رویکرد مبتنی بر دلفی برای توسعه و اعتبارسنجی ابزار ارزیابی ریسک ایمنی مواد غذایی یک مزرعه توسط کارشناسان

A farm food safety risk assessment tool for fresh produce and salmon farms were developed and the Delphi-based approach was utilised to identify and aggregate the opinions of experts on the food safety hazards and diseases faced in the farms while simultaneously certifying the scientific contents of the tool. The expert panels also serve to validate the methodology used in the farm food safety risk assessment tool as well as to suggest for improvements. Three rounds of Delphi questionnaire were carried out and the process managed to solicit experts’ agreement on the food safety hazards and diseases associated with UK’s fresh produce and salmon farms and the topics used in the farm food safety risk assessment tool. The results and suggestions obtained from Delphi process were reviewed and subsequently adapted into the risk assessment tool. The Delphi-based technique has proven to be a valuable approach to aggregate multiple experts’ opinions across diverse locations and achieves a wider distribution of experts.

A farm food safety risk assessment may be one of the many intervention strategies in reducing or preventing food safety and disease risks from occurring. With better scientific knowledge of the hazards that cause food borne disease, the risks these hazards pose to consumers and the capacity to take appropriate interventions should enable governments and industries to significantly reduce food-related risks (FAO/WHO, 2006). Delphi has been proven to be a useful method for eliciting expert opinions within the food safety domain (Wentholt et al., 2010 and Wentholt et al., 2009). It is a method which allows a group of individuals, as a whole, to deal with a complex problem (Linstone & Murray, 2002, p. 3). It could also be used to seek out information which may generate a consensus from the respondent group or to explore underlying assumptions or information leading to different judgements (Hsu and Sandford, 2007 and Linstone and Turoff, 2002). The Delphi technique is essentially a series of structured questionnaires (commonly referred to as rounds) (Henson, 1997) where answers are used as feedback in subsequent sessions or rounds. By providing feedback, Delphi creates interactivity and dialogue but without the pressure of conforming to group’s decisions or from influential respondents (i.e. the group’s position being overly swayed by dogmatic or high-powered individuals). Nonprobability sampling technique (i.e. purposive sampling or criterion sampling) is generally accepted as appropriate in Delphi studies as the opinion of experts is sought (Powell, 2003). Gordon (1994) notes that most panels range from 15 to 35 respondents; however there are studies with groups ranging from seven (Chu & Hwang, 2008) to 115 experts (Grundy & Ghazi, 2009). From a practical perspective, Delphi reduces cost and allows access to more individuals across diverse locations and a wider distribution of panellists (Wentholt et al., 2010). The aim of Delphi technique in this study is twofold. The first aim was to identify and aggregate the opinions of the experts regarding the food safety hazards and diseases faced in fresh produce and salmon farms in UK. Secondly, the experts also serve to validate the methodology used in the FRAM tool as well as to suggest for improvements.

With respect to the social validity of the study, the Delphi technique has successfully elicit experts’ opinion of on-farm HACCP and risk assessment approaches by farms. Three rounds of Delphi questionnaire was carried out and the process managed to solicit experts’ agreement on the food safety hazards and diseases associated with UK’s fresh produce and salmon farms and the topics used in FRAMp and AquaFRAM tool. The results obtained from Delphi Round II and III were reviewed and adapted into FRAMp and AquaFRAM tool. This was clearly positive as the Delphi results have been used successfully in FRAM tool for the purpose for which they were obtained.