Good Manufacturing Practices Readiness of Micro and Small Fish Processors in Balanga City, Bataan
Date
6-2023
Degree
Bachelor of Science in Agribusiness Management
College
College of Economics and Management (CEM)
Adviser/Committee Chair
Melodee Marciana E. De Castro
Committee Member
Cherry Lou R. Nuñez, Remund Jordan D. Labios, Fitz D. Jimenez, Mar B. Cruz
Restrictions
Restricted: Not available to the general public and to those bound by the confidentiality agreement. Access is available only after consultation with author/thesis adviser.
Abstract
Food safety on fish and fish products is becoming a major global concern as microbiological safety hazards are continuously emerging. The production and supply chain of fish is vulnerable to the introduction of pathogenic and spoilage microorganisms (Sheng and Wang, 2020). The presence of microbiological safety hazards in seafood is an indication that the food is produced in an unsanitary manner for these are not inherent among seafood products (AFDO, 2019). Microbiological safety hazards, specifically Salmonella spp. and Escherichia coli, are found in smoked fish among fish processors in Nigeria (Abegunde, 2015), Indonesia (Ariyani et al., 2018), Bangladesh (Dutta et al., 2018), and the Philippines (Abalayan, 2022). Due to the increasing incidence of food-borne outbreaks globally, consumers demand for safer foods. As a result, stricter compliance on food safety is being implemented in fishery products in the international and local markets.
However, fish processors in the Philippines are dominated by micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs) that are mainly using traditional fish processing methods such as drying, salting, and smoking. MSME fish processors are swamped with many challenges that limit them from complying with food safety regulations such as Good Manufacturing Practices (GMP). The GMP presents the basic guidelines expected of food processors to comply with safe and quality standards from input up to the final product to ensure that the processors are producing safe and quality foods under sanitary conditions (Anggraini & Yuhastuti, 2014).
As the gap in the acquisition of knowledge and compliance with GMP of fish processors exist in the Philippines, harnessing global opportunities in the industry is a challenge. This gap is reflected in a very low number of fish processing plants that are GMP certified as reported by BFAR (2018). With the continuous threat on food safety in the global and local arena of the industry, this accentuates the importance of adhering to food safety regulations. However, the identification of the contributing factors in the context of the fish processing industry is an under-explored area. Therefore, the study aims to determine the fish processors’ readiness for GMP adoption.
This was done by identifying the current extent of compliance on food safety practices using GMP standards and the factors affecting its compliance among micro and small fish processors in Balanga City, Bataan. Specifically, the study aimed to (a) present the socio-demographic and enterprise profile of fish processors; (b) discuss the fish processors’ understanding of Good Manufacturing Practices, their current extent of food safety management practices and their level of agreement with the importance of GMP; (c) explain the association of fish processors’ profile in the compliance of food safety management practices; (d) identify the respondents’ perceived barriers and drivers affecting the readiness on GMP adoption; (e) describe the role of government support and industry pressure in realizing GMP adoption among fish processors; and (f) assess the fish processors’ motivational factors and its link to their attitude towards GMP adoption.
The study adopted the conceptual framework used by Najmi et al. (2023) and Arapnutud et al. (2009) in their study on the readiness of the firms for halal standards adoption and factors influencing food safety management system adoption respectively. The framework shows that the compliance to food safety management practices is affected by external and internal factors which consequently affect the readiness of the processors for GMP adoption. External factors refer to external pressures that compel firms to comply with standard practices. These include government regulations, consumer pressure, industry competition, and government support. The internal factors, on the other hand, are socio-demographic profile, enterprise profile, motivational factors, and the degree of interconnectedness.
Descriptive and correlation research design were applied in the study while the sampling method used is purposive sampling. The sample is composed of equal numbers of smoked and dried fish processors. A total number of 34 fish processors were interviewed in-person using a survey questionnaire. The primary data is comprised of respondents’ profile, level of awareness towards GMP, the extent of compliance, level of agreement to food safety/GMP importance, adequacy of GMP information, and the level of agreement to GMP adoption in relation to motivational factors, likeliness to adopt GMP due to industry pressures and government involvement. These were analyzed using descriptive statistics. On the other hand, the relationship between respondents’ profile and compliance to food safety practices are analyzed using Spearman’s correlation for interval variables and Chi-Square test of independence for categorical variables.
The data revealed that the most reported age of fish processors in Balanga City is 40 years old and 79.41% are female. The years of experience of respondents in fish processing range from 7-65 years and with 0 as the most frequently reported years. Almost all the fish processors are micro enterprises, constituting 91.18% while the remaining are considered as small enterprises. The years of their enterprise in the fish industry vary from 3-50 years, with 20 as the most frequently reported years. They processed 7 different kinds of fish for tinapa and tuyo in which most of them (64.71%) are distributing across Luzon. The strong distribution lines of the fish processors are Bicol Region, Baguio, Nueva Ecija, Pangasinan, Pampanga, and Zambales.
Moreover, it was revealed that fish processors have a low degree of interconnectedness to GMP or the extent to which they are exposed to information regarding food safety practices, particularly to GMP. This is evident in the reported level of awareness of the respondents showing that most of them (85.29%) do not know what GMP is. It is also supported with a low number of fish processors who were able to attend food safety or GMP-related training and seminars with the aim of formalizing their knowledge on safe food handling and processing of fish products. Those who answered that they understand what GMP is relate the practices towards sanitation of equipment and utensils as well as following the appropriate practices in processing the fish. Sanitation and proper processing practices are part of the components of GMP. The low awareness on GMP is also supported with 58.82% respondents that strongly disagree with the statement saying that they have adequate information about GMP.
