Food safety culture assessment using a comprehensive mixed-methods approach: A comparative study in dairy processing organisations in an emerging economy Shingai P. Nyarugwe a , Anita Linnemann a , Loveness K. Nyanga b , Vincenzo Fogliano a , Pieternel A. Luning a, * a Food Quality and Design Group, Department of Agrotechnology and Food Sciences, Wageningen University, P.O. Box 17, 6700 AAWageningen, The Netherlands b Institute of Food, Nutrition and Family Sciences, University of Zimbabwe, P. O. Box MP 167, Mt Pleasant, Harare, Zimbabwe article info Article history: Received 17 May 2017 Received in revised form 5 July 2017 Accepted 28 July 2017 Available online 30 July 2017 Keywords: Food safety culture Food safety behaviour Mixed-methods approach Storytelling Card-aided interview abstract Food safety challenges are a global concern especially in emerging economies, which are in the midst of developmental changes. The challenges are directly or indirectly related to the behaviour and decision- making of personnel, and to an organisation's food safety culture. This study evaluated the prevailing food safety culture in three Zimbabwean dairy companies of different size (multinational, large and medium) using a comprehensive mixed-methods approach. Four key elements were assessed, namely enabling conditions, employee characteristics, actual behaviour and microbial safety performance. Card- aided interviews provided data on enabling conditions, and questionnaires and storytelling on employee characteristics. Observations and microbial analysis assessed actual behaviour and microbial safety performance, respectively. The multinational company demonstrated a more proactive food safety cul- ture compared to the other companies, which operated at an active level as exhibited by multiple in- consistencies in the enabling conditions and compliance behaviour. The large company had a moderate microbial safety performance even though it operated in a potentially risky situation, which could have been mitigated by the food safety management system. The medium-sized company had a poor mi- crobial safety performance likely related to noncompliance with sanitation requirements, negative at- titudes towards personal hygiene and an ambivalent attitude towards sanitation. Our study demonstrated the ability of the mixed-methods approach to assess and distinguish an organisation's prevailing food safety culture into identified classification levels (reactive, active, proactive). Specifically, storytelling elicited respondents to share stories, which reflected the food safety and hygiene control attitudes. © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. 1. Introduction Food safety is a global concern; the World Health Organisation (WHO) estimates that each year 600 million foodborne illness in- cidences occur worldwide (WHO., 2015). The highest burden of foodborne illnesses per population is in transitioning countries, particularly in Africa (WHO., 2015), as evidenced by inconsistent food safety (FAO, 2007; Kussaga, Jacxsens, Tiisekwa, & Luning, 2014). Kussaga et al. (2014) reported that 83% of the microbial cases, including dairy products, reported in African countries, exceed microbiological limits. This is worrisome since dairy prod- ucts significantly contribute to the human diet and are consumed by all population groups (Chimboza & Mutandwa, 2007; Papademas & Bintsis, 2010). Additionally, dairy products are easily perishable (Demirbas, Cukur, Yildiz, & G€ olge, 2009) and are highly vulnerable to contamination (Chimuti, Midzi, Njage, & Mugadza, 2016; Papademas & Bintsis, 2010). Therefore, the food industry and regulators are putting significant efforts on improving food safety management systems (FSMS) and food safety perfor- mance (Consumer Goods Forum (CGF) (2011); Kussaga et al., 2014) in the dairy industry. However, FSMS are not always effective, as demonstrated by recurring food safety problems (e.g. Chimuti et al., * Corresponding author. E-mail address: pieternel.luning@wur.nl (P.A. Luning). Contents lists available at ScienceDirect Food Control journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/foodcont http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.foodcont.2017.07.038 0956-7135/© 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. Food Control 84 (2018) 186e196