Evaluation of food safety management system applications in food retail sector

It is necessary to apply the understanding of "from the farm to the table" in the food retail sector as well as in the production to obtain safety food. In the establishment and implementation of food safety management systems, there are various reasons such as lack of information and time as well as difficulties in financing and human resources areas. In this study, a questionnaire study was conducted to detect the applicability of the ISO 22000 Food Safety Management System which is an international standard on food safety, from the point of view of the managers in the food retail sector. Questionnaires were performed in 31 managers of food retail sector, selected by random sampling from the markets in Istanbul. They stated that the food safety management system was applied primarily because of being aware of importance of food safety (58% of markets), providing customers' confidence (39% of markets) and obtaining a competitive advantage in the market (3%). According to our findings, in our country, markets in the retail sector generally prefer the solving the problem rather than taking precaution in course of the implementation of the food safety management system. According to the results, senior management did not provide adequate support for system operations and activities. Although 61% of markets stated that they had a separate budget for the food safety system, it has been determined that the majority of managers did not have any information about the exact budget. Especially in small and medium-sized markets it has been determined, there was not enough consciousness about food safety management systems, its importance and its benefits, especially in the course of food safety practices. And also lack of qualified and trained staff was an important problem to apply food safety management system.