Implementation of food safety management system in Bulgaria

Abstract

The purpose of this paper is to analyse the factors for the implementation of the efficient food quality and safety management system in the food industry and the food retail sector in Bulgaria. Through the standardised questionnaire 422 companies have been studied: 326 from four food sub sectors (meat, diary, fruit and vegetable cans, and bread products), and 96 food retailers. The fieldwork was accomplished in the period June-October 2007, the first year of the Bulgarian membership in the EU. The findings revealed that the main factors for the adoption of the efficient food safety and quality management system were related to the company’s information capacity and the information environment; firm’s belonging to food producers or retailers; overall company development; place of residence; expected benefits; improvement of the working conditions; customers satisfaction; capacity of consultants; frequency of inspections; size; and environment protection. This implementation is hindered by some infrastructural difficulties and perceived negative effects of the official control. The research is limited only to four food sub sectors, and to a small sample of food retailers. Some recommendations were drawn, mainly concerning the improvement of the information environment and the creation of special politics on quality issues for small firms. This was a first attempt to investigate the food safety and quality problems in the food industry and food retail sectors in Bulgaria after the country membership in the EU.