Marketing Food Safety Project |
The Marketing Food Safety project was a part of a US Department of Agriculture National Institute of Food and Agriculture grant awarded to California State University, Chico, The Northern CA Regional Land Trust (Buy Fresh Buy Local, North Valley Chapter, The College of Agriculture, and Center for Health Communities.
The objectives of my research project were to Identify food safety verification requirements of intermediary buyers when purchasing locally produced food from distributors and growers. Investigate intermediary buyers’ perceptions of “safe” food. The reason for my objectives is because one in six Americans become ill from unsafe food each year. Due to this public health crisis, the 2011 Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA) was passed to ensure Good Agricultural Practices (GAPs) implementation and documentation for all US food producers. Even though these laws do not require buyers to verify GAPs, many large companies do require verification because of the highly publicized outbreaks and subsequent financial risk. However, it is not known whether intermediary buyers require verification or how they perceive “safe” food e.g., organic is safe. Without GAP verification requirements, producers may sell their product without a food safety plan in place. These holes in food safety verification may lead to outbreaks regardless of FSMA. My data collection involved 25 interviews with a convenience sample of intermediary buyers from a tri-county region in Northern California using a mixed qualitative/quantitative interview. And my results, included 48% of the sample do not require documentation of a food safety plan from distributors, while 70% do not require the same documentation from producers. When buyers were asked, “why they do not require food safety documentation from growers?” 50% answered “other.” Upon review of the qualitative data, topics revealed, included “trust of local producer,” “organic certification,” and “no regulatory oversight.” In conclusion, findings suggest that a majority of intermediary buyers do not verify GAPs and misunderstand food safety, in general. Future interventions should focus on buyer education of biological, physical and chemical contaminants and the GAPs needed to prevent contamination. In addition, future food safety laws should consider GAP verification requirements. |
SurveyThe survey I developed for my research project includes both quantitative/qualitative questions and was used to interview 25 food procurers in Northern California. Each survey interview was recorded and transcribed.
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The defense of my thesis took place on Monday May 18th, 2015 and including a audience participation and a rich discussion.
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