محیط زیست و سیستم مدیریت ایمنی غذایی، با توجه به ایزو 14001 و ایزو 22000 در مزرعه های پرورش ماهی: تجارب، عوامل بحرانی و استراتژی های احتمالی در آینده

In order to keep themselves competitive and to protect their brands and reputation, the fish processing plants need to manage risks, show corporate responsibilities and abide by the demands of their clients. In this context the ISO 22000 proves to be an important tool for food safety management. Riding on ISO 14001 in reference to environmental management, it could contribute to the sustainable development of food industries activities. The aim of this paper was to analyze the fishing industry, a sector of strategic importance to the food safety of the entire population; the impact and synergism of the simultaneous adoption of these standards, proposing suggestions to minimize critical factors singled out for more efficient implementation of the said standards. The adopted methodology was multiple case studies, having analyzed plants located in Portugal and Spain with integrated management systems (IMS) already implanted. The results showed that all of the five analyzed plants have set quality and food safety management systems, however only three of them have EMS (Environmental Management Systems). These companies showed good practices aimed at the preservation of the environment as opposed to the plants that did not have EMS. It was observed a greater gain in time with simultaneous implementation. As benefits of the adoption of the IMS the plants identified an increase in sales and satisfaction on the part of their employees. Regarding the critical factors, the analyzed plants pointed to: ‘ìnterpretation of the standards“, “the empowerment and valuing of peoplè ‘, and “industry sensitivity towards the implantation of the IMS“. Considering the importance of standards ISO 14001 and ISO 22000, and the results observed, it can be concluded that the integrated implementation of these standards allied to the measures for overcoming the critical factors presents great potential for the increase of competitiveness of fish processing plants.

In order to be competitive the fish production chain should consider the new market concepts which demand attention to the standards of international quality, food safety and environmental sustainability. These new requirements must, therefore, be part of the strategic evaluation of the sector, for the management of its own viable capabilities and survival of their undertaking. (MEDEIROS, 2003). According to FAO (2009), the quality of food products is of the utmost importance for the industries of this sector and also for the public health authorities. It was possible to estimate that in The United States of America there are possibly more than 80 million cases of ``illnesses`` originating from food intake and the cost of these illnesses yearly is very high indeed. The economic losses due to deterioration are seldom quantified but it is presumed to be that one quarter of the world´s food distribution is lost due to microbial activity (IVANKIU, 2008). Added to this, there is an international tendency on the part of the consumers to worry not only with the quality of the products but also with the responsibility that the producers have in the elaboration of their products, paying more for products that come out of companies which do not cause environmental harm (SOBRAL et al., 2004). The management of the environment and that of food safety fits very well in this new concept of worldly society. Companies search for a continuous betterment of their products in that which refers to quality, to sustainable development and to the reduction of negative impacts, in order to have a positive image in the eyes of their product´s consumers. The objective of this work was to analyze, in the fishing industry the strategic importance of food safety for the entire population of the planet and the synergy and impact of simultaneous adoption of norms ISO 2200 or IFS 5 (food safety) and ISO 14001 (environment) proposing suggestions to minimize singled out critical factors for a more efficient implementation of the above mentioned norms.

The analysis of the seafood processing plants located in the Iberian Peninsula demonstrated that food safety management is a fundamental assumption for their strategy. These companies adopted norms ISO 9000 and ISO 22000 or IFS 5 as tools in order to improve their management systems and to differentiate their products which include quality and seafood safety. On the opposite side not all the companies analyzed here have an implemented environmental management system. Of the five analyzed companies, three had the referred systems certified by the agreement with iso14001. These last companies showed us that the adoption of good practices and technological investments were good for the protection of the environment, while those without the environment protection systems were interested only in adhering to the environmental legislations. All the analyzed companies affirmed that their objectives upon the adoption of the management systems were reached when they confirmed improvements in the management, in the increase in confidence by their clients and the gains in the competitive advantages. These companies identified still, as other benefits obtained with the implementation of the management systems, the increase in sales for both the external and internal markets and the satisfaction of their employees. As for the timetable for the implementation of the integrated management systems, bigger gains were observed for the companies which opted for the simultaneous form to the detriment of the companies which implemented their systems separately. The companies identified as the main critical factors for the success of the implementation of the management systems as being the interpretation of the technical norms and their specificities for the seafood sector , the ´´human resources´´ and`` comprehension and perceptions``.