NOVEL FOOD SAFETY CONCEPTS FOR SAFE FOOD: CASE MEAT PROCESSING INDUSTRY

Abstract

Consumers´ concern about dangers associated with food is high. Due to recent food crises in Europe, food quality and food safety have become a hot topic in the media. Meat, as one of the most sensitive industries regarding microbial contamination in food supply chain, deserves all this attention and we need to bring new skills to practice to manage food safety from the farm to the fork. The aim of this short review was to evaluate and compare the few food safety issues which are relevant for meat industry, namely food safety knowledge in practice, employees´ attitude toward food safety and employees´
work satisfaction and diversifi cation of the systems connected to meat processing industry. Today we master food safety through good practices at different levels of food production, distribution and consumption. The novelties which enter food supply chain through new substrates, new processes and technologies and new nutrition practices are key factor for building up a new dimension in food safety, which should be handled holistically. All these elements are very complex and closely connected to social factors, e.g. employees’ knowledge, awareness and attitude. Based on the research results on this fi eld it is determined that food safety education and individual awareness are the most important tools for food safety assurance, that’s why every food handler requires a complex and individual dealing. The human factor must be discussed equally like all the other risk factors, such as hygiene, technical and technological factors. For food safety it is essential that every link in food supply chain understands and fulfi ls his responsibilities and relies upon the previous and the next step in a chain.