結合社會科學與食品科學方法擬定散裝豆乾食品安全預防策略

Abstract

隨著健康意識的抬頭與近年層出不窮的食品安全事件，食品安全已成為全民關注的焦點，本研究選用豆乾產業作為研究標的，並以社會科學結合食品科學方法分析現今豆乾的食安問題。現況而言，經媒體資訊分析與評估製程危害分析（HACCP）後，發現豆乾業者常發生之食品安全熱點為食品添加物使用；與廠商質性訪談得知，業者在食品安全衛生管理法相關之資訊面相對為弱勢，且對於食品良好衛生規範（GHP）整體遵循度差，加上人員管理與經營上之不足，導致現今的食品安全問題。在豆乾的相關食品安全議題中，防腐劑之超量添加為目前最嚴重且最急需改善的食安熱點，因此我們應用生菌數實驗以對業者在防腐劑之認知與使用上進行效用探討，並選擇廠商用量最多的防腐劑苯甲酸作為研究之材料。在生菌數實驗發現，不論在哪一步驟添加防腐劑，相較於未添加之豆乾，在30℃的保存環境下，使豆乾的生菌數低於106 CFU/g的情形可多延長約12小時，且無腐敗現象；而業者的認知與使用上，多數都不明防腐劑的正確使用方式。研究最後針對這些整理出來的食品安全熱點，提出了多項可改善之項目與建言，以優化加工製程並提升台灣傳統食品產業，盼可實質協助台灣豆乾廠商，再造台灣豆乾產業形象。

With the increase in health awareness and food safety scandals, food safety issues are becoming the most concerned topics, which warrant further investigation. Here we study on unpackaged dried tofu industry and use methodologies in social science and food science to look for the cause of the industry’s food safety problems. We analyzed media reports on dried tofu and their production HACCP and found that misusing food additives is the food safety hot spot. Through qualitative interviews with the stakeholders in the industry, we dug out the causes: They had insufficient knowledge regarding food safety, low compliance with the Good Hygienic Practice (GHP), as well as the lack of staff training and operation management. Furthermore, the usage of preservative is the most urgent one to solve. Therefore, we used bacterial plate count to investigate manufacturers’ attitude and use of preservatives, using benzoic acid, the most common preservative in the industry, as our material. We found that the usage of preservative can extend shelf life to 12 hours more, keeping bacterial count below 106 CFU/g without signs of spoilage. However, most manufacturers do not know how to use preservatives appropriately. In the end, we proposed many practical suggestions regarding production and management in hopes to make a lasting positive impact and rebuild the reputation of Taiwan’s dried tofu industry.