Food Quality Management

The management of food distribution networks is receiving more and more attention, both in practice and in the scientific literature. In this paper, we review quantitative operations management approaches to food distribution management, and relate this to challenges faced by the industry. Here, our main focus is on three aspects: food quality, food safety, and sustainability. We discuss the literature on three decision levels: strategic network design, tactical network planning, and operational transportation planning. For each of these, we survey the research contributions, discuss the state of the art, and identify challenges for future research.

Abstract
Assessment of the quality of borehole water samples from Federal Housing Estate and Sites and Services areas
of Owerri, Imo State, Nigeria was conducted to determine the suitability of these borehole water samples. Six
samples of borehole water gotten from six different families living in these areas were analyzed for microbial,
chemical and physicochemical parametersusing standard analytical method of National Agency for Food and
Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC). The result of microbial analysis revealed that all the water
samples (samples D, E, F, G, H, and M) had total coliform count of 64.0cfu/100ml, 5.0cfu/100ml,
41.0cfu/100ml, 16.0cfu/100ml, 124.0cfu/100ml and 0.0cfu/100ml respectively. This showed that sample D, F,
G, and H exceeded the standard of 10 coliform counts/100ml. The entire samples resulted at 0 counts for
Escherichia coli. Samples D, F, G and M tested negative for pseudomonas test, whereas samples E and H did
not. The chemical analysis showed that all the samples did not meet up with the recommended standard of pH
(6.5-8.5).However, there was significant difference (p<0.5) between samples D and E. samples F and J were
significantly the same, also as samples G and M. Sample M was the least significant while sample D was the
most significant at pH 4.6 and 6.4 respectively. The temperatures were all significantly the same and did not
exceed standard limit of 370C. The total dissolved solid also did not exceed the limit of 500ppm and the
conductivity limit was not exceeded. All the samples did not exceed limits for zinc, copper, lead, magnesium,
cadmium and iron which are 3mg/l, 1mg/l, 0.01mg/l, 0.02mg/l, 0.03mg/l and 0.3mg/l respectively except for
calcium, where samples D, E, G and H were beyond standard of 0.4mg/l. All the samples were significantly
different for each parameter except for lead of which the entire sample were all the same. The depth of the
borehole in relation to the distance of septic tank, distance of neighbor’s septic tank and distance of refuse dump
as obtained from these families revealed that sample M had the highest distance and was the least contaminated,
whereas sample H had the closest distance and the greatest microbial contamination. The depth of Sample G
borehole was according to the regulatory standard of 150 ft., and from the analysis the entire parameters were
within standard except for pH.
Keywords: Water, Standards, Microbial analysis, Total Dissolved Solid, Metals, Septic tank

This article facilitates deeper insight into label-related consumer information acquisition behaviour. An integrated framework of label information search (LIS) has been developed based on a synthesis of related literature and explorative research conducted by analysing online discussions among customers (netnography). The framework focuses on three main groups of personal factors that serve as antecedents of LIS: general personal factors (e.g. health consciousness and socio-demographics), label-related personal factors (e.g. label-related self-efficacy, trust in labels and the perceived usefulness of labels) and product category-related personal factors (trust in food products, enduring involvement, experience and perceived quality differences). Important  characteristics of the framework are its process-oriented nature and the dynamically
changing relationships among its concepts. LIS is an antecedent to and a consequence of influencing factors. This article offers managerial implications and serves to incite future inquiry in this field.

One of the most challenging tasks in today's food industry is controlling the product quality throughout the food supply chain. In this paper, we integrate food quality in decision-making on production and distribution in a food supply chain. We provide a methodology to model food quality degradation in such a way that it can be integrated in a mixed-integer linear programming model used for production and distribution planning. The resulting model is applied in an illustrative case study, and can be used to design and operate food distribution systems, using both food quality and cost criteria.

When manufacturing organizations seek to enhance the safety of food products and to meet the requirements put forward by customers and markets they are compelled to adopt various Food Safety Management Systems (FSMS) that conform to global, international, national, private and proprietary standards. In this study ‘Multiple Food Safety Management Systems’ (MFSMS) describes the situation in which one organization has adopted and implemented more than one FSMS standard. The paper presents a case study of a seafood factory located in Maldives which has implemented FSMS, with the aim to analyse the motivations for the adoption of MFSMS and the consequences of that adoption in the management system and the organization. The study notes that the key motivations for implementing MFSMS were a management commitment to improve food quality and safety, compliance with regulations, market requirements, customer requirements, external funding, marketing tools, brand image, requirements of retaile...

In contrast to discrete manufacturers, food-processing companies can sometimes produce the same end products in different ways: either mix first and then process, or process first and mix later. Moreover, a final product can be mixed from different raw materials or intermediates. That adds a new dimension to postponement and decoupling point theory as choices need to be made not only with regard to where to locate inventory, but also which products to store. That aspect has not been covered so far. This paper explores this problem for a typical two-stage food production situation in a flour mill. The number and composition of intermediate products in the decoupling point is determined using a stepwise solution approach supported by mathematical programming models. The procedure facilitates decision-making for the management of the mill regarding how many and what intermediates to store. Extensions of the models presented might be helpful to solve related problems such as determining the number of intermediate storage tanks required.

Tapioca is an agro-industries product with high consumption level that reached 1.132 million tons per year. However, that potential was not balanced with the productivity levels of tapioca industries due to weak capacity and production period. This research aims to design the development model of tapioca agro-industries which can produce in a sustainable way in terms of quality as well as quantity of product. Study of research location was in the Kaur Regency of Bengkulu Province. This research consists of three stages. The first study was conducted to know the projection of the raw materials availability and product demand using regression and quadratic equation smallest method. The result of calculation projections showed the availability of raw cassava achieved an average of 10 million tons per year and the demand for tapioca 1.36 million tons per year. The second study was done to determine the partnership patterns between company and farmers using pairwise comparison and rating...

International Journal of Software Engineering & Applications (IJSEA) is a bi-monthly open access peer-reviewed journal that publishes articles which contribute new results in all areas of the Software Engineering & Applications. The goal of this journal is to bring together researchers and practitioners from academia and industry to focus on understanding Modern software engineering concepts & establishing new collaborations in these areas. Authors are solicited to contribute to the journal by submitting articles that illustrate research results, projects, surveying works and industrial experiences that describe significant advances in the areas of software engineering & applications.