Activities, motives and external factors influencing food safety management system adoption in Malaysia

This study was conducted in the northern region of Peninsular Malaysia to examine the characteristics of food companies, their food safety improvement activities, motives and external factors that influenced their decision on implementing the Malaysian food safety system (MeSTI). The study employs a survey questionnaire which was distributed to the respondents during food safety seminars, workshops and meetings. A total of 89 completed questionnaires were returned. The results indicated that the main motive for adopting a food safety system was to improve product quality, while external factors influencing food safety adoption was consumer awareness of food safety and the intension of industry to increase customer confidence. The results of the study suggest that, compared with perceptions toward food safety, there is significant difference in the motives to improve product quality, lowering the risk of compromising food safety and extending their market to foreign country among different groups in the food industry. The external factors influencing food safety adoption exhibit significant differences among the groups of perceptions in increasing customer confidence.