Suchergebnisse

Noncompliances that decrease food safety are commonly detected in food safety inspections at restaurants, and challenges in correcting the noncompliances have been reported. Disclosure of inspection results has been used as a tool to decrease the rate of noncompliances by increasing motivation to attain and maintain compliance with regulations. However, the efficacy of disclosed inspection results is not well understood. In addition, preannouncement of the inspection and inspection interval may have an impact on the efficacy of inspections. In this longitudinal retrospective study based on disclosed restaurant inspections in Finland from the years 2017-2018, we examined the stability of compliance, correction of noncompliances at the item level, association of preannouncement with item-specific grades and association of inspection interval with compliance. The results show that compliance (inspection result Excellent) was maintained between two consecutive inspections in 60.5% of the restaurants. The inspection result To be corrected (C) improved in 72.3% and Poor (D) in 33.3% of the restaurants to an Excellent (A) or Good (B) result. Still, some noncompliances in items crucial to food safety were not corrected. This demonstrates that disclosure alone is not sufficient; other measures are also needed in food control. The inspection interval did not reveal any significant association with the stability of compliance. The proportions of C and D grades were at minimum twofold in unannounced compared to preannounced inspections in most inspected items. Unannounced inspections are therefore necessary to receive an accurate impression of the inspected items on the premises. ; Peer reviewed

The Finnish Hygiene Passport System, a national legislative requirement, has been used to test the food safety knowledge of food handlers for almost 20 years, resulting in over one million approved hygiene passports. However, information on the relevance of the Hygiene Passport System is virtually nonexistent. In order to evaluate the relevance of the official hygiene passport test, we collected a sample of original official hygiene passport tests from test examiners. We also arranged a simulated hygiene passport test for volunteers without any professional background in the food sector to investigate whether the basic level of hygiene knowledge of Finns is sufficient to pass the test. Our study revealed that more than 80% of the participants in the official hygiene passport test passed. However, participants completing the test in a foreign language or with assistance had significantly more difficulties in passing the test. The results for the simulated test suggested that the food safety knowledge of most Finns would have enabled them to pass the official test without prior training, especially those older than 20 and with a higher educational level. The simulated test also revealed that preparation prior to the test, i.e. study or training, was effective in increasing the food safety knowledge of participants, especially when their knowledge level was initially low, as among young participants. Moreover, significant variation in the difficulty of the test itself was observed, which may affect the pass rate. The current study supports the relevance of the hygiene passport test, showing that without the national requirement for the hygiene passport test, the level of food hygiene knowledge of new employees in the food sector, especially young people aged under 20, would be lower. However, our results suggest that the relevance of the hygiene passport test should be improved by validation of the test and by using official translations when conducting the test in a foreign language. Digitalization of the test would enable the regular evaluation of the test based on accurate data collection. ; Peer reviewed

Consistency and risk-basis are core elements of effective enforcement of food safety legislation. In Finland, inspections of food retail premises have been conducted since 2013 based on new national guidelines for evaluation and grading. According to the guidelines, food control authorities should initiate an administrative enforcement process to ensure compliance if the food business operator (FBO) is given the poorest grade in the inspection. In this study, we examined the consistency within and between local food control units on the threshold of initiating an enforcement process. The study was conducted through an analysis of inspection reports of FBOs and by an electronic survey and interviews of local food control officials. The results reveal that most officials consider the national evaluation guidelines as helpful in improving the consistency of using enforcement measures. However, inconsistencies exist between and within the local food control units in the alignments of initiating an enforcement process. Enforcement measures are mainly used on a risk-basis and gradually, as in most enforcement cases the FBO had multiple non-compliances and the FBO had been given a prior request to correct the non-compliance before initiating an enforcement process. The results, however, revealed rather weak compliance and repeated violations among some FBOs. Based on the observed persistence of non -compliances and the efficacy of enforcement measures in inducing compliance, a lower threshold of initiating an enforcement process towards FBOs with repeated violations appears beneficial in enhancing the correction of violations. Increasing the consistency of the enforcement process begins with unifying the practices within the local food control units by establishing clear procedures for enforcement and ensuring adequate orientation of personnel. Further strengthening of cooperation, peer-review and discussion on interpretations of required control actions between the units is needed for nationally consistent implementation of the evaluation and disclosure system and use of enforcement measures. (C) 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. ; Peer reviewed