Although fish processors are generally not well-informed regarding GMP, they show a positive attitude towards adopting GMP in ensuring that the fish is being processed under sanitary conditions, adhering to the standards of manufacturing fish products for safe consumption. This is evident to the reported overall agreement mean of 4.5 with a descriptive analysis of strongly agree. As food handlers, they also agree that it is part of their responsibility to comply with GMP and other food safety practices standards. Otherwise, their employees and consumers may be put at risk on health and safety issues. Additionally, they are also willing to change their incorrect food handling practices and 73.53% of them strongly agree that attendance in training/seminars regarding GMP or food safety is important.
Food safety presented in the study are based on GMP standards for fish processing. It was adopted from the study of Bigueja (2020) that was patterned after the Philippine National Standards (PNS). There are 6 main components of GMP that the study focuses on, and these are raw materials, equipment, facility and premises, sanitation and hygiene, personnel, and production and process control. The practices under each component are determined on how frequent these practices are being complied by the fish processors. Generally, fish processors have an overall weighted mean of 3.49 which constitutes an often-complied adjectival rating. The most complied components are sanitation and hygiene, and facility and premises.
Although fish processors have high compliance on food safety practices, gaps exist in the compliance of practices in other components such as production and process control, personnel, raw materials, and equipment. These gaps in the compliance to food safety practices using GMP standards shows that fish processors in Balanga City are not yet ready for GMP adoption as compliance to some practices still need to improve. One of the steps to analyze the compliance of the fish processors is by identifying the factors affecting it. Using Spearman’s correlation and Chi-Square test of independence, the variables that show a significant relationship to food safety practices compliance are the kinds of distribution and affiliation with other organizations.
With a p-value of 0.023 and Cramer’s value of 0.472, affiliation with other organizations shows an extremely significant relationship with compliance and this shows that being affiliated to various organizations, the higher the compliance or adoption to standard practices will be. Affiliation to different groups provide an avenue for higher exposure to food safety information, thereby increasing the degree of interconnectedness. Similarly, the distribution to various markets shows a significant relationship to compliance, revealing that as the fish processors are doing various distribution modes, the higher the compliance or adoption to the practices will be. Distributing to various markets allows fish processors to use different modes of distribution such as wholesale and retail. The pressure coming from consumers drives the efforts for compliance across all areas of GMP components.
Furthermore, respondents have identified the drivers and barriers to their compliance on food safety practices that affect their readiness for GMP adoption. There are six main drivers reported by the respondents, and these include required by the authority, adequate government support, more informed employees, favorable results of compliance, enough and available training, and adequate financial capacity. Respondents specifically enumerated the favorable results of compliance, and these involve expansion of business to grocery stores, open export opportunities and having better product quality. Meanwhile, adequate government support includes financial support, free assistance in adoption, and equal support for all fish processors.
On the other hand, 44% of the respondents were having difficulty adhering to food safety practices based on GMP standards and the barriers identified by fish processors to this are the lack of capital resources, inadequacy of skills and knowledge of the management, the lack of government support, and the bureaucratic process of acquiring certifications. The lack of capital resources includes the limited financial capacity, lack of facilities expected to a processing enterprise, and limitations due to the size of the business which hinders the respondents from fully adopting the practices. Although faced with several barriers in compliance, fish processors show a positive attitude on GMP adoption relative to industry pressures coming from various stakeholder in the business environment, These include employees, customers, competitors, regulatory bodies and government. With an agreement mean of 4.2, fish processors are likely to adopt GMP when their customers demand them to do so and when they see their competitors adopting it. Along with this, fish processors are very likely to adopt GMP due to the pressure from implementing government bodies.
Similarly, respondents show positive attitude towards GMP adoption and certification if it will yield favorable results for their business such as having larger market scope, producing more quality products, and considered as an advantage over their competitors. These motivational factors of respondents positively affect the attitude of fish processors in adopting GMP. This information provided the baseline on the readiness of the fish processors for GMP adoption, and this also provided an overview of the gaps and challenges that contribute significantly to their struggle towards readiness for GMP adoption. Thus, recommendations for easing the pain points are vital.
Affiliation to groups is found to be a significant factor in compliance with food safety management practices. With that, the fish processors of Balanga City should participate in the formation of the cooperative as this can serve as an avenue for channeling support in finances, equipment, building of networks, information dissemination, and facilitating training/ seminar. Being a member of the cooperative allows exposure to new market opportunities, food safety information, and government support which are the respondents' drivers and motivational factors of GMP compliance. In addressing the low awareness of GMP information, government agencies, particularly BFAR, should capacitate fish processors by leveraging their food safety awareness to that of consumers. It can be done through providing training and seminars regarding GMP for it is a vital step in addressing inadequacy in skills and knowledge of the members of the organization to food safety practices. This will also increase the degree of interconnectedness of the fish processors to GMP information. The introduction of formal knowledge regarding GMP should be done gradually, per component and it is suggested that the focus should first be on the practices under personnel as these have the lowest level of compliance. Similarly, the local government of Balanga City should provide assistance in GMP certification, from application up to the successful acquisition of certificate and bridge them to market opportunities as a response from industry pressures.
Language
English
LC Subject
Fish trade--Philippines, Supply chain management, Manufacturing processes
Location
UPLB College of Economics and Management (CEM)
Call Number
LG 993 2023 M17 G37
Recommended Citation
Garcia, Krisha Mae R., "Good Manufacturing Practices Readiness of Micro and Small Fish Processors in Balanga City, Bataan" (2023). Undergraduate Theses. 11830.
https://www.ukdr.uplb.edu.ph/etd-undergrad/11830
Document Type
Thesis
