Challenges of Developing Countries in Complying Quality and Enhancing Standards in Food Industries

Food safety has been fervently discussed throughout the world. Priority for food safety addresses issues in enhancing food safety systems in terms of exporting countries, contribution to consumers’ health and protection and advancement on food regulations and standards. Not all food industrial companies are able to follow demands highlighted by international bodies. Many developing countries lack the resources to participate in international trade because of the difficulties in complying with the requirements of the food safety standards. The underlying reasons for this are outdated laws, lack of knowledge in terms of limited coordination between organizations handling food safety issues, under-funding of national research institutes and lack of awareness for standards and quality. In moving towards the development of standards, consumer participation to demonstrate their concern over the quality and safety of food is correspondingly on the rise. In every aspect of food production, the company is required at each step in the food production chain to ensure food safety standards are not compromised and to show compliance with regulatory and customers’ requirement. In an attempt to address the issue of compliance with international standards, this paper will set to discuss international food chain perspective including food quality assurance in production processes, hazard characteristics in the production and distribution of food and generic food quality and safety standards. The aim of this paper is to identify public and private food safety and quality standard internationally and implementation of food quality standards in three different regions. At the end of this paper, the researchers seek to highlight some significant findings on quality assurance in the food industry and its benefits to consumers globally.