A case study analysis of organizational climate and food safety in a federally inspected beef packing plant in Veracruz, Mexico

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2013-12

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Abstract

Food borne illnesses have increasingly become a growing human health and economic problem and have become more prevalent since 2001. In 2004, the World Health Organization reported 2.9 million deaths of children age 0-14 caused by diarrheal disease, which results primarily from contaminated food and water sources. Workforce training for those individuals in the food industry is imperative for increasing food safety awareness and ultimately reducing food borne illness. Because organizational climate has been directly linked to behavior change, and it is a direct reflection of leadership, it is imperative to understand how organizational climate and food safety relate in order evoke effective change in proactive workforce food safety-related behaviors.

This case study sought to analyze organizational climate, workforce training and food safety as measured by Salmonella prevalence in a federally-inspected packing plant in Mexico. This research indicated that not only is climate related to behavior, but in turn, is related to the quality of the final product. The improvements in organizational climate scores and reduction of Salmonella during processing mirrored similar improvements in the food safety of the final product as demonstrated by measurable decreases in the number of Salmonella contaminated carcasses detected at the conclusion of processing. Additionally, the interview with the food safety managers was supportive of the findings from the climate survey. Results will be used at the plant to improve food quality through continued training.

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Keywords

Organizational climate, Food safety

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