An Assessment of Food Safety Culture Among Durian Processing Enterprises in Davao City

Date

7-2020

Degree

Bachelor of Science in Agribusiness Management

College

College of Economics and Management (CEM)

Adviser/Committee Chair

Dinah Pura T. Depositario

Committee Member

Dinah Pura T. Depositario, Nohreen Ethel P. Manipol, Melodee Marciana E. De Castro

Abstract

This study was conducted to assess the food safety culture of the durian processing enterprises in Davao City. Specifically, the study aimed to: (1) profile the durian processing enterprises in Davao City; (2) describe the status of the enterprises in terms of various food safety culture dimensions and compare the perceived levels of these dimensions between the managers and employees of the selected enterprises; (3) compare the food safety culture levels across various dimensions between GMP-certified enterprises and non-GMP enterprises; and (4) recommend strategies to improve the current food safety culture among the enterprises in Davao City.

A descriptive research design was used in this study. Two types of data were collected in this study. First, primary data was collected from selected enterprises through questionnaires and interviews. Then, secondary data was collected through up-to-date research, journals, manuals and informants.

Five enterprises were selected in Davao City, Davao Del Sur where most durian products were produced. The selected enterprises were named as Company A, Company B, Company C, Company D and Company E for confidentiality purposes. One manager and at least five employees were interviewed per enterprise with an exception for Company E with only 2 employees.

Classifying the scale of operation of the enterprises were based on the definition under Republic Act No. 9501 or the Magna Carta for enterprises. Company A was a medium enterprise found in Bugac, Maa. The enterprise had been operating for 69 years. Company B was also a medium enterprise located around Quirino Avenue. They had branches all over the country such as Cagayan De Oro City, General Santos City, Manila and Davao City. The enterprise was established in 2006 and has been running for 14 years. Company C was a small enterprise that both produces and manufactures durian and cacao products. They had been around for almost 20 years. Both of their farm and work area can be found in Calinan. Company D was a small enterprise that targets public markets and bus terminals. The business was established in 2005 and can be found currently in Ecoland. Company E was a micro-enterprise that was founded 60 years ago. Their storefront and work area can be found in Matina.

Food safety culture dimensions were used in assessing the performances of the selected enterprises. These dimensions were adopted from various works of Ungku F., Ungku Z. (2013) and Ball (2010). The following dimensions were management commitment, communication, worker unit commitment and infrastructure. They were reliable tools according to the result of Chronbach’s Alpha.

In terms of the dimensions of food safety culture, the selected enterprises, on the overall, rated relatively high average scores of 4.47- 4.9 on a scale of 1-5 (4 being agree and 5 being strongly agree). The results signified a relatively high perception of level of food safety culture by both managers and workers in all the enterprises covered. Based on the average scores per dimension, the areas were the enterprises were found to be needing improvement were in the areas of reward systems, trainings and teamwork.

A comparison of the employees’ and managers’ perceived food safety level was done and it was found that the manager had a higher perception of their enterprise’s food safety level. Small enterprises (Companies C and D) had the smallest gap between the manager’s and the employees’ perception which suggests that their managers could have been more effective in emphasizing among their workers the importance of having a well-established food safety culture of observing food safety practices.

In comparing GMP-certified to non-GMP-certified enterprises, a close link between the food safety culture and food safety performance (i.e., GMP-certified/aligned vs. non-GMPcertified) performance was found. GMP-certified enterprises posted a higher perception towards food safety culture score versus the non-GMP enterprises. To create a strong food safety culture in any durian processing enterprise, there should be: (1) good leadership and management support; (2) effective communication; (3) trainings and seminars; and (4) teamwork development. Moreover, adopting the concept of “Kaizen” or continuous improvement can help in developing a good organizational culture. Building a strong organizational culture can help in creating and sustaining commitment. When the vi managers and employees feel committed, compliance to food safety policies will become easier.

Language

English

LC Subject

Business enterprises, Food handling--Safety measures

Location

UPLB College of Economics and Management (CEM)

Call Number

LG 993 2020 M17 D45

Document Type

Thesis

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