Degree of implementation and satisfaction in food companies with the International Food Standards (IFS) and British Retail Consortium (BRC) certifications on the Canary Islands

Abstract

The aim of this study was to assess the degree of the implementation and satisfaction of quality certificates in agrifood industries using structured interviews based on International Food Standards (IFS) and British Retail Consortium (BRC), which have become most relevant in the food industry due to growing consumer demands, and, given the emergence of several food crises, quality assurance schemes have become increasingly popular in agrifood businesses. Questionnaires were sent to fifty-seven companies. Two structured questionnaires were divided into five parts with nineteen and fifteen questions, respectively. All the companies were interviewed by an electronic questionnaire sent by email, but companies were first called by telephone to inform them about the study. Interviews started with a question about the number of employees in the company, followed by another question about the kind of certificate that the company held. At the time this research was conducted on the Canary Islands, nineteen companies had IFS and twenty did not, but had other certificates. Eighteen companies did not answer the questionnaire.The representative survey results clearly demonstrated that the overall evaluation of IFS/BRC was positive. Food manufacturers generally perceived the IFS as a useful instrument for assuring product safety. The companies without IFS were satisfied with their certification and, although their perception of IFS was positive, they thought it was very expensive and it was better to continue with the certificate they had.

O objectivo deste estudo foi avaliar o grau de implementação e satisfação dos certificados de qualidade em indústrias agroalimentares, utilizando entrevistas estruturadas com base em International Food Standards (IFS) e British Retail Consortium (BRC), que se tornaram mais relevantes na indústria alimentar devido ao aumento das demandas dos consumidores, e dado o surgimento de várias crises alimentares, os esquemas de garantia de qualidade tornaram-se cada vez mais populares nos negócios agroalimentares.Foram enviados questionários para cinquenta e sete empresas. Dois questionários estruturados foram divididos em cinco partes com dezenove e quinze perguntas, respectivamente. Todas as empresas foram entrevistadas por um questionário eletrónico enviado por e-mail, tendo sido inicalmente contactadas por telefone de forma a serem informadas. As entrevistas começaram com uma pergunta sobre o número de funcionários da empresa, seguida de outra questão sobre o tipo de certificado que a empresa possuía. No momento em que esta investigação foi realizada nas Ilhas Canárias, dezesseis empresas tinham IFS e vinte não, mas possuíam outros certificados. Dezoito empresas não responderam ao questionário.Os resultados representativos da aplicação dos questionários demonstraram claramente que a avaliação geral do IFS/BRC foi positiva. Os produtores alimentares geralmente percepcionam o IFS como um instrumento útil para garantir a segurança do produto. As empresas sem IFS ficaram satisfeitas com a certificação e, embora a sua percepção do IFS tenha sido positiva, pensou-se que seria muito dispendioso e seria melhor continuar com o certificado que possuíam.