Barriers to HACCP amongst UK farmers and growers: an in-depth qualitative study

Purpose - Changes to legislation in England during 2006 introduced the requirement for a "farm to fork" approach to food safety. The new regulations require primary producers such as arable farmers, fruit growers and vegetable growers to follow good hygiene practice and manage their operations in such a way as to control food safety hazards. Various food safety incidents in recent years have increased the public's concern with food safety and contributed to the establishment of various farm assurance schemes in order to reassure the public, often via labelling displaying high profile symbols such as the Red Tractor logo, that the food they eat is safe and has been produced in accordance with strict guidelines and standards. The requirement for documented HACCP plans is central to the majority of farm assurance schemes in the UK. The purpose of this paper is to investigate the extent and nature of barriers to HACCP implementation amongst a group of arable farmers and fresh produce growers. The research forms part of the first phase of a larger project being undertaken as part of a PhD. Design/methodology /approach - For this research study an in-depth qualitative methodology was used, and a non-prescriptive narrative interview technique utilised in order to investigate the barriers to HACCP implementation amongst four arable farmers and fresh produce growers in England. The farmers and growers all had HACCP plans produced for their business in order to comply with the requirements of farm assurance schemes. Findings - Non-prescriptive analysis of the narrative interviews identified shortcomings associated with farm assurance audits and several common themes associated with experiences and perceptions of HACCP as difficult, a burden in terms of cost, time and paperwork and unnecessary, all of which acted as barriers to implementation. Originality/value - This paper combines in-depth, academically sound research with the involvement of primary producers. It brings together the views of four arable fanners and fresh produce growers. This study both supports and develops previous research studies, contributing to the existing body of research by uncovering additional findings associated with farm assurance schemes and identifying the extent and nature of barriers to HACCP implementation in primary production.