A systems approach to food accident analysis

Food borne illnesses lead to 3000 deaths per year in the United States. Some industries, such as aviation, have made great strides increasing safety through careful accident analysis leading to changes in industry practices. In the food industry, the current methods of accident analysis are grounded in regulations developed when the food industry was far simpler than today. The food industry has become more complex with international supply chains and a consumer desire for fresher food. This thesis demonstrates that application of a system theoretic accident analysis method, CAST, results in more learning than the current method of accident analysis. This increased learning will lead to improved safety performance in the food production system.

Department dc:contributor.department

Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Engineering Systems Division.

Grantor dc:publisher

Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Year dc:date.issued

2011

Author dc:creator

• Helferich, John D

Advisor dc:contributor.advisor

• Nancy Leveson.

• Engineering Systems Division.
• System Design and Management Program.

Statement dc:rights

• M.I.T. theses are protected by copyright. They may be viewed from this source for any purpose, but reproduction or distribution in any format is prohibited without written permission. See provided URL for inquiries about permission.

Licence dc:rights.uri

• http://dspace.mit.edu/handle/1721.1/7582

Language dc:language.iso

eng

Handle dc:identifier.uri

http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/70799

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:dspace.mit.edu:1721.1/70799