Motzer Caroline, Trmcic Aljosa, Martin Nicole, Wiedmann Martin, Bolten Samantha
Milk Quality Improvement Program, Department of Food Science, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY 14853.
JDS Commun. 2025 Mar 18;6(3):277-281. doi: 10.3168/jdsc.2024-0692. eCollection 2025 May.
Small- and medium-sized dairy processing plants (SMDPP) may face unique challenges, such as limited financial resources, when implementing environmental monitoring programs (EMP). To better understand what drives investment in EMP, 9 SMDPP, which had previously participated in an ∼1-yr longitudinal study focused on implementing EMP, completed a questionnaire regarding their EMP-associated costs. This questionnaire was used to obtain each plant's (1) self-reported product value (i.e., estimated total value of finished product [ETVFP] in a plant at any given time) and other EMP-associated costs (e.g., corrective action costs), as well as (2) perceived ability to control pathogens in their processing environment. Additionally, we used a predefined rubric to assess each SMDPP's commitment to their EMP; these data were used to obtain a "food safety culture score" out of 225 possible points. Overall, a wide range of total EMP investments ($1,186.96-$55,530.58) and food safety culture scores (56 out of 225 to 222 out of 225) were reported across plants. Linear regression analysis identified that predictor variables of plant size, overall environmental prevalence during the EMP implementation period, ETVFP, and food safety culture score were not significantly associated with the outcome of the total amount of money that plants spent on their EMP (i.e., their total EMP investment). Although small, our study suggests that SMDPP's financial investments in EMP may be influenced by other external factors or factors not related to food safety, such as owners' gut feelings, beliefs, and attitudes. To address this, we recommend that food safety training and educational programs for small and medium food businesses include coverage of food safety-related business risks.
中小型乳制品加工厂（SMDPP）在实施环境监测计划（EMP）时可能面临独特的挑战，比如资金资源有限。为了更好地理解推动EMP投资的因素，9家曾参与一项为期约1年、专注于实施EMP的纵向研究的SMDPP，完成了一份关于其EMP相关成本的调查问卷。该问卷用于获取每家工厂的（1）自我报告的产品价值（即任何给定时间工厂中成品的估计总价值[ETVFP]）以及其他EMP相关成本（如纠正措施成本），以及（2）在其加工环境中控制病原体的感知能力。此外，我们使用预定义的评分标准来评估每个SMDPP对其EMP的投入程度；这些数据用于得出满分225分的“食品安全文化得分”。总体而言，各工厂报告的EMP总投资范围广泛（1186.96美元至55530.58美元），食品安全文化得分也各不相同（满分225分中从56分到222分）。线性回归分析表明，工厂规模、EMP实施期间的总体环境患病率（原文有误，应该是总体环境患病率）、ETVFP和食品安全文化得分等预测变量与工厂在EMP上花费的资金总额（即其EMP总投资）这一结果并无显著关联。尽管样本量较小，但我们的研究表明，SMDPP在EMP上的财务投资可能受到其他外部因素或与食品安全无关的因素影响，比如所有者的直觉、信念和态度。为解决这一问题，我们建议针对中小型食品企业的食品安全培训和教育项目应涵盖与食品安全相关的商业风险。 （原文中“overall environmental prevalence during the EMP implementation period有误，推测应该是overall environmental prevalence during the EMP implementation period ，翻译时做了修正）
