Barriers and benefits of the implementation of food safety management systems among the Turkish dairy industry: A case study Ayse Demet Karaman a, * , Ferit Cobanoglu b , Renan Tunalioglu b , Gulden Ova c a Adnan Menderes University, Faculty of Agriculture, Department of Food Engineering, Aydın, Turkey b Adnan Menderes University, Faculty of Agriculture, Department of Agricultural Economics, Aydın, Turkey c Ege University, Faculty of Engineering, Department of Food Engineering, Izmir, Turkey article info Article history: Received 28 January 2011 Received in revised form 24 November 2011 Accepted 30 November 2011 Keywords: Food safety Dairy industry Barriers Advantages abstract The aim of this research was to determine the barriers and advantages of the Hazards Analysis and Critical Control Points (HACCP) and food safety programs (FSPS) employed by the dairy industry in Aydın, Turkey. By conducting face-to-face interviews and using questionnaires, the structure of Aydın dairy plants’ food safety management systems was characterized. The questionnaires elicited information about the applications of food safety systems, dairy plant managers’ opinions about any inspection systems, and their expectations for government and local legal authorities in food safety systems. Twenty-eight operating dairy plants in Aydın with a production licence from the Ministry of Food, Agriculture and Livestock show activity in the sector for more than 10 years (53.5%) with joint-stock or limited company status (60.7%). These plants produce white cheese, fermented milk products and butter. Implementing a clear and efficient food safety management system can improve legal issues (85.7%) and increase client trust (64.3%). This is positively correlated with the ages of dairy plant managers in the dairy industry in Aydın(p < 0.05 and p < 0.01). All the same, not understanding the HACCP was specified as one of the main barriers to its utilization. Almost half of managers (46.5%) reported not really knowing what HACCP was, while 35.8% reported that it was too expensive to employ. On the other hand, the main difficulties with prerequisite program (PRP) applications in Aydın dairy plants was determined to be a result of insufficient physical conditions (35.7%) and cost (46.4%). A lack of knowledge relating to and the cost of HACCP and other food safety programs were the main barriers to implementation in the Aydın dairy industry. Providing periodical training and consultation services for FSMS applications in the dairy industry by the government and also providing financial support must be provided. Ó 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. 1. Introduction Dairy products are an essential component to the Turkish diet but they are also a potentially hazardous product if they are pro- cessed in non-conforming conditions. Therefore they are identified as a high-risk food product. During dairy processing, microorgan- isms from several sources e.g. personnel, water, equipment, addi- tives and packaging materials (Demirbas, Karahan, Kenanoglu, & Karagozlu, 2006; Papademas & Bintsis, 2010) can contaminant the product. In addition, dairy products are also potential carriers of veterinary drugs, chemical pollutants and microbial toxins. Because of these concerns, countries have established procedures and systems to minimize these risks. National and international insti- tutions have been created to focus on minimizing economic losses and infection risks from all steps in the dairy production process (Scott, 1989; Topal, 2001). Concordantly, the Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Point (HACCP) system identifies, maintain, evalu- ates, controls and monitors each production point that is significant for food safety. HACCP was developed by the Codex Alimentarius Commission (CAC, 1996; ISO, 2007). However, HACCP is most effective when used with other quality management systems and standard operating procedures, such as Good Manufacturing Practices (GMP) or Good Hygiene Practices (GHP) (Kok, 2009). The Food Safety Management System (FSMS) was introduced by the International Organization for Standardization (ISO). The FSMS set interrelated or interacting elements to establish policy and objec- tives and to achieve those objectives. The FSMS is used to direct and control an organization with regard to food safety (ISO, 2007). * Corresponding author. Tel.: þ90 256 772 70 22; fax: þ90 256 772 72 33. E-mail address: demet.karaman@adu.edu.tr (A.D. Karaman). Contents lists available at SciVerse ScienceDirect Food Control journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/foodcont 0956-7135/$ e see front matter Ó 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. doi:10.1016/j.foodcont.2011.11.041 Food Control 25 (2012) 732e739