An evaluation of the impact of food safety management systems within the wine industry in the Western Cape, South Africa

Abstract

During recent years the wine industry has become increasingly dynamic due to competition among wine organisations worldwide. In order to be competitive, many South African wine organisations have implemented and maintained a Food Safety Managements System (FSMS). The Western Cape Province is one of the typical regions of wine-manufacturing in the country. However, the impact of FSMSs on the effectiveness of work performance among wine organisations in the Western Cape is unknown. There is scant literature that focuses on this particular issue. Thus, this study investigates the effectiveness of FSMS implementation to determine whether wine organisations consolidate the fundamental requirements of the FSMSs.

Nineteen (19) wine organisations situated in the Western Cape who are currently implementing FSMSs were chosen as the research sites. A group of participants (n=46) who are implementing FSMSs from these wine organisations were selected as samples. A questionnaire based on the Likert scale was used as an instrument for data collection. Statistical package for social science (SPSS) version 19 was employed to generate statistical results such as frequencies, mean, standard deviation, percentage, skewness, etc. In particular, Cronbach’s alpha was utilised to test the reliability of the key items of FSMSs.

The findings of this study indicate that the majority of the wine organisations consolidate the fundamental requirements of FSMS. Certification audits, management systems, prerequisite programs, Hazard Critical Control Points (HACCP), validation and verification, emergency preparedness and quality management are used as the main activities to measure the performance of FSMS. Based on the study results, this study recommended that wine organisations should provide regular training to internal auditors and shopfloor employees in order to enhance the effectiveness of FSMSs. The significance of this study is to contribute a valuable guideline to the South African wine industry to consolidate their performances on the implementation of FSMSs.