaluated criteria was found), less one compliance levels appeared in personal hygiene (18 percent) and hygiene of seafood department’s hygiene conditions (23 percent). Neither the size of the store, nor its location and type (independent and local or global chain) affected the compliance rate.

Research limitations/implications

The main research limitation is that assessment was done only by observation method. This is one of audit/inspection methods according to ISO 19011/2011, guidelines for auditing management systems. However, this kind of inspection cannot assess microbiological cleanliness or other like ATP or symptoms of diseases expect of only visible signs. The used inspection check list needs more testing and more analyses should be done for its reliability and validity.

Practical implications

Adequate hygiene practices are critical in preventing cross-contamination. However, none of the inspected stores ensured full implementation of all hygiene requirements during the sale of fish. The results indicated that a greater effort should be made to increase hygiene level both in small and large size retail stores. The designed inspection questionnaire proved to be a successful format for detailed evaluation of hygiene practices during the sale of fish. However, more work and analyses should be done for its reliability and validity.

Social implications

The findings bring some information for the consumers that in many retail stores the hygiene level during the fish sales might be insufficient.

Originality/value

The paper presents additional and detailed data on hygiene practices during fish selling, which are rarely pointed out by other authors. The applied evaluation method showed a low level of compliance with the rigorous hygienic criteria, adopted in this study, that may raise some food safety concerns.

Details

British Food Journal, vol. 118 no. 8
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0007-070X

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 1 February 1980

Some months ago a national organisation established to keep a watchful eye on the Nation's diet expressed concern over the eating trends of people in what to them appeared to be…

Abstract

Some months ago a national organisation established to keep a watchful eye on the Nation's diet expressed concern over the eating trends of people in what to them appeared to be developing inbalances of necessary nutrient factors and the inadeuacy not so much of calories and energy values but in the nature and quality of main food factors. It was recommended that the national diet should be improved, but the authorities pointed to the National Food Survey results to show that the diet was not deficient; that the average daily intake of protein, vitamins, minerals and overall energy requirements were satisfied; all of which is true for the not‐too‐generous levels set. Even the pensioner households included in the Survey sample appear well‐fed. What causes concern is the year‐by‐year decrease in staple foods consumed—milk, red meat, bread, fresh vegetables—and the heavy reliance on refined, processed foods. In its annual reports on NFS reviews, the BFJ has almost monotonously referred to this downward trend. Individual NFS Reports do not reveal any serious deficiencies, as yet, but in the trend over the years—and herein lies the real value of the Survey and its data—few if any of the changes have been for the better; movements in food groups have tended to be downwards. If these trends continue, the time must surely come when there will be real deficiencies; that substitution within a food group cannot make good essential foods severely rationed by high prices.

Details

British Food Journal, vol. 82 no. 2
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0007-070X

Article
Publication date: 2 April 2015

Lin Zhou, Shaosheng Jin, Bin Zhang, Guangyan zhoulin620@gmail.com Cheng, Qiyan Zeng and Dongyang Wang

The purpose of this paper is to separate households into several types based on their features, and then to further investigate determinants of household fish consumption in China…

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to separate households into several types based on their features, and then to further investigate determinants of household fish consumption in China by figuring out consumption preference divergences between types of households under the effects of economic and socio-demographics factors.

Design/methodology/approach

This paper first applies Multiple Correspondence Analysis to separate the modalities of variables and households according to their features, with health knowledge and time constraint of a spouse highlighted. Then, the transcribed principal information of both variables and households has been added into Marshallian demand function with fish price, income, child effect, and health status for identification of factors on household fish demand. The robust fixed effect and robust random effect GLS regression has been conducted.

Findings

The paper provides empirical insights about what and how factors affect household fish consumption. It suggests that, for all households, pork is still a main substitution of fish, fish consumption regarding to each household should be constant, and fish consumption differs a lot between provinces. For households with higher dietary knowledge, the authors found that increase of income, the existence of adolescent would cause an increase in fish consumption, while illness of household member makes a decrease in fish consumption. For households with working women who have higher opportunity cost of time pursue much more convenience, then consume less fish at home than their counterparts.

Research limitations/implications

The increasing variety in consumer’s dietary need makes the understanding of which becoming much more difficult than before. This paper uses three-wave panel data with households spread over nine provinces in China, but the results still has its limitation since china is the one with vast in territory and residents. In the future, the difference between urban and rural area in fish consumption need further research.

Practical implications

The paper reveals the common determinants of fish consumption in China, and makes a further clear answer by a further discussion on different household types. The results have rather high implications for making targeted policy or precisely forecasting a future fish demand in China, which will rather be helpful for fishery industry development in China.

Originality/value

This paper fulfills an identified need to study the divergence of determinants or the impact degree of different factors on fish consumption in China by household types. An increasing trend of food away from home has significant effect on how to count household size in food consumption studies, and the identification of persday in this study shows its advantages in dealing with this issue, which makes a contribution on resolve the overestimation of household size issue.

Details

British Food Journal, vol. 117 no. 4
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0007-070X

Keywords

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