AUA MPH Alumnus Suren Galstyan, MS, MPH (2015) has published an article on barriers and facilitators of a hazard analysis critical control point based food safety management system (HACCP FSMS) adoption in the Armenian dairy industry in the internationally ranked peer-reviewed British Food Journal. The coauthor is Tsovinar Harutyunyan, MPH, PhD, Assistant Professor at the AUA Gerald and Patricia Turpanjian School of Public Health.
The article describes the comprehensive theory-based analysis of perceived determinants of organization-wide adoption of HACCP-based system in Armenia conducted as part of Suren’s MPH thesis project. Individual in-depth interviews and focus group discussions were conducted with representatives of food processing facilities in the dairy industry, policy makers, and food safety consultants. Diffusion of innovations theory provided a framework for exploration of the phenomenon under study. Enhanced traceability, increased export opportunities, improved organizational image, and broader accountability were most frequently reported drivers of adoption. High investment costs, value incompatibility, excessive documentation, inadequate physical and technological infrastructures, and low observability led to less favorable attitudes toward the organizational change needed for HACCP FSMS adoption. The results of the study support and extend the findings of earlier research and provide new insights into HACCP FSMS adoption across different contexts.
The article Suren H. Galstyan, Tsovinar L. Harutyunyan, (2016) “Barriers and facilitators of HACCP adoption in the Armenian dairy industry”, British Food Journal, Vol. 118 Iss: 11, pp.2676 – 2691 is available at http://www.emeraldinsight.com/doi/pdfplus/10.1108/BFJ-02-2016-0057
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