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Edited by:

Jesus M. Frias Celayeta

Vol 123, No 23 (2023):

Opus Journal Demo

Published: 19.12.1212.

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21.07.2022. Review article
Understanding social innovation in short food supply chains: an exploratory analysis

By Eugenia Petropoulou, Theo Benos, Irini Theodorakopoulou, Constantine Iliopoulos, Alessandra Castellini, Vilma Xhakollari, Maurizio Canavari, Annarita Antonelli, Damiano Petruzzella

Short food supply chains (SFSCs) are alternative food chains that have gained ground and contribute to the global food system's sustainable transition. To explore how to enhance their capacity to act and benefit society at large, we turned to scholarly and policy work on Social Innovation (SI). We concentrated on understanding what SI in SFSCs is and how it may stimulate their potential, following a two-phase approach. In Phase 1, employing a two-step systematic literature review, we generated a rich database of SI definitions, but no suitable definition was found. We proceeded to craft a domain-specific systems-centred definition, positing that SFSCs can be seen as social living systems, while SIs in SFSCs may be seen as processes that bring about change (e.g., new mentalities) and result in the creation of sustainable value for the actors involved and beyond. With the aid of an additional scholarly review, we also determined that the drivers of SI that matter are those that secure actor engagement in the co-design and co-development stages of SI (e.g., training). In Phase 2, we attempted to empirically validate the findings from Phase 1 in 12 Community of Practice (CoP) events in nine European countries. We found partial support for the SI definition, strong support for the vital role of trust, and concluded that, in any SFSC, it is critical to have a group of dedicated actors that have realized their role as (co-)leaders in co-shaping their own future.

01.12.2012. Review article Forthcoming
National Food Safety Systems in the European Union: A Comparative Survey

By Andreas Hadjigeorgiou, Elpidoforos S. Soteriades, Anastasios Philalithis, Anna Psaroulaki, Yiannis Tselentis, Achilleas Gikas

This paper is a comparative survey of the National Food Safety Systems (NFSS) of the European Union (EU) Member-States (MS) and the Central EU level. The main organizational structures of the NFSS, their legal frameworks, their responsibilities, their experiences, and challenges relating to food safety are discussed. Growing concerns about food safety have led the EU itself, its MS and non-EU countries, which are EU trade-partners, to review and modify their food safety systems. Our study suggests that the EU and 22 out of 27 Member States (MS) have reorganized their NFSS by establishing a single food safety authority or a similar organization on the national or central level. In addition, the study analyzes different approaches towards the establishment of such agencies. Areas where marked differences in approaches were seen included the division of responsibilities for risk assessment (RA), risk management (RM), and risk communication (RC). We found that in 12 Member States, all three areas of activity (RA, RM, and RC) are kept together, whereas in 10 Member States, risk management is functionally or institutionally separate from risk assessment and risk communication. No single ideal model for others to follow for the organization of a food safety authority was observed; however, revised NFSS, either in EU member states or at the EU central level, may be more effective from the previous arrangements, because they provide central supervision, give priority to food control programs, and maintain comprehensive risk analysis as part of their activities.

Current issue
19.03.2023. Review article
Deep Learning Based Research on Quality Classification of Shiitake Mushrooms

By Administrator Stojanovic, Milan Vukic, Milan Vukic, Mladen Babic, Mateo Sudar, Katherine Flynn, Barbara Ruiz Bejarano

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01.12.2012. Scientific article
Profile of currently employed European Food Scientists and Technologists: Education, experience and skills

By Katherine Flynn, Barbara Ruiz Bejarano, Mafalda A.C. Quintas

The food & drink (F&D) sector in Europe ranks low in innovation and the European F&D industry has been losing importance in the global market. The food professionals, i.e., food scientists and technologists (FSTs), may not be meeting the varied demands of the sector. Here, we identify education, experience and skills of current FSTs and compare  geographic regions and employment areas. Between 2009 and 2012, 287 questionnaires representing over 4000 FSTs were collected from employers in 16 countries. Analyses showed that more than 80% of FSTs have a university degree; but only in Industry in the Central European region are most degrees in food science/technology. More than half of FSTs, and almost 60% in the South, have less than 10 years’ experience. The most common FST job title is Quality Manager, but with several variations based on region and employment area. Among skills, the most common is Communicating; found in over 90% of FSTs in all regions and employment areas. Food Safety is the most common of the food sector-specific skills, present in more than 75% of FSTs, yet there are differences in food sector skills based on employment area. Overall, these data suggest similarities among currently employed food professionals throughout Europe; they are young and highly educated, but also differences, especially in their food sector-specific skills. An understanding of the current FST should contribute to the improvement of FST training and thus benefit the European food sector.

21.10.2021. Scientific article
Effect of storage on physico-chemical, microbiological and sensory characteristics of goat milk fermented by Lactobacillus strains isolated from minas artisanal cheeses

By Gustavo L. C. Valente, Leonardo B. Acurcio, Ranier C. Figueiredo, Felipe M. Sant'Anna, Rommel F. Brito, Luigi P. V. Freitas, Andréia M. Silva, Marcelo R. Souza, Cláudia F. A. M. Penna

22.04.2021. Review article
Production and characterization of emulsified fish mortadella from Nile tilapia (Oreochromus niloticus)

By Heloísa Maria Ângelo Jerônimo, Maria Elieidy Gomes de Oliveira, Carlos Eduardo Vasconcelos de Oliveira, Natália Ferrão Castelo Branco Melo, Alex Poeta Casali, Antônio Rosendo da Costa, Aryane Ribeiro da Silva, Ricácia de Sousa Silva, Tânia Lúcia Montenegro Stamford

01.12.2019. Review article
Modelling relationships between raw milk quality parameters and climatic conditions - the case study of a 3-years survey in Serbia

By Ilija Djekic, Jelena Miočionović, Marija Bojčevski, Nada Šmigić, Igor Tomašević

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01.12.2019. Review article
Chemical constituents in leaves and aroma products of Nicotiana rustica L. tobacco

By Venelina T. Popova, Tanya A. Ivanova, Albena S. Stoyanova, Violeta V. Nikolova, Margarita H. Docheva, Tzveta H. Hristeva, Stanka T. Damyanova, Nikolay P. Nikolov

21.07.2022. Review article
Exploring regulatory obstacles to the development of short food supply chains: empirical evidence from selected european countries

By Lazar Živković, Mirjana B. Pešić, Hanna Schebesta, Viktor A. Nedović

21.10.2021. Review article
Development of technology for the production of sausage produce using secondary collagen-containing raw materials

By Natalia Gizatova, Albert Gizatov, Liliya Zubairova, Irina Mironova, Azat Nigmatyanov, Yuliya Chernyshenko, Alexey Pleshkov

21.07.2022. Review article
Understanding social innovation in short food supply chains: an exploratory analysis

By Eugenia Petropoulou, Theo Benos, Irini Theodorakopoulou, Constantine Iliopoulos, Alessandra Castellini, Vilma Xhakollari, Maurizio Canavari, Annarita Antonelli, Damiano Petruzzella

21.07.2022. Review article
An online innovation platform to promote collaboration and sustainability in short food supply chains

By Foteini Chrysanthopoulou, Marieke Lameris, Gunter Greil, Dusan Vudragovic

A sustainable Short Food Supply Chain (SFSC) requires collaboration among all actors, which nowadays is facilitated by information and communication technologies (ICT). However, not all SFSC stakeholders network with others in this way, and it is not clear what will draw them to ICT interaction. A simple, user-friendly website, the SMARTCHAIN Innovation Platform, evolving since March 2019, may facilitate interaction and cooperation among SFSC stakeholders. This article presents the Platform's development and evaluates its efficacy and impact by analysing data from Google Analytics (GA) and other sources. Primary Platform features promote communication and information sharing: these are the 1) Innovation Hubs in 9 European countries, 2) Inventories including 150 SFSC innovations and 50 SFSC initiatives, 3) Resources databases of Publications and Weblinks, and 4) Training section. GA showed that visitors to the Platform increased slowly in the 16 months since its start, and the number of page views increased with the amount of time on the Platform. The most visited page of the Platform was the information-providing Innovation Inventory. Most Platform users were in partner countries of the SMARTCHAIN project, but not all Innovation Hubs had high numbers of users. Most users arrived at the Platform by direct link, but LinkedIn was the most important originating social network. Taken together, these data suggest growth potential for an easy-to-use website that provides useful and up-to-date information but little inclination for SFSC stakeholders to use an online Platform for communication